Tasmania’s Huon Valley region is one of Australia’s natural wonderlands. Split by the Huon River and dotted with growers’ towns, when the days get shorter here the valley becomes a hideaway of cosy farmstays, fireside cider tastings, and spectacular caving and river tours. Clear, still mornings and mist cover the region’s many orchards, and deciduous trees drop their leaves and become skeletal.
Then in mid-July it erupts into the bacchanalian Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival. Thousands descend on the township of Ranelagh to nurse mugs of hot spiced cider, feast on a smorgasboard of local produce and throw themselves into “wassailing” – a centuries-old tradition of donning masks, hoisting flaming torches, and beating drums and pots and pans in procession while singing and shouting – all in the hope of promoting a good harvest.
Here’s a guide to adventuring through the Huon Valley in the darker months.
Do
Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival
From July 12 to 14, locals and interstate visitors alike flock to Ranelagh in the Huon Valley for a pagan festival of feasting, folklore and the burning of a two-storey effigy called ‘Big Willie’ – true story.
The Huon Valley is the heart of Tasmania’s apple industry, experiencing peaks and troughs in production since the 1970s. Established in 2014 by cider makers Willie Smith’s, the festival brings the community together in the depths of winter to ‘Wassail’ - an ancient pagan practice where revellers cast away bad energy, scare off evil spirits, and sing songs to the health of the apple trees to ensure a bumper crop.
Fire, food and cider are the stars of the show, but celebrations abound - from a storytelling cup and Morris dancing to a flaming piano, high energy folk/punk acts, and the invitation to dress in your pagan finest costumes (there’s even
$2000 in ‘Best Dressed’ prizes for the effort).
Food offerings are equally eccentric; including a Mid-Winter Banquet on Saturday by Wild Grove and Season and Fire, using fresh Tasmanian produce cooked over an open fire. (For reference: last year this event involved guests slow cooking pork and lamb on a bike-powered rotisserie – this isn’t your average BBQ.)
Huon Valley Mid-Winter FestivalHastings Caves and Thermal Springs
An hour south of Willie Smith’s and 50 metres underground lies a labyrinth of astounding stalactite and stalagmite formations known as Newdegate Cave. One of only two show caves in Australia, its eerie mineral chandeliers hang from the roof of a hollowed out dolomite dome. Lit with warm orange lights, the crystal formations vary from ribbon-like streamers trickling down the walls to dramatic, needle-sharp daggers.
A guided tour takes you into the caves, where you’ll hear about the process of chemical deposition that formed them over a period of 200,000 years, before returning to the sweet-smelling sassafras and fern glades of the forest outside.
Cold? A 28-degree thermal spring is set among the towering trees, offering a magical mid-winter dip.
Yukon Tours
Braving the chilly crystal waters of the Huon River in wintertime might sound like a test for some. But stepping onboard the Yukon, a beautifully restored 1930s Danish fishing vessel, care of Yukon Tours, might be just the salve you need.
Owner David Nash and his Danish wife Ea Lassen salvaged the boat for a case of beer and spent seven years returning it to its former glory. They invite guests to hoist the sails and take in the historic port of Franklin with a cup of homemade Tuscan soup as the Yukon drifts upstream towards Huonville.
Soup and Sail tours run Sunday to Thursday from 12:30pm to 2pm. Keep in mind that it’s beanie season from April 1 to September 30.
Eat and drink
Willie Smith’s Apple ShedWillie Smith’s Apple Shed
A nondescript wooden shed on the main road to Huonville hides Willie Smith’s, one of the valley’s oldest businesses, and its busiest. Co-founder Andrew Smith’s great-grandfather planted the first apple orchard here in 1888, and Andrew switched to organic production in 1997, aiming to “make the apple king.”
The results lie behind the shed’s heavy, industrial doors in the immaculately refurbished apple-packing plant, which has been repurposed as a museum, cellar door, restaurant and distillery. Four mainstay ciders – traditional, organic, bone dry and wild – are offered besides boutique fare like Yarlington Mill, a traditional English bittersweet apple cider. Head cider maker Tim Jones says the idea is to create ciders that can sit with a premium wine list and be paired with food: “It’s about bringing cider into the spotlight to show people just how complex and aromatic it can be.”
Fat Pig Farm
The region’s fertile conditions mean it’s dotted with farms, with plenty of dining options on offer. One of those is Fat Pig Farm, a paddock-to-plate destination. Farmer and chef Matthew Evans curates an ever-changing menu from ingredients grown on this 27-hectare farm near the town of Cygnet. Guests can book cookery classes, learn about “the ethical hierarchy of food”, or take a farm tour and discover how to plant and harvest in harmony with the seasons.
Bookings are essential – and gumboots are provided.
Home Hill Winery
Lovers of pinot noir alert: Home Hill Winery in Ranelagh is a light-filled vineyard and one of the region’s go-to lunch and cellar-door destinations.
The winemakers’ selective thinning of the homegrown grapes concentrates intense fruit flavours in their award-winning 2017 Kelly’s Reserve pinot noir, which scored 99 points in the Halliday Top 100 Wines. The on-site Home Hill restaurant is the only place you’ll be able to sample this rare drop – and it’s worth the trip for that alone.
Head chef Terry Barrett has created a diverse menu that allows for small share plates or a full three-course meal. The pan-fried Huon salmon and pink-eye potatoes is a bestseller, the grilled cauliflower with ricotta and Cygnet mushrooms the win for vegetarians.
Cinnamon and CherryCinnamon and Cherry
Named after the children of owners Marcus and Hande Marriott, this tastefully decorated Turkish-Tasmanian cafe in Franklin serves traditional Turkish cuisine with a modern flair. Try the paper-baked eggs, with your choice of filling, or the Middle Eastern mezze – cold, seasonal vegetable dishes cooked to hold the flavour of the fresh produce.
Lamb börek is another favourite, served with homemade yoghurt and paprika. You can also pick up an exquisite peshtemal, a type of cotton towel crafted in Turkey. “They are all hand weaved,” according to Marcus. “We want to keep these traditions alive.”
Harvest and Light
Cassy Faux, owner of Harvest and Light in Geeveston, is the region’s pickle queen, receiving local produce from around the Huon Valley and turning it into a huge range of pickles, quinces and relishes. “Preserving is a way of having a meal ready for when you need it,” says Cassy. The best option here is to order a grazing plate and share the platters, which on any given day can include smoked salmon, gouda cheese or locally grown olives and mushrooms.
Stay
Highland Getaway Luxury Farm StayHighland Getaway Luxury Farm Stay
There can’t be many luxury getaways where cows are the stars of the show. And yet these two luxury suites at Highland Getaway overlook rolling green paddocks home to a herd of shaggy highland cattle.
You can get amongst them on a farm tour with your host Julie, helping her feed the cows, alpacas and chickens, then cleanse in the spa pool. In the morning, watch the colours of the valley come alive from bed, as mist drowns the gum trees and birds take off from the branches. The adventurous can try their hand at trout fishing, or just relax on the front deck and absorb the view.
This article is produced in partnership with Willie Smith’s Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival.
