The pit stop: Dunalley
Canal-side Dunalley has put the horrors of the 2013 bushfires behind it and is now firmly stamping itself as a gourmet stop on the drive to turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, writes Andrew Bain.
Eat
Dining at the newly renamed Dunalley Bay Distillery, Eat & Drink (formerly the Dunalley Seaside Market) is like casting back in time – think paper-wrapped fish and chips on wooden tables looking over the sea (and maybe seals) in a setting seemingly transplanted from the Canadian Maritimes. And now with attached distillery to boot.
Shop
Tucked into a fold of Dunalley’s small shopping centre, The Lanterns is a breakfast cafe with a solid sideline as a providore. Among the wall of goods are foodstuffs as local as garlic honey roasted cashews from Koonya, along with the likes of pepperberry cheese popcorn, mushroom miso, McHenry Sloe Paste and locally made alpaca beanies and small-batch homewares.
See
In 1905, Australia’s only purpose-built sea canal was cut through the isthmus connecting Dunalley to the Forestier Peninsula. A foreshore walkway, with two lookout platforms overhanging the canal, runs almost the length of the 895m Denison Canal. It begins near the swing bridge to the large Tasman Monument, erected in 1942 to commemorate 300 years since Abel Tasman’s nearby landing – the only place he set foot in Tasmania – in 1642.
Drink
Cross the canal and turn into one of Tasmania’s most storied farms to find wine in place of wool at the Bangor Vineyard Shed. The cellar door sits to one side, or you can grab a glass of something red, white or pink and sit out at the railing for views over the vines to Blackman Bay and Dunalley.
Stay
Stained glass, sandstone, sauna… it’s the accommodation holy trinity at the renovated, heritage-listed St Martin’s of Tasmania. The large wooden deck provides an elevated view over Blackman Bay, and the garden sauna is glass-fronted for more views. Expect a log fire, galley kitchen and pews as dining chairs.