Date
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The biggest day of the trip. Three passes before lunch, 18 holes on the dunes above Bass Strait, then the Sideling as a descent into Launceston at dusk.
Nothing is open anywhere. Keep something back from the Swansea shop
The clubhouse before you tee off, or something carried
Find itStillwater in the old flour mill, Black Cow for dry-aged beef, Geronimo if you are tired
Find itWednesday. Tee time is the only fixed point. The Sideling afterwards still finishes about 20 min before sunset, but it is the tightest daylight margin of the trip.
Weather needs signal. Everything else works offline.
The C428 from Pyengana is sealed all the way. 90 m falls.
Trailhead in MapsBOOK NOW - tee times are visible and bookable on their site. Tom Doak links, par 71, opened 2004 and consistently ranked among the best in the world. About $225-235 a round for visitors, less for Australian residents; $306-316 buys all-day play across the estate. Walking only unless you have a medical certificate. Caddies must be pre-booked and are in short supply.
Open in MapsThe sister course, Coore and Crenshaw, 20 holes. If you take the all-day estate rate you could play both - but not on this schedule.
Open in MapsFlat coastal path and white sand, ten minutes from the course. Something gentle for the legs after 18 holes.
Open in MapsOceanside single malt with harbourside tastings. You are driving - buy a bottle.
Open in MapsCloth-bound cheddar made here since 1890, and an 1880 pub alone in a field. Both on the sealed C428.
Open in MapsFires spray high on a decent swell. Walkable from town.
Open in MapsThe sealed road to The Gardens runs along the edge of the beach. Orange lichen granite against white sand.
Open in Maps90 m, one of the state's highest, on the sealed C428.
Open in MapsOn site at the Dunes. Reviews are lukewarm - one describes the resort dining as average and breakfast at the Dunes as an embarrassment - so book it for convenience rather than the food.
Open in MapsThe village alternative if you would rather eat off-site. Straightforward pub food and a bakery.
Open in MapsBridport is a fishing village - crayfish and scallops in season.
Open in MapsIsolated pub with a serious beer list at the top of the best pass on the trip.
Open in MapsStartling turquoise flooded tin mine. Beautiful and toxic - do not swim.
Open in MapsChainsaw-carved WWI memorial trees, one per local soldier. Unexpectedly affecting.
Open in MapsTom Doak links along the dunes above Bass Strait. Even if you only walk the first and last holes, the setting is the point - fescue, sand and Bass Strait with nothing between you and Victoria.
Open in MapsSmall fishing town, white sand, calm water. Quiet in a way the east coast towns are not.
Open in MapsYou skip it going north in the morning and take it as a descent into Launceston at dusk. The better direction, if not the better light.
Open in MapsDining deck over the fishing boats at the Gulch.
Open in MapsTempura batter, kingfish, calamari, oysters. Water views.
Open in MapsWidely rated pies - the veggie and chicken curry get named.
Open in MapsA genuine institution at the top of the pass. Non-negotiable.
Open in MapsCafe, wholefoods store, gallery and produce garden.
Open in MapsConsistently the local pick.
Open in MapsCloth-bound cheddar made here since 1890, right by St Columba Falls.
Open in MapsOn site at the Dunes. Reviews are lukewarm - one describes the resort dining as average and breakfast at the Dunes as an embarrassment - so book it for convenience rather than the food.
Open in MapsThe village alternative if you would rather eat off-site. Straightforward pub food and a bakery.
Open in MapsBridport is a fishing village - crayfish and scallops in season.
Open in MapsRemarkable list for the middle of nowhere. Reduced midweek hours - check.
Open in MapsIn a restored 1830s flour mill on the Tamar, about a 10 min walk from St John Street. Book before you leave Dolphin Sands - you will have no signal across the passes.
Open in MapsDry-aged Tasmanian beef done properly, on George Street. Two minutes from your door.
Open in MapsCharles Street, buzzy, runs late. The easiest option after 18 holes and the Sideling.
Open in MapsNothing here is scheduled. This is what else is on today's road, roughly in the order you pass it - for when a walk gets cut short or the weather turns.
Opens early, which matters on a 06:30 start. Widely rated pies - the veggie and the chicken curry get named specifically.
Open in MapsA genuine institution at the top of the pass. WATCH - check the opening time, you arrive about 08:40 and it may not be open yet.
Open in MapsConsistently the local pick, and the last good coffee before the northeast.
Open in MapsStraight off the boat at the wharf. Also Quail St Emporium for provisions.
Open in MapsCloth-bound cheddar made here since 1890, with a cafe on site. Right by St Columba Falls on the sealed C428.
Open in MapsIsolated pub with a remarkable beer list for the middle of nowhere. Reduced midweek hours out of season.
Open in MapsFires spray high on a decent swell, and it is walkable from the foreshore footway.
Open in MapsShort steep climb above town for the coast in both directions.
Open in MapsTen minutes off the highway north of Bicheno, and a swimming hole in dry forest. Access road is partly gravel - check it.
Open in MapsWhere you turn inland for Elephant Pass. Worth two minutes for the coastal lagoons.
Open in MapsCafe, wholefoods store, gallery and produce garden. The other reason to stop in St Marys.
Open in MapsBig view over the Fingal Valley and the coast. WATCH - the access road is gravel and steep.
Open in MapsLong beach and an estuary, halfway between the two passes.
Open in MapsSealed road running along the edge of the beach - orange lichen granite against white sand. The first thing to cut if the clock is against you.
Open in MapsAn 1880 pub alone in a field. Long famous for beer-drinking pigs - check whether that still runs.
Open in MapsShort signed loop through myrtle and tree fern at the top of the best pass on the trip.
Open in MapsMoss, myrtle and tin-mining relics, 7 km of forestry gravel off the pass. The only real walk available today, and the golf is already your exercise.
Open in MapsStartling turquoise flooded tin mine. Beautiful, toxic, and absolutely not for swimming.
Open in MapsOld mining town turned world-class mountain-bike destination, with decent coffee as a result.
Open in MapsChainsaw-carved WWI memorial trees, one per local soldier. Ten minutes off the A3 and unexpectedly affecting.
Open in MapsRiverside park at the edge of town. Somewhere to stretch before the Sideling.
Open in MapsFlat coastal path and white sand ten minutes from the course. Something gentle for the legs.
Open in MapsAll sealed. Blue Tier is off the list - the golf is today's walking.
360 km · 5.5 hrs driving · Launceston - 73-75 St John St