Cottage on Groom

Purple Possum is a cafe and wholefoods store in St Marys, a small town in Tasmania's Fingal Valley. Owned and run by Elaine Sullivan for over 30 years, it has become a familiar meeting place for locals and a dependable stop for travellers. The cafe serves home cooked food with a vegetarian focus. The menu is seasonal and usually includes soups, veggie burgers, and salads made with herbs from the garden. The approach is simple and generous rather than styled for show. The rhubarb cake has been mentioned in Lonely Planet, and the coffee is well regarded on the East Coast. There is a sunny garden out the back, suited to relaxed breakfasts and longer lunches. Inside, the walls feature work by local artists and photographers, which gives the place a connection to the valley. The wholefoods store stocks more than 228 bulk items, along with local honey, organic produce, and products for a range of special diets. It is practical, well organised, and aimed at everyday cooking rather than novelty. St Marys is about 30 minutes from Bicheno or St Helens. Purple Possum is a sensible place to stop if you are driving the coast and want a healthy meal, a good coffee, or quality supplies. It suits people who care about where their food comes from.

Upon entering, the visitor is instantly immersed in botanical aromas from the organic cut flowers and foliage which are seasonally grown on the property. They are fresh cut in the morning then they are artistically arranged and displayed at the shop that day. As you take in the space you are welcomed with old world charm highlighted by timber displays showcasing handcrafted botanical soaps, skin creams, air fresheners, bath fizz and bathing salts all made using Tasmanian botanicals which were foraged from the forests of our east coast hinterland bush farm.

A tall but typically low-flowing waterfall, Gray Mares Tail is nonetheless a worthwhile stop a short distance from St Marys, just before the road starts descending St Marys Pass. To find the falls, look for an easy-to-miss pullout with a sign marking the St Marys Pass State Reserve on the left. From here a sign points to Gary Mares Tail, just a 5-10 minute walk away. The short and easy trail winds through the forest, before coming to a lookout platform overlooking the top section of the falls. While the part that can be viewed easily is a decent 20 metre drop, the creek looks to keep cascading further below, and the total height of the falls is likely to be well in excess of 50 metres.