It sounds like the name for a recipe but just another day in Northern Tasmania.

We’re digging the North Coast

Rolling hills characterise the agricultural land hugging the north coast from Devonport to Wynyard, some so steep it’s hard to imagine a tractor capable of climbing, let alone plough, the fields. A mix of grass for cattle and dark earthy soil provide fertile ground for vegetables of all types. And local grown is reflected in the price of potatoes – a fraction of the price you would pay in any of Australia’s larger cities.

Not far to the west of Devonport is the town of Ulverstone sitting on the coast beside the Levin River from which it was originally named. Predominantly an agricultural region, Ulverstone is a large potato grower and processor supplying 24% of Australia’s potato market, making it Australia’s second largest producer after South Australia.

Each year 320,000 tonnes of potatoes are processed into frozen French Fries within Ulverstone’s Simplot factory. An additional 75,000 tonnes are supplied to McCains. However, potatoes are not the reason we were here.

In a Pickle

Blue Banner Tasmanian Pickled onions was the reason for our visit. Well, not us personally but our travel buddies. And we were so glad we tagged along.

To the front of the factory is the cafe and shop selling all things pickled and flavoured pickles too. A scent of vinegar wafts through the door as soon as you enter triggering fond memories of the days my grandparents used to pickle their own homegrown vegetables.

Of course you have to give the onions the taste test and we did just that sitting in the large cafe after ordering a savoury cheese scone. Blue Banner claim their locally grown onions are ‘The crunchiest pickled onions you’ll ever taste’. I can say with certainty that they are the, freshest, crunchiest and tastiest pickled onions I have ever tasted. For those that have only experienced pickled onions from a large jar in their local fish and chip shop, you’re missing a lot!

Not to be outshined by the onions, the cafe also makes a very good latte.

The Giant Penguin

There are many towns in Australia, both large and small, named in part after an animal. The obvious combining the name and a landscape feature such as Kangaroo Flat, Emu Plains or Crocodile Creek. But here in Tasmania they have gone one further and simply named a small settlement on the North Coast ‘Penguin’. And they are proud of it, or I could say obsessed with it.

There can’t be a shop that has neither the name in it or sells penguins in one form or another. Even the street bollards have been made into penguins. It’s all a bit too much and sadly it has become a little ‘tacky’. Still, the children will love it for sure.

Now what I can’t figure out is Penguin’s connection with the Time-lord, Dr. Who. Why is the Dr’s travel machine, the Tardis, standing beside the Giant Penguin on the pavement. A look inside reveals a seemingly enormous library of lending books. It requires a double-take. I don’t know how it is done but the Tardis really is much bigger on the inside. Dr. Who is clearly an avid reader.

We were both a little apprehensive before boarding the Spirit of Tasmania not knowing what to expect on the crossing. We needn’t have been concerned, at least at first.

Although over an hour late boarding the whole process was very efficient and professional. Truck trailers were loaded first and lashed to the deck followed by cars, small vans and motorcycles, the later also requiring tie-downs. Two rows of caravans, camper trailers and motor homes were next. We were at the front of row two but to our surprise we were first to board and via a steep boarding ramp. I was almost considering switching to four-wheel drive as the ramp was wet from earlier rain but it wasn’t needed.

The loading team guided us right to the rear of the ship, partly through a very narrow set of barriers, and pulled-up beside one of the many trailers that had been loaded using specialised ‘roro tractors’. We are assuming ‘roro’ is an abbreviation for ‘Roll-on, Roll-off.

Is that a Cabin or a Cell?

It wasn’t long before we had locked-up and headed up to our cabin for the crossing, two-decks higher. For anyone making the same overnight crossing we would heartily recommend a cabin rather than try and sleep upright in a chair. Some may compare the cabins to prison cells without bars and indeed the twin-bed cabins are small, very small, but the beds are reasonably comfortable, there’s a functional shower room and a large, square window to view our departure from Geelong and arrival into Devonport, Tasmania.

Rock and Roll

We finally departed a little past midnight on the 10-hour sail across the Bass Strait – notorious for rough seas. The Spirit of Tasmania ferries are large and we were hoping for a smooth crossing but it wasn’t to be. No sooner had we reached the open sea than the rocking and rolling started with the ferry following the swell and the waves crashing into the hull. And it continued throughout the night with interrupted sleep. We were fortunate, though, that the ‘Strait’ wasn’t delivering one of its regular storms and what we experienced was comparatively mild.

Tasmania – We’ve arrived!

Not long after the sun had risen we could see land in the distance but it was another two hours on an increasingly calmer sea before we finally sighted the enormous Mount Roland towering above Devonport and another thirty minutes before the ferry was expertly steered sideways into position at the terminal.

We had expected a longer wait before we were called on the tannoy to say time to go to your vehicles and an even longer wait for unloading to start but shortly after we were in the car we got the go ahead to move and we were the first to head out and touch tarmac on Tasmania’s roads.

A short drive through town took us to the raised promontory known as Mersey Bluff and our base for the next four nights at the appropriately named Mersey Bluff Caravan Park overlooking the beach.

After nine days on the road we were finally in Tasmania and excited to start our latest adventure.