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Champagne Coast
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By: Kathryn Heyman, Issue 35 – Winter 2008
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(Maria Island Walk – Tasmania, Australia)
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IF GUCCI MADE HIKING BOOTS THIS WOULD BE THE TRIP TO WEAR THEM ON – A WALKING TOUR THAT COMBINES LUXURY WITH TASMANIA’S STUNNING NATURAL BEAUTY.
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I step out of the small dinghy that is pulled up onto a deserted beach stretching as far as I can see. Beneath my feet the sand is cool, the water lapping the shore as clear as liquid glass. Here, on this Maria Island beach, the explorer Nicolas Boudin first landed in 1802; I am already transported to somewhere astonishing. Today, the Maria Island Walk is a luxury guided walk across this small pocket of outstanding natural beauty and fascinating history off the coast of Tasmania. Ahead of us, a luxury camp is waiting. Camp. Hike. Luxury. Odd words to sit together perhaps, but this walk claims to bring these apparent oppositions comfortably together.
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It's a few kilometres across a narrow isthmus to the Casuarina Beach Camp, our home for the night, and we lunch on the way with a picnic of fresh turkish pide bread filled with prosciutto, sun-dried tomato pesto, and boccocini. After leaving our packs at the first camp we take the eight kilometre walk through high eucalypt forest to Haunted Bay, where red cliffs slice into the sea, alive with the history of whalers and early explorers.
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Here, the world could be millions of miles away. Fairy penguins are huddled in small holes on the cliff side, waiting for the adults to head back from the sea, their soft peeping the only accompaniment to the music of the waves.
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Each camp has been architecturally designed with beauty and eco-principles in mind. A series of raised boardwalks allow the flora to grow around the site, and each building merges elegantly into its surrounds. The dining 'tent' – really a domed bedouin glory – has a wide deck, and it's here that Stefan, our guide, serves a plate of Tasmanian cheeses and antipasto. I opt for a glass of chilled Wellington Riesling, and as the sun sets, a pair of pademelons scuttle across my path.
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Our knowledgeable guides are also gourmet chefs, and dinner is by candlelight. As we feast on pan-fried scallops and subtly sauced risotto, the conversation turns from walking, to travel, to books, and current affairs. The wine flows, and our shadows laugh on the walls. Each sleeping cabin is set on a raised platform, with a curved canopy blending into the trees, and giving a sense of space and natural comfort. When I slip into my silk sleeping sheet, hearing the soft sounds of the sea and the purr of the bush, I feel kissed by nature.
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Day two of the walk is known as 'five beaches day', but we begin by walking inland, across high pastoral fields, and past a line of ruined convict cells. As we sit for a lunch of fresh salade nicoise, we hear a scuffling in the low bushes next to us. A pair of ridiculously photogenic wombats are nosing around, and they then wander casually up the hill, seemingly indifferent to our gasps and whispered excitement. Back on the coast, we watch the line of shimmering blue ocean curving around into the distance. After many years of travelling, I thought I'd seen the world's most beautiful beaches, but I hadn't – until now. Crescents of untouched shoreline lined with fine, pale sand edge onto water that shifts from blue to green. I slip off my shoes and walk through the soft water, stopping every now and then to look at perfectly marked scallop shells.
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After a blissful day's walking, we arrive at the white gums camp and head straight down to the horseshoe-shaped private beach, before settling down to watch the sunset with a smooth Bream Creek Pinot Noir. In the morning, we set off for Darlington, the island's 'town', and arrive at the restored home of nineteenth century entrepreneur Diego Bernacchi. Four of us continue on to climb the nearby summit of Bishop and Clerk. We stroll up a smoothly grazed hill, and then continue up through ghostly white gums. Near the summit, the path gives way to smooth boulders, and then to the tabletop flat rock summit. Heart thumping, I gaze down at the surrounds, literally feeling that I am on top of the world. Below us there's the flash of sail by a nearby island, and a line of dolphins out to sea; we can see the whole of the island, stretching across to the Freycinet Peninsula. With the sun beating down, warming the rocks, we sit in sublime peace watching the sea eagles soaring. On Maria, time seems to change.
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Our evening feast of Huon Valley salmon on caper mash is served in the dining room of Bernacchi House. After three days of adventure, we are full of talk and laughter, all of us re-energised and pampered with superb food. We spend the final morning marveling at the fossils at the nearby Fossil Cliffs and delighting in a flock of rare Cape Barren geese. When a brief period of drizzle sets in, we wander through the stunning Coffee Palace, built by Bernacchi in his brief bid to turn the island into an Australian Riviera, and take a turn at the original pianola. Restored, we finish our four miraculous days with a champagne toast to our exceptional guides, and to two words that don't often go together: Luxury Walks. The tagline of the Maria Island Walk is 'Four days that will last a lifetime', and it's not an exaggeration.
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Details:
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Maria Island Walk
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