Meet truffle-hunting dogs and dance with goats in Tasmania
By Sarah Falson
Updated July 10, 2025, first published July 11, 2025
Things get a little wild in north-west Tasmania when winter descends. But why hide away when the temperature plummets? The cold brings with it some of Tasmania's most breathtaking scenery - and dare I say it, delightfully unconventional (and passionate!) characters. So I recommend donning your best beanie, pulling on those warm boots, and embracing winter in the island state's great outdoors. Subscribe now for unlimited access.
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I am dancing in a paddock surrounded by goats. No, this isn't a weird dream and I promise I haven't taken psychedelic drugs. This is something you can actually do in Tasmania for the off-season (which is winter). Hideaway Farmlet, nestled in a town with what could be the state's cutest name, Penguin, is the site of the quirkiest bush celebration, called the Mini GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Doof. And if that conjures an image of a pack of teenagers partying, cast this from your mind.
This is a wholesome event, hosted by farmlet owners Lisa and Brad Palmer, who moved their family to Tasmania from Perth to embrace the rural lifestyle. They keep 24 miniature goats on their 1.6 hectares where they practise regenerative agriculture, moving the goats to a different yard every two to three months. Brad has been collecting vinyl for 30 years and asks you to pick your favourite era in preparation for your GOAT Doof session - we pick '80s and '90s - and have a boogie in the paddock, take a picnic, and he will even show you how to spin the decks if you're keen.
Hideaway Farmlet's Brad Palmer on the decks.
How did this bizarre and delightful idea come to fruition? Lisa says they had had a few drinks while spinning vinyl in the paddock on a Friday night, "because that's what we normally do", and as the night (and drinks) progressed they decided it would be great fun to have people over, spin vinyl of their choice "and we could just do this while hanging out with the goats". Tourism Tasmania got on board and now you can, too. hideawayfarmlet.com.au Kayak on an enchanted lake
The air is fresh and biting, making my cheeks flush red. I am at Cradle Mountain, in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, pulling a handmade kayak to the edge of Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain Canyons. Owner Anthony O'Hern made the vessels with his bare hands out of King Billy pine which grows wild in the region. It's protected, but he obtained wood harvested in the 60s after a bushfire went through a stand of the trees, lovingly spending about 200 hours to craft each vessel.
We could be sitting in the wood of a 1000-year-old tree. Stepping into the water to climb into the kayak, my feet become so cold they feel like they're burning. Then we're paddling out on the glassy lake and the only sounds I can hear are our oars slicing through the water, all my fear and coldness forgotten.
Dove Lake. Picture: Tourism Tasmania
We paddle to Ballroom Forest, where lichen and moss make their way up the trees and everything is so green and cold it feels like an enchanted fairy's enclave. When we head back to the mainland, the rain begins to fall on us and I don't care that snot is dripping from my nose. The air is so pure, the lake so magnetic, I feel like our small group is made up of the last people on earth, and that puts all the world's troubles into perspective. cradlemountaincanyons.com.au Truffle hunt with happy hounds
I must be eating the most expensive cheese toastie in Tasmania. The golden bread is almost hidden under a mound of black truffle, shaved onto my lunch with gusto at the Truffle Farm Tasmania.
Even better, we've just pulled this truffle out of the ground with the help of second-generation truffle farmer Anna Terry and her pack of delightfully waggy - and very clever - pooches Douglas (head truffle hunter), Peggy and Poppy. The truffles we have unearthed during our truffle-hunting experience at the beautiful property at Deloraine range from as small as a five-cent piece (my effort) to as large as the palm of my hand (weighing 390 grams and worth about $600; sadly not mine, but we don't get to keep them anyway).
The dogs are the real heroes, sniffing out the fungi and showing us where to dig. Anna trained the dogs herself and calls them her "best mates", swearing love and connection are the main elements of her training. The fertile grounds here are where Australia's first black truffle was grown, by Anna's dad, Tim Terry, in 1999, before truffles were fashionable in Australia. Luckily for the family, a culinary boom has led to a steady business - and 100 per cent of the truffles are now sold within Australia. Non-dog lovers need not apply. thetrufflefarmtasmania.com.au
The writer with the day's haul of black truffles. Tour a cave with a legend
"Imagination is what it's all about. People see stuff all the time [in the rocks]," says Geoff Deer, owner-operator at the Gunns Plains Caves. He is pointing to a particularly large, sparkly and complex rock formation he has dubbed "the wedding cake".
All his analogies have been food-orientated during our tour of the limestone caves. There's a structure he calls pork belly because of its long formations resembling stacked meat, and one he calls ice-cream because it resembles a heaped bowl of it. Geoff's family is only the seventh to run these tours in the 119 years since the caves were "found" by a local named Bill Woodhouse while hunting for possums in 1906.
Geoff Deer, owner operator at the Gunns Plains Caves.
It's not just the stalactites and stalagmites that are putting on a show; Geoff is, too, adding warmth to the dark and cold cave system. We descend 50 stairs to get into the caves (and out again, fair warning) which are a constant 11 degrees - "mild" according to Geoff who is wearing a T-shirt - and on the way out he warns us to watch out for "Panadol rock", a pointy stalactite hanging down over the walkway which is dubbed so because people always hit their head on it.
You'll never look at glow worms the same after this tour. According to Geoff, they are actually fly larvae who eat their own families. Who knew? gunnsplainscaves.com.au
The writer travelled courtesy of Tourism Tasmania
Words by Sarah Falson Sarah is ACM's travel producer. She believes regional travel is just as fun (if not better) than staying in the big cities and loves any travel experience to do with nature, animals and food!.My all-time favourite destination is ... Cornwall. From the giant seagulls to the blustery beaches, Cornish pasties and fishing villages, it stirs something romantic and seafaring in me. Next on my bucket list is … Mongolia. I want to go somewhere really unique that feels totally foreign and challenges my way of life.
My top travel tip is … Don't plan too much. Walk the streets and let it happen. And make sure you check out what's within a few blocks of your hotel - sometimes the best local food is found that way.
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