Christmas at Corinna, part 1

On Christmas Eve we left Hobart before 9:AM to drive to Corinna, once a thriving gold-mining town on the Pieman River in northwest Tasmania. In its heyday the place boasted two hotels, a post office, and a population of 2500 people. Today it's a ferry crossing, and the Corinna Wilderness Experience, a wonderful certified eco-tourism retreat with both campsites and cottage accommodation.*

We took the long way to Corinna, driving roads that curved and swooped, and stopped at Lake St. Clair to walk the Watersmeet Trail and the Larmair Remener Tabelti. In September and October 2009 I walked those tracks often. The place looked surprisingly different to me now, in summer. I remember it as mostly wet and fairly dark, the mosses and foliage thick.

Myrtles on the Watersmeet Trail

We stopped at the Hungry Wombat Café in Derwent Bridge (I knew they made wonderful soups) for a late lunch, but the place was full and very busy. So we made do with muffins and bottled iced coffees, and a picnic table outside. Then back into the car and onto more twisty narrow roads. We reached the Fatman Barge crossing on the Pieman not long after 6:PM, and summoned the barge from the other side.

Waiting for the barge

It was good to get out of the car and find our neighbouring cottages. All the cottages at Corinna are modeled on the old miners’ houses. A larger building, the visitor centre, contains a small bar, a dining room, and a tiny shop with some souvenirs and a few foodstuffs.

One of "our" cottages

We settled into our respective cottages quickly, and met for drinks (it was long past wine o'clock!) in one. On our way back to the other for dinner we say a small pademelon grazing beside the cottage--apparently unfazed by our presence--so we stood on the verandah and watched it. Then another appeared from behind the cottage and we watched the two for some time before going in for dinner: a delicious onion tart we bought at Hill Street Grocery in Hobart. 

December in the southern hemisphere offers long, light-filled days and evenings. We sat over our meal, and then over conversation and more wine till twilight settled. It was hard to believe it was Christmas Eve, but not at all hard to believe that we’d stumbled into some version of Paradise. 

*(If you want to know more about the Corinna Wilderness Experience check out their detailed website at: http://www.corinna.com.au)