Tasmanian Choices

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday July 15, 2008

GR

The Launceston Country Club offers plenty of holiday options -

and there's even more to do if you want to leave the property.

There are always plenty of things to do on holidays - simply rest up,

perhaps some fine dining and wine experiences, a game of golf, tennis

or squash, catch a movie, some fishing, horse riding, bush walks to

meet the wildlife, a trip to a casino, some good entertainment or even a gym

workout to raise a sweat.

At the Country Club Tasmania, on the outskirts of Launceston, visitors can

do all these things without even leaving the property, plus it is a good stepping

off point for visits to the acclaimed wine region of the Tamar Valley and the

winding mountain forest roads of north-east Tasmania.

With cheap airfares to Launceston still available even in these times of high

petrol prices, three or four days in Australias southern state provides a great

break that wont bust the bank.

The Country Club is a one-stop holiday shop, among its attractions

five restaurants, four bars, a cinema and a boutique casino. Its main

accommodation area has 88 rooms and 16 five-star suites, while its Country

Club Villa section has 78 four-star one, two and three bedroom villas for

touring families and couples.

Its championship 18-hole golf course - plus a driving range - meanders

around a picturesque lake, which is filled with more than lost golf balls - its

also stocked with rainbow and brown trout, with equipment and lessons

available to all guests who want to try fly fishing.

As well as golf, theres tennis and squash courts, a very well-equipped gym

with a heated pool, and guests can saddle up and explore the countryside by

horse on trail rides through the bush of the 145-hectare property.

If you cant spot any wildlife on horseback, then its sometimes as simple as

looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows as you walk the resort corridors

to see wallabies looking back at you from the other side of the glass.

The Country Club is only five minutes from Launceston and its attractions,

including Cataract Gorge, where theres a dozen walking and hiking trails, as

well as the worlds longest single-span chairlift, cafes and restaurant, lookouts,

a swimming pool, an interpretation centre, abseiling and rock climbing.

Another Launceston attraction worth a look is J. Boag & Sons historic

brewery, where tours are held each weekday from the brewhouse to the

packaging line, finishing with a tasting.

Launceston provides a great kick-off spot for some of the other attractions of

north and north-east Tasmania. Its a relatively easy days drive up the Tasman

Highway and out to St Helens and St Marys on the north-east coast, looping

back to Launceston, or north along the banks of the Tamar River to George

The golf

course lake

is filled with

more than lost

golf balls - its

stocked with

rainbow and

brown trout

for guests who

want to try

trout fishing.

>> 15 >>

Town and Low Head, crossing the Batman Bridge on the way back to return to

Launceston on the other side of the river past many of the Tamar Valley vineyards.

The winding forest drive to the north east takes you through Scottsdale, the largest

town in north-east Tasmania that has nearby Nabowla, home to the largest lavender

farm in the southern hemisphere.

Derby was once home to the largest open-cut tin mine in the southern

hemisphere, and the face of the open cut is still visible. The town now relies heavily

on tourism, with a mining museum and craft and antique shops.

The road passes a historic Chinese cemetery before reaching the rich farming area

around Pyengana, home to the Pynegana Cheese factory, and a little further along a

turnoff Tasmanias famous Pub in the Paddock - officially the St Columba Hotel (circa

1880) - virtually in the middle of nowhere with its famous beer-drinking pig, Priscilla,

who can scull a watered-down stubby in seven seconds.

Just a few more minutes down the turnoff - where, sadly, a few Tasmanian Devils

are seen as roadkill - are the St Columba Falls, arguably Tasmanias tallest, which

tumble nearly 90-metres from the Mt Victoria foothills to the valley floor. The falls

can be seen from the road or close up via a delightful but fairly steep 15-minute

walk through a virtual jungle of tree ferns, sassafras and myrtle, to a viewing

platform at the base.

A little further down the road are the Ralph Falls.

Theres an abundance of wildlife on view for the rest of the trip through the small

seaside villages of St Helens, Scamander and, a little further inland, St Marys.

The northern trip from Launceston along the banks of the Tamar finishes at Low

Head, where you can stand in the sharp winds at the lighthouse and pilot station,

established in 1805, and gaze into the wild Bass Strait, and in the evenings take the

nearby penguin tour to see fairy penguins scuttle from the cold water where they

spend their days into the bushes to get a nights rest.

On the way back from Low Head, take the Batman Bridge to return to Launceston

along the other side of the Tamar.

Once across the river you can either turn right, to have a look at the Grubb Shaft

Gold and Heritage Museum at Beaconsfield, or the Platypus House or Seahorse

World at Beauty Point, or left to return directly to Launceston through the Tamar

Valley vineyards, with a detour if you want to face the challenge of a formal hedge

maze at the Glengarry Bush Maze.

Seahorse World is the worlds first seahorse farm and has more seahorses on

display than anywhere else in the world.

Platypus House offers the chance to watch both live platypuses and echidnas in

daylight and undercover.

WINE LISTAWARD

The Terrace Restaurant at Country Club

Tasmania has been recognised as having

one of the most outstanding wine lists in

the world.

The restaurant has been awarded

two goblets in the international Wine

Spectator magazine annual wine list

awards, one of only seven restaurants

in Australia to receive two goblets, and

among only 748 awarded world wide. It

was the only Tasmanian restaurant to be

recognised.

It has a wide range of wines from

around the world and features a large

range of iconic Australian shiraz, including

Penfolds Grange dating back to 1971.

The restaurants food-and-wine

experience has been enhanced with the

opening last year of a new Tasmanian

blackwood, temperature controlled,

2400-bottle wine room.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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