FOOD & DRINK —
EPICUREAN ISLAND CHEF MARK BEST VISITS THE FOOD HEROES WHO ARE PUTTING TASMANIA ON THE MAP
F
lying South from Melbourne, it doesn’t take long before we leave the coast of Victoria behind and swoop over the wild green seas of Bass Strait to the Northern tip of Tasmania. Even from the comfort of the pressurised cabin, it still gives me pause to stop and think that it is only the Apple Isle that lies between me and Antarctica. As our Dash 8 drops through the cloud and turns up the Tamar River Valley, I spy patches of emerald green land broken by creeks and dams and tiny red and green roofs of tile and tin. The wetland reed beds bordering the river banks give way to vineyards, apple orchards and pastures freckled with black faced sheep and white faced cattle. Founded in 1806, my destination of Launceston, is one of Australia’s oldest cities. With a population of 86,000 the small city is situated at the junction of where the North Esk and South Esk shake hands and become the Tamar River. The Tamar (known as kanamaluka in the indigenous language) is 70km
The island of Tasmania.
76
Travel By Lightfoot | www.travelbylightfoot.com
