When travelling, I normally avoid tours, workshops, and similar activities. That’s not travel advice: you should always take advantage of any safe experiences that will give you a richer sense of place, people and history. I’m just not temperamentally suited to them, preferring to walk the streets of a strange city alone or lurk in the forgotten corners of some provincial art gallery or museum or peruse the unvisited poetry section in a small bookstore’s basement. (Camping’s not my thing, either.)

So it may surprise you to know how much I enjoyed jumping out of my comfort zone on a recent trip to the north and north-west of Tasmania. It certainly gave me a greater appreciation for the care and patience that goes into traditional crafts and industries…

Waverley Mills, Launceston

An Australian classic, Launceston’s Waverley Mills — founded in 1874 by Scottish migrant Peter Bulman at Distillery Creek — is Australia’s last fully vertical woollen mill. The washing, carding, spinning, dyeing, weaving and finishing is all done onsite, making the Mill Tour Experience essential. As we move from the raw fleece, sorting through the spinning and weaving to the finished product in the mill’s own store, I’m as fascinated by the colours of the dyed wools as I am by the textures and the new and old machinery whirring and clicking side by side. I love the architecture of the mill itself, too, a similar mix of period styles. In the shop, I fondle the Tasmanian Merino and recycled wool blankets, shawls, scarves and cushion covers, as well as the alpaca throws. Alas, my bank and baggage allowances keep my impulse to buy big in check. My travelling companions are less restrained.

FermentHQ, Legana

Just outside Launceston in the Tamar Valley, we enjoy an extensive tour of the fermentation innovation hub FermentHQ, followed by wine tasting and sourdough bread making. Chair Kim Seagram AM — who is also a co-owner of Stillwater Restaurant, where we’re soon to dine, and founder of Harvest Launceston farmer’s market — is our host. We move through the hub’s seven specialised zones, which include brewing, baking and dairy production facilities as well as a research lab and teaching kitchen. Seagram talks about the public fermentation workshops as technical tourism. I think about that as Natalie Moore guides us through making our very own — might I say, delicious — sourdough bread.

Pipers Brook Truffles, Pipers Brook

How much fun it is to be out and about with Ian St Jack and his friendly truffle dog Diego, digging for the black gold! Ian and his wife Katherine originally hail from near Manjimup in WA but a Tasmanian holiday convinced them to move. An electrician by trade, Ian has mastered not just the art of truffle farming (Perigord truffles) but cooking, as the excellent lunch he prepares for us proves — cheeses, breads and truffle oil, homemade pie, fresh vegetables. Yum! There is also on-site accommodation — Pipers Lodge — for those looking for a tranquil, secluded stay in a glorious part of Tasmania. If you’re lucky, as I was, you might just get to ride in the back of a buggy with Diego.

House of Arras, Pipers River

We’d already met House of Arras’ genial and knowledgeable cellar door manager William Doggett at Pipers Brook Truffles — the two offer a Truffle Hunt, Lunch & Wine Masterclass joint experience. The lunch, we’d had. Now it was time for the masterclass, and a bit of vine pruning. I admit the former was lost on me: I’m not a regular wine drinker. But I did appreciate William’s clear passion for, and mastery of, his subject, both scientific and historical. Chief winemaker Ed Carr founded House of Arras in 1995; in 2024, he was named international sparkling winemaker of the year. He was the first Australian to win the title — which tells you something. The pruning, I loved, mostly as it gave me an opportunity to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the surrounding countryside.

West Coast Wilderness Railway, Queenstown/Strahan

Gathering at Queenstown Station, we swap the morning mist for the locomotive’s steam as we board a beautifully restored carriage for a scenic train ride to Rinadeena Station and back. The West Coast Wilderness Railway is steeped in history. Gold prospectors found copper at Mount Lyell in 1881; thanks to mine owner Bowes Kelly’s adoption of Swiss engineer Carl Roman Abt’s rack-and-pinion-system, the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was able to get locomotives up grades too steep for normal railways. The Murchison Highway made the line redundant until a $20 million restoration brought it back into service in 2002.

It’s quite magnificent — the heritage trains, the scenery, everything. Even the activities which await us at Lynchford Station (gold panning) and Rinadeena Station (intensive outdoor breathwork) add to the richness of the experience. Not to mention the progressive dining component of the trip, curated by Lilly Trewartha. My favourite is definitely Alpine Kitchen’s truffle toastie, made with wholegrain rye bread, housemade mozzarella, gouda, and alpine cheese.

Perhaps I need to rethink my aversion to tours, workshops and similar activities in the future.

+ Will Yeoman was a guest of Tourism Tasmania. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

+ Waverley Mills, 45 Waverley Road, Waverley. Mill Store open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm. Closed weekends. waverleymills.com

+ FermentHQ, 6 Synergy Court, Legana. fermenthq.com.au

+ Pipers Brook Truffles, Pipers Brook Road, Pipers Brook. pipersbrooktruffles.com.au

+ House of Arras Cellar Door, 40 Baxters Road, Pipers River. Open Thursday-Monday, 10am-5pm. Bookings essential. houseofarras.com.au

+ West Coast Wilderness Railway, Queenstown Station, Queenstown. wcwr.com.au