North West Walks and Day Trips
The North West Coast has the lot: from rugged beaches and beautiful gardens to the best in rain forests and mountain scenery. Add to this a well dispersed population: (over one-quarter of the State’s 480,000 people reside on "The Coast", with the majority living in Devonport, Ulverstone and Burnie) and you start to get the picture.
The
relatively vast upper part of western Tasmania has long been known to the
conservation movement as The Tarkine, "The Forgotten
Wilderness". The area can loosely be defined as the area between
the Arthur and Pieman River heads and Port Macquarie on the West Coast,
inland to the Murchison Highway from Burnie south to Queenstown. The
Tarkine hosts an abundance of natural attractions including one of the world’s
largest tracts of untouched temperate Rainforest.
To
get there, head out from Westbury along Highway 1 past Deloraine. Make your
first stop Ashgrove Cheese just out of Elizabeth Town to taste their cheddars
and see the vats of milk from the Ashgrove farm turning into cheese. If
you are interested in dolls, teddy bears and such, then you must turn off
into Latrobe. Next stop is Anvers Chocolates (after the Latrobe roundabout
on Highway 1). Their truffles are exquisite and the family-owned business
is most generous with their tastings. This is also a favourite stop for
lunch.
In
Devonport we like to check out the latest arrivals at ‘Ancient Relics’ for
handpicked treasures from around the world – individual pieces from
France, Rajasthan, and from villages across China. The top floor has 35
stalls of antiques of all kinds. This is a special shop.
Stop for a delicious fresh seafood lunch at Pedro’s on the waterfront in Ulverstone (or maybe this will be your dinner stop on your way back to Elm Wood).
At Burnie be sure to turn south as you approach the town to taste the delicate soft cheeses at Lactos Cheese (Camembert, Bries and Blue Veins), single-malt whisky at Hellyer’s Road Distillery, just a little further down the road. From mid September to mid November, plan to continue driving the few kilometres further south on the B18 to visit Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden – with over 20,000 plants in a 30 acre natural amphitheatre.
If
you time your visit for spring between mid September and mid October the
tulip fields of the Van Diemen’s Land Bulb Farm burst into colour
and present a spectacle that must be seen. The picture tells the story!
This route you might follow as a return day trip, or a leg of your tour around Tasmania.