We didn’t have to drive very far, after we collected our hire car this morning, to get to where we will spend three nights in a self-contained chalet at Tamar Ridge Winery near Grindewald. We were driven through the area yesterday on our commercial wine tour, so we had a fair idea of how to get here.
We are both thrilled with our rental car. We were expecting a small Kia, but ended up with an almost brand new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. We are currently looking into buying an electric vehicle, but the ‘wait’ times are ridiculous at the moment. I wasn’t keen on buying a hybrid, but this might change our minds.
Brady’s Lookout was once the hideout for Tasmania’s most well-known bushranger Matthew Brady. We got beautiful views up and down the Tamar River from here. If you followed the river behind me, you would reach Bass Strait to the north.
Apparently Brady was extremely good looking, and won the hearts of many local lasses and married women. Sadly that did not help him escape hanging. After two years of hiding out here, he was eventually caught by John Batman (the founder of Melbourne) in 1826.
We then drove to Exeter to get some (more) information from a helpful Visitor Centre staff member before driving to the famous Swiss Village at Grindewald.
We had thought we might have lunch here, but we found out that the chef had called in sick!
So, we drove on to the Tamar Ridge winery for a tasting and a cheese platter for lunch, which turned out to be an excellent decision.
Here for a very reasonable price of $10, we could select three of their wines each.
Their bubbles were great.
Actually, all of their wines were great, but we didn’t buy any as we are staying only a few hundred metres away from here, and we can return at any time between 10am and 5pm.
After settling into our accommodation – which looks fantastic, as do the views from here, we did some much needed washing and planning for our next few days, before one more ‘tasting’ activity.
There is also an award-winning gin distillery on site here. Called Turner Stillhouse, it recently won The Best Gin at an International Fair in America.
This sign greets you as you enter.
This distillery is well known for its Three Cuts Gin.
Of course we had to visit for a tasting before returning to our chalet for a home-cooked steak, mushrooms and asparagus. And a glass of wine of course.
Let’s just say that Mick is very impressed with my choice of accommodation!
We will use this as a base to explore some more wineries over the next few days.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 