Purple Possum Wholefoods & Cafe - St Mary's, Tasmania

Thanks for your comments and well wishes regarding our hot water (and the less-than-positive week). Our new hot water system will be installed on Monday - not long to go!

This post could have been subsumed within my Tasmanian holiday reviews, but my enjoyment of the Purple Possum Wholefoods & Cafe was such that I wanted to give it a post all of its own.

Described in The Lonely Planet Tasmania guide (2008) as "an unexpected find in a little country town...[with] wonderful homemade soups, vegetarian wraps, fabulous coffee and cakes to die for", I had hoped this might provide a nice lunch option on our final day.

As it turned out, this could have provided nice breakfast, snack and lunch options, albeit not all at once, and especially not when driving back to Launceston in order to fly home. 

Set in a side street of the sleepy town of St Mary's, the store seemed amazingly well set up. In addition to a whole wall of bulk food bins, they carried an impressive selection of organic, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free packaged foods. They even ship to the rest of Australia.

The cafe menu was quite impressive too.

When we came in, the owner asked us, slightly hesitatingly, if we were vegetarian or...? We hastily assured her we were, and she relaxed and indicated that some people were disappointed when they didn't find meat on the menu.

Not us. There were great looking soups, sandwich options, wraps, a frittata, the Purple Possum veggie burger, and a range of vegetarian and even vegan pies. Although many items were listed as including cheese,  I asked for the vegetarian wrap without cheese and they were happy to oblige.

Mr Bite had the Madras Vegie pie ("curried veg with coriander"), which coincidentally was vegan. Although he eats chicken (and fish, and the odd beef burger!) at home, he usually sticks with vegetarian options whilst travelling, and was also happy to have an extensive range of choices.

My wrap included baby spinach leaves, capsicum, tomato, grated beetroot, and beautifully done tofu. Slightly warm, slightly toasted, with just a little of a tomato-y relish, it was delicious.

Mr Bite also liked his pie, with its side of tomato relish. He reported that he couldn't tell it was vegan.

I was torn between a coffee and a tea, but went for the former as I felt in need of caffeine. It was well done, and I suspect the teas would have been too: a full range of herbal and flavoured options, including liquorice (one of my home favourites).

If we'd had more time, or more meals left to eat in Tasmania, we could have tried or taken away some of the sweeter offerings. The date scones, rhubarb cake, and fig and ginger cake looked particularly appealing. Sadly, we didn't manage to squeeze them in, but if we're ever in the area again I will be factoring this cafe into our plans!

Purple Possum Wholefoods & Cafe, 5 Story Street, St Mary's, Tasmania, 7215

www.purplepossum.com.au

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Tasmanian reflections: Hobart and surrounds

This is the last Tasmania-focused post, with the exception of a cafe review that will appear at some stage.

Suitably, this Bite, which is rather a big one, also touches on some of my favourite sights and experiences from the trip.

After nearly a week in small towns or national park areas, arriving in Hobart in the afternoon sun was beautiful.

We headed straight to Salamanca Markets, which are held every Saturday in the waterfront area below Battery Point...

And enjoyed taking in the architecture that makes Hobart city so attractive...

Hobart also provided us with the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), which I had heard wonderful things about. It didn't disappoint. If you get a chance to visit - do. 

The entrance to MONA. The museum is built into the side of a cliff: enter at the top (through the black doors pictured) and descend down for art. It's bigger than it looks!

I wouldn't hesitate to deem this the best collection of art in Australia. For some inside shots, cityhippyfarmgirl presented a delightful summary a few weeks back. 

We also went up Mount Wellington, which overlooks Hobart, where I got very cold...

This photo doesn't show the wind. It was vicious.

...and visited a nearby wildlife park, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, where I got even colder. Intense, I think I might faint, I can't feel my feet cold.

At least the Tasmanian Devils were cute. Sadly, these were the only live ones we saw on the trip. The native population is seriously threatened by the currently incurable Devil Facial Tumour Disease, as well as traffic (we saw a number of dead ones on the sides of roads).

From Hobart, we visited Port Arthur, which was the largest penal settlement in Australia from 1833 to 1853. We spent a night there and absorbed culture and sad stories...

We also did the evening ghost tour at Port Arthur, which provided me with an opportunity to wear a large proportion of my clothes simultaneously. My outfit included tights under jeans, two pairs of socks, a long-sleeved thermal top, a long-sleeved fitted top, a zip-up sports jacket, another black jacket, my brother's ski jacket, gloves, and scarf.

I also wore the ski jacket hood. I'm sure I looked very trendy. But after the wildlife park experience I wasn't taking any chances!

Of course, Hobart also provided us with food choices. After self-catering and/or having limited eating out options, this was bliss.

Metz, in Sandy Bay (north Hobart), provided an amazing sweet blue pear, walnut & honey pizza. It would usually come with gorgonzola, but they helpfully omitted it for me - albeit after double checking that I really didn't want any cheese. I think the chef struggled to grasp the concept of a cheese free pizza :P

He did himself proud though.

It may have taken the Best Pizza Ever award.

We also ate Thai, Indian and Italian (no pictures I'm sorry), thereby navigating the world whilst skipping over Australia. I was disappointed to discover that Sirens, the acclaimed vegetarian / vegan eatery, had closed - apparently just in May this year. I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to experience a dedicated vegetarian restaurant.

Jackson & McRoss Bakery in Battery Point, a 5 minute walk from where we stayed, went some way towards making up for the loss of Sirens. Bustling with customers and showcasing amazing breads and cakes, it was a delightful hybrid of bakery and cafe.

Of course, Hobart offers so much more than that mentioned here. But I think visiting is required in order to absorb it all, and that I would unhesitatingly recommend.

Previous Tasmanian posts: Launceston, Cradle Mountain, and the West and East Coasts.

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Tasmanian reflections: West and East coasts

I am deviating from chronological order here, because Hobart deserves a post of its own, but fell between our exploration of the West and East sides of Tasmania.

Fortunately, I think I'm allowed to break chronological order on my own blog.

After leaving Cradle Mountain, we wound our way down the West Coast to Strahan, stopping briefly at Zeehan and Queenstown en route.

Map courtesy of Google

Zeehan was once, apparently, the third largest town in Tasmania. I'm embarrassed to admit we did not take a single photo. I can describe it most aptly as a ghost town: we saw no one on the streets, no cars moving, very few shops or open places, and the only signs of life were on the way in when we passed some mining accommodation.

The entire West coast has experienced a dramatic fall in fortune since the mining booms of the 1890s to early 1900s ended. For us, Zeehan captured that fall most succinctly.

In Queenstown, we found an actual town, with people and shops, which was a slight relief. It had a faded feel to it, but it did feel present.

The barren hills on the way out of town also provide a stark reminder of the toll mining took on the environment: smelter fumes killed the vegetation and some decades later, they are yet to recover.

Hills around Queenstown. Spot the effects of mining? 

It was with some relief that we found Strahan to be sleepy, quiet and with few shops or restaurants, but nonetheless nice in a small town way.

I think most people use Strahan as a base for taking a Gordon River cruise, which are one of the few (but very expensive) ways to get into the midst of the Franklin-Gordon River national park. We didn't do this, so pottered around the small town centre and waterfront instead. We had only one night in Strahan, and this was probably sufficient in the off season!

After Strahan, we drove through the middle of Tasmania, along the northern edge of the Franklin-Gordon National Park, to Lake St Clair. 

This forms the bottom of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park and is where Overland Track walkers would finish their journey.

 

Franklin Gordon Rivers national park

We stayed a night at (tiny) Derwent Bridge, which allowed us to visit the lake, and have the place almost entirely to ourselves as the light faded and dusk fell.

 

Lake St Clair

After our time in Hobart, and a visit to Port Arthur, we then wound up the East coast. 

Map courtesy of Google

The East is reported to be warmer  and more peopled than its western equivalent. We found this to be true, although we had clear weather on both sides of the state.

We stayed at Bicheno, mostly using the town as a base for visiting the Freycinet national park just south of Coles Bay. 

The Freycinet peninsula includes the acclaimed Wineglass Bay, with the view from the Wineglass Bay lookout reportedly the most photographed vista in Australia. Given the lookout is a steep 45 minute climb uphill, this is quite a statistic! 

Wineglass Bay is actually around the corner, but the view from this peak was quite impressive too

Unfortunately, the lookout itself was closed for repairs when we visited. But as we had planned to walk down to the bay and beach itself, it didn't matter too much (the lookout point branches off the main path).

The beach was beautiful.

 

The following day we also walked along the Bicheno beachfront, in sparkling sunshine...

 Bicheno Blowhole, blowing!

...before ultimtaely driving back to Launceston for our flight home.

There was one final treat in store on that drive (hint: it involves food!), but that will appear another day.

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Tasmanian reflections: Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain, at the northern end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The national park covers 161,000 hectares and includes the 65km Overland track, which allows walkers to travel through the park from Cradle Mountain in the north to Lake St Clair in the south.

The Cradle Mountain area was a highlight of our two weeks away, and whilst different to what I was expecting (in a way I struggle to articulate), really was incredibly beautiful.

The national park itself is set slightly away from the accommodation options and visitors centre, and there is no town or focal point in the vicinity. There is also no phone reception for most mobile phones, making it  feel a world away from day-to-day life.

We stayed in a self-catering cabin (Cradle Mountain Highlanders Cottages), which was heated beautifully by a pot belly fire, and used the free Parks and Wildlife service shuttle bus to travel from there to the national park area.

Cradle Mountain Highlanders Cottage

On our first full day in the area, we woke to sunshine and frost - perfect walking weather - and embarked on a 'moderate' grade, 3 hour walk encompassing Crater Lake and Wombat Pool and then returning to Dove Lake.

A wombat welcomed us as we set off...

Traversing through scrub...

and then forest...

to ultimately reach this...

Crater Lake, carved by ice during the ice ages.

Beautiful.

On the next day, we did the easier and shorter Dove Lake circuit, which was less dramatic but still impressive.

Fruit, snack bars (for me) and biscuits (for Mr Bite) came on our walks, and stopping to rest and re-fuel in the middle of a forest, or on top of a mountain, was certainly enjoyable.

Being winter, we also tended to have places to ourselves - a distinct advantage and one that made the cold temperatures worthwhile!

Have you been to any national parks that have stuck in your memory? Or even taken any multi-day walks?

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Tasmanian reflections: Launceston

As my last post may have indicated, we're back from Tasmania. It really was a beautiful state to explore, and the mostly clear winter weather was the perfect backdrop to amazing scenes and sights. There were some very cold days, and some rain and hail, but the majority of the time we had clear skies and sunshine - and places almost to ourselves. Perfect.

To avoid a Tasmania overload, I might spread photos and reflections over several posts and weeks. For today? Let's start at the beginning.

Days 1 to 3: Launceston and surrounds

Tasmania's second largest city was surprisingly small - considerably smaller than the capital, Hobart - but nonetheless quite appealing in a small scale way. The water front area, central city park, and impressive cataract gorge were highlights that made our 2 days there worthwhile.

Impressive drinking fountain in City Park

The City Park includes a (free) Macaque monkey enclosure

Launceston waterfront

Cataract Gorge

Cataract Gorge chairlift

Cataract Gorge gardens

The cataract gorge cafe also provided me with the best spinach and pumkin salad I have ever tasted. Multiple varieties of perfectly roasted warm pumpkin, topped with crispy pumpkin shavings, combined for an amazing lunch. The salad would usually have come with fetta and dressing, but I asked for no fetta and dressing on the side, and found there was no need for any extra flavour.

Mr Bite also enjoyed his vegetarian pide, from the same cafe, leaving us both satisfied and rather full when we headed off.

After Launceston we drove to Cradle Mountain via Deloraine, which provided us with a Woolworths at which to stock up for our Cradle Mountain self-catering plans. I really find shopping at unfamiliar supermarkets amazingly fun, even when it's the same chain that we have at home.

A little way out of Deloraine was the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, where we had a late lunch that could have almost been described as afternoon tea (a scenario we repeated several times on the trip...).

Mr Bite ordered scones whilst I had crumpets, but the two turned out to be surprisingly similar as my crumpets were nothing like crumpets I've previously seen!

I was curious enough to ask about them, but was simply told they made them with yeast, flour and milk (clearly not vegan then) which didn't do much to enlighten me. I do have a vague sense that South African crumpets may be more scone-like than the English variety I'm used to (which have bubbly holes on one side of them), but I think more research awaits me. Does anyone know?

Irrespective, the crumpets were enjoyable, as was the berry jam and my accompanying raspberry lemon herbal tea.

After our berry lunch, it was on to Cradle Mountain national park - which definitely deserves its own post. I'll save that for another day, but will note that the first picture of my last post was taken on one of our walks there.

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