Christmas in Tasmania

 We have just returned from a whirlwind Christmas break in Tasmania.  It was just six days from when we left to when we returned but what an amazing journey it was.  We had every range of temperature possible, from a balmy 31 degrees in Palm Cove on the day we departed and the day we left Lake St Clair it was a freezing -0.5 degrees!  

We meet our friends Lynn and Graham in the Virgin Lounge at Brisbane where we waited for our direct flight from Brisbane to Launceston.  We decided to live it up in Business Class for our 2.5 hour flight to Launceston and it was a good choice as our flight was late in the evening and included a delicious hot meal. We arrived into Launceston around 9pm and Lynn had arranged a private transfer for the duration of our stay.  We quickly found our driver and were in our hotel room by 10pm.  We had time for a nightcap but were tucked up in our beds before midnight.

The next day - Christmas Eve - our driver was booked to pick us up at 11am for our transfer to Lake St Clair. After our continental breakfast we took to the streets for a walk around downtown Launceston.  We all had things to purchase but Lynn and I couldn't resist a browse in Forever New and of course we didn't leave empty handed. 😉 The morning passed very quickly and we had no sooner arrived back at our hotel  when our driver arrived.  He informed us that it was about a 2.5 hour drive to Lake St Clair and as our check in time wasn't until 2.00pm we asked that he stop for lunch somewhere along the route.  This place was Derwent Bridge at the Hungry Possum Cafe where we were fully satiated.  Lynn and I both share a love of hot chips and the bowl that we ordered as a side were up there with the best!

Arriving at our destination - Pumphouse Point, Lake St Clair - was a real eye opener.  It was beautiful and the setting amongst the wilderness backdrop was perfect. We had an "induction" before making our way along the 250 metre jetty to our accomodation in the old Pumphouse building.  It was gorgeous and the heritage building has been beautifully restored to accomodate the eight (I think) rooms across three floors. Additional accomodation is available in the main building on the shoreline but I think our ground floor rooms in the Pumphouse were the pick overall.  

The heritage listed Pumphouse Building where we stayed

I took this photo on our last morning when it was below freezing 

We made our way to our rooms and arranged to meet at 5.00pm for Sundowners before making our way to the main building for dinner at 6.30pm.  The lodge has many "honesty" bars scattered throughout the complex where you chose you beverage and simply write it down on pen and paper supplied for each room.  It worked very well.  All meals are included in the tariff.  Breakfast was a hot and cold buffet and lunch was a picnic hamper - think cold cuts, cheeses and condiments - with a loaf of Sourdough delivered to your room at the time you specify. The picnic hampers were already in the fridge in our room on arrival.  Dinner was the main meal and always consisted of three courses.  Every meal was perfect and Pumphouse Point used only the freshest locally sourced produce.  The four of us were seated at large tables and we enjoyed the company of new people each night.

One of many honesty bars adjoining the lounge area

This is one of several lounge areas and we were lucky enough to have this area right outside our door

None of us are ones for sitting around although I still enjoyed a bit of down time to read when the others decided to take out E-Bikes for a cycle around the area.  They rode to Derwent Bridge where beers and cheers were in order.  We also walked the lake circuit on Christmas Day that took us around two hours for the 9km return walk.  It was a cold day but we soon warmed up on this walk and enjoyed our "picnic lunch" back at the lodge.  We didn't over indulge though as we knew we were going to be served a large six course Christmas Dinner!

Walking the 9km Lake Circuit

Christmas Menu

Every guest had this lovely Hamper waiting outside their door on Christmas morning

The time passed very quickly although we all commented that three nights here was the perfect amount of time and it was lovely to be with our friends to while away the hours.  It is a very special place and I'm sure we will return to the area if not Pumphouse Point.  We are all still planning a caravan tour of Tasmania but are now just waiting for more certainty with Covid restrictions and who knows when that will be.

Here we are standing at exactly the middle of Tasmania

Oaks Kitchen Cooking School

I'm a bit of a lover of cooking schools as I almost always pick up a new technique or skill so when my hairdresser recommended Oaks Kitchen Cooking School, I was in! I contacted our friends to see if they wanted to join us.  Of course they did.

So last week we all jumped in our little Zuke and hit the road to Oak Beach located halfway between Port Douglas and Palm Cove.  It is a beautiful area and the climate in that particular spot seems to be perfect for kitchen gardens.  Oaks Kitchen pride themselves in providing from their garden a large percentage of the food that they use in their menus.

As soon as all the participants arrived we were shown around the garden by Chef Ben. The garden itself is no till, no chemical and plants are allowed to roam freely and are very healthy.  They have a lot of companion planting of different flowers to attract all the beneficial insects and also gives the garden an almost cottage feel.

We didn't spend a lot of time in the garden as it was quite a hot day and none of us had thought to bring a hat.  Back in the open plan kitchen we were presented with the menu that would prepare.

The first course was Betel Leaf wrapped crab followed by Silken "Tofu" in a chilli sauce and the third course was a fish curry.  All our ingredients were carefully laid out on a separate table and once we had gathered them it was a simply a matter of watching Ben and then going back to our space to prepare.  There was a fair amount of pounding in the Mortar and Pestle and a little chopping but the end results were amazing.

Betel Leaf wrapped crab meat

None of us were totally in love with the "Tofu" that was made from Buckwheat Flour and water that was allowed to set, but the sauce that we poured over the pretend tofu was delicious and the suggestion by Chef Ben to serve it wrapped in sweet potato leaves was ingenious!

"Tofu" with Chilli Sauce and Sweet Potato Leaf

The fish curry was probably our favourite closely followed by the Betel Leaf Crab.  

Fish Curry

We learnt how to adapt the recipes to suit our personal taste.  Some of us don't like chilli as much as others while Philip and I don't like coriander as much as others.  We simply added less of the ingredient we didn't like.  It is amazing how much Asian food can be adjusted. Understanding the different ingredients used to balance the five tastes of Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter and Unami has you well on the way to producing a top class asian dish. This is a great article describing the Secret Five Tastes.

Socialising

Last weekend was a busy and very social weekend for us.  Friday evening we joined our forever friends Kate and Mike for a wedding anniversary dinner at Temple of Taste Restaurant at Sea Temple Resort.  We had not been back to Sea Temple since Marco and Suzi's wedding almost 10 years ago! As we wandered through the beautifully landscaped gardens to the restaurant we just knew that we were going to be in for a treat.  Friends recommended the restaurant  to us as they had dined there recently where out of their group of 6, not one single person did not enjoy their meal.

The menu is Asian inspired with almost every dish accompanied by a side salad including asian herbs. Now, my readers would know I'm not a great lover of coriander (tastes like stink beetles to me) so I had to put this aversion to one side for the night because there was a lot of coriander!  

Both Philip and I ordered the soft shell crab for starters and for my main I chose the 12 hour cooked lamb and Philip chose the Barramundi.  

My lamb was a bit on the dry side and the two sauces on the plate were slightly contradictory but I still would have given it a 6/10. Philip said his Barramundi was delicious but his accompanying sauce was very spicy.  I tasted it and had to agree with him although I don't mind a bit of spice. Would I recommend this restaurant, yes with reservations.  The meal was very pricey and the food was okay but it is the overall ambience of the restaurant that gets a 7/10.

The next day we drove to Port Douglas where we had invites to three functions. Our first function on the Saturday night was cancelled at the last minute as one of our group had a very bad fall from her bike and was taken to Cairns Base for CT scans.  We were disappointed and thankfully Angie is now recovering albeit with a lot of bruising.  As we were already dressed to go out we headed to The Tin Shed for drinks and a shared Seafood Platter.  It was a perfect choice as we sat and watched the boats sail in and out of Dicksons Inlet. It was a picture perfect evening.

On Sunday we had organised to catch up with our friends Annette and Mark from Mossman for lunch.  Philip went to school with Mark so they have been in our life for a very long time.  We always love catching up with them and all their news.  We meet at the Courthouse Hotel and all enjoyed eating the Courty's Ceasar Salad with Chicken and Smoked Salmon.  I forgot to get photos but wow it was very delicious and the perfect choice for a lunch on a hot day.  I am still a non-drinker and l'm finding that there are lots of choices now for non-drinkers thank goodness.

We sat over our meal for almost three hours until we had to excuse ourselves for our next function.  This was an informal gathering of Philips cycling friends and their partners for a bit of Christmas Cheer.  Reub and Karen have a lovely home that sits right on Four Mile Beach and there are not too many homes in Port Douglas that can claim that luxury.  Shoes were discarded as we walked into the lovely home and directed to the drinks table.  Rueb and Karen provided lots of delicious food during the afternoon including delicious  finger sandwiches.  The party was eventually broken up by a storm that moved in from the ocean.  It was a bit of scramble to move everyone undercover and it was at this point that we said our farewells. The drive home was a bit of a nightmare with torrential rain for most of the way but that is the way of the tropics the we love so much.  

Judi xx