The Huon Valley (above) and Huonville (below). Photos: Tourism Tasmania and (above) Rob Cleary and Nick Osborne.
Just 30 minutes' drive south from Hobart, you enter the beautiful Huon Valley. There are few places in the world where there remains a frontier like this, as human activities push against the edge of Tasmania’s famed South West Wilderness.
It's often a place of conflict between those who see the forests and other natural values as resources to be managed for monetary gain, and those who believe the same natural values should be managed for tourism, conservation and their own intrinsic value. The further south you travel, the band of human settlement narrows and the more obvious the frontier becomes.
Huonville (pictured right) is the main service centre for the valley, yet is only 35 minutes from Hobart. Stop in at the Huon Environment Centre to hear the conservation side of the forest debate.
Just outside Huonville is Huon Bush Retreats, a gay owned and operated, nature-based accommodation village. Close enough to Hobart to enjoy the night life and markets, yet just outside your cabin or tipee grow 60-metre tall, 350-year-old forest giants. In Huonville, DS café is gay owned and operated, while Granny Lou’s Organics is a gay-friendly, organic café.
At Geeveston, you can visit the Forest and Heritage Centre and Tahune Airwalk and hear out how the forest is managed as a resource. Geeveston is home to a selection of cafes plus Bob’s Bunk House. Bob’s is a gay owned and operated backpackers and would suit the budget minded or those who choose simple, friendly, accommodation.
Dover is a quaint fishing port on a protected bay dotted with three islands: Faith, Hope and Charity. It has a range of accommodation, including Risley Cottage. Gay owned and operated, Risley is a country style B&B with in-house rooms.
Next stop is Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs, one of Tasmania’s iconic natural attractions, then the Ida Bay Railway. Here the bitumen finishes and the gravel logging road continues south, eventually reaching Cockle Creek. This is as far south as you can drive, but there is a two-hour, well-constructed walking track leading to South Cape Bay. From the ocean cliff tops, look westward into the World Heritage Wilderness Area, or southward to the vast expanses of the Southern Ocean. Standing here, you are at the southern-most spot in Australia.
Huonville (pictured right) is the main service centre for the valley, yet is only 35 minutes from Hobart. Stop in at the Huon Environment Centre to hear the conservation side of the forest debate.
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