Power house ... Couples visiting Tarraleah can stay at the luxurious Lodge Source: No credit
THE people who have transformed the old hydro-electric construction village of Tarraleah in Tasmania's remote Central Highlands have achieved the impossible: they've written a hotel compendium that's fun to read.
Flipping through, I'm surprised to learn that the duvet on the king-size bed is "stuffed with pure silk by hundreds of little fairies who live at the bottom of the garden''. Then they admit that only the first part is true.Further on, I discover that the local trout refer to the on-site angling store as "the heart of darkness'', so I should "tackle up and look the part, because you need to be at your best when you're up against a creature with a brain the size of a pea''.
It makes a refreshing change from the usual guff about how to work the sound system and where to find the iron, although they tell you that too.
But the truly remarkable achievement at this spectacular highland site, perched on the edge of a 600 metre cliff near the geographical centre of Tasmania, is how the entire village has been rescued from the slow downhill slide of 40 years of benign neglect.
In the 1930s, no expense was spared when the township of Tarraleah was carved out of the wilderness by Tasmania's all-powerful Hydro-Electric Commission. Senior on-site engineers were accommodated in a row of solidly-built California bungalows while visiting heavies from the aptly-named Power Branch stayed in the Staff House, a fine art deco lodge.
When construction of power developments in the region ended in the 1960s, the village, with its houses, school, church and theatre, began a gentle decline into obscurity and disrepair.
There have been a couple of interesting attempts to revive the place. During the past decade Tarraleah has been the tree-change dream of a Western Australian wheat farmer and the professional abode of one "Leah from Tarraleah'', a daringly decadent Darwin dominatrix.
The farmer moved on to greener pastures and the madame vanished.
Tarraleah has every kind of accommodation, from $12 unpowered van sites to superlative $600 hotel suites that feature original artworks, the aforementioned silk-filled duvets and $500 clock radios, not to mention "chromatherapy'' spa baths with multi-coloured underwater lights.
It is a self-contained mountain village, with its own store, pub, bistro and restaurant, along with a wide range of accommodation in between the two extremes.
As well as the caravan park there's The Last Bunk, a backpacker hostel; the split-level en suite units of Scholars, in the old schoolhouse; and the beautifully restored Cottages, complete with authentic furniture from the art deco period. The village also has Tasmania's highest golf course, a fully-equipped gym and a squash court. Oh, and there's a herd of pure-bred Highland cattle.
But it's The Lodge, in the refurbished original Staff House, that's the star attraction.
Along with the creature comforts already noted, a library houses Australia's biggest collection of single malts, more than 120 of them, displayed on a wall of amber delights.
As The Lodge's resident kilted Scot, genial manager Niall Mitchell guides me on a one-hour tasting of six selected malts ($85), I reflect that there are only 114 or so more to try.
Close by is a clifftop bath-house, exclusively for Lodge guests. My wife and I are long-time aficionados of open-air bathing, so we push back the glass doors and enjoy fresh highland air and magnificent views across the valley from the soothing warmth of the tub.
Guests at The Lodge can choose to dine together at Wildside Restaurant - we struggle through the wine list of 300 local, interstate and international vintages, and make new friends over a fine degustation menu that highlights fine Tasmanian produce.
Trout fishing is one of the best reasons to stay at Tarraleah - the highland lakes offer superb sight-fishing for wild brown trout. Guided angling tours and tuition are Tarraleah specialties. But we find there are plenty of other activities to try.
A noisy flock of yellow-tailed black cockatoos follows us closely through tall eucalypt forest on the half-hour walk to Tarraleah Falls; we count more than 30 of them, their screeching calls shattering the silence of the bush.
Next visit we plan to try the breakfast bike ride (it's all downhill from anywhere in Tarraleah) to spot a platypus and enjoy a riverside barbecue; we'll see the world over the bow of a kayak on the Secret Lakes paddling trip; and we'll meet some more locals on an evening wildlife stroll.
The Sunday Telegraph
source:news.com.au
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét