Italian cooking at Twamley Farm
Tourism Australia
How foraging in Tasmania feels to me
with Corinne Ooms
Learn from the wild wisdom of Alone Australia contestant Corinne Ooms and find connection in Tasmania’s tranquil places.
The Season 3 competitor survived in Tasmania’s west-coast wilderness for 70 days, coming third and becoming the longest-lasting woman in any season of Alone Australia (SBS). But, as Corinne puts it, “you don’t have to be a hardcore, outdoorsy adventurer to appreciate Tasmania”.
As long as you’re near nature, you’ll soon slow down and tune into your senses. Corinne says Tasmania’s unique brand of nature is never far away, even from the island’s bustling cities.
“It’s like the whole world just falls away. Everything becomes quiet and still,” she says.
Scottish-born Corinne has called Tasmania home for 13 years.
It’s actually the people that make Tasmania feel like home. The people are just really down to earth.
She says switching off your phone and trying hands-on experiences can help you feel grounded during your travels around the island.
“It’s really healthy to give your mind that opportunity to reconnect with yourself and just be present.
“That’s why I love foraging,” she says, “you can just go out and you can see the plant and have that connection with what you eat.”
Palawa Kipli, kipli Takara tours
Samuel Shelley
Where to get hands on in Tasmania
Whether you’re immersing yourself in the wilderness like Corinne or taking a short trip, here’s how you can tap into Tasmania’s unique hands-on activities, flavours and sensations.
Palawa Kipli
Corinne says searching for and sourcing Tasmania’s native ingredients is a mindful practice.
“Foraging is actually quite meditative because you are looking around you and being present.”
Hear cultural knowledge and learn about native ingredients with Kitana Mansell, the proud Palawa woman behind Palawa Kipli, an immersive Tasmanian Aboriginal experience offering dining and bush-food walking tours in Hobart. Forage and taste native ingredients while learning about enduring Palawa cultural food traditions.
Tourism Australia
Twamley Farm Cooking School with Gert and Ted
Corinne’s experience cooking foraged ingredients on Alone Australia was a journey of trial and error.
“I’m still discovering something new every day, not just what’s edible and what’s not, but how to process it and how to cook it in a way that brings out the flavour the most,” she says.
Experimentation is part of the fun but, at Twamley Farm Cooking School, Gert and Ted's recipes are tried and true. Their quaint farmstead in Buckland is a must-do if you’re into rustic European-inspired three-course feasts (and sleeping soundly afterwards at their farm stay accommodation). Grab your gang of six or more budding chefs and tuck into Tasmanian game meats, homemade cakes, hot gin toddies and local east-coast wines.
The Tasmanian Tuxedo
Woodworking techniques at the studio in Cygnet
The Tasmanian Tuxedo
Phoenix Creations Wooden Spoon Carving Workshops
Corinne whittled away her hours of solitude on Alone Australia, carving wooden objects from endemic Huon pine driftwood. Her efforts led to creating her now famous five-stringed fishing-line guitar.
“I love Tasmanian timber [and] working with wood,” Corinne says. “I love the smell and the feel of creating something out of your hands.”
She says the island’s slower pace offers space and time to lean into hand-making skills.
Craft your own nifty Tasmanian keepsake at Phoenix Creations Wooden Spoon Carving Workshops – open to anyone from beginner groups to seasoned solo crafters. You couldn’t ask for a more artsy community than Cygnet, the sleepy southern hamlet where David and Michelle’s studio dwells. They’ll guide you through the carving process from scratch.
Tourism Tasmania and Rob Burnett
Fishers of Freycinet
She didn’t quite hook any fish on Alone Australia, but Corinne’s love of Tasmanian seafood runs deep. She describes local oysters as rich, salty, creamy and a far cry from the ‘bland’ diet she ate on the show.
“Tasmanian oysters are just another level,” she says.
“The east coast is just so abundant. You can be diving in the water, cooking up your abalone on the beach, and then go, ‘oh, tomorrow, let's go to a vineyard and drink some wine and act all posh’,” she laughs.
Craving fresh seafood and ‘posh’ Tassie wine in one hit? Fishers of Freycinet serves up scrumptious east-coast cuisine on site at Devil’s Corner Cellar Door.
Tip: treading lightly in Tasmania
If nature’s your cup of tea, hear from local sustainable foraging business owners and Tasmanian eco travel experiences.
Summit of Kunanyi / Mount Wellington
Samuel Shelley
Kunanyi / Mount Wellington
Corinne’s number one advice for travelling to Tasmania? Stay for longer.
“That’s what Tasmania is, it’s taking your time, slowing down, exploring things,” she says.
“I’ve spent 13 years here and I still haven’t gone on all the hikes and explored all the places.”
But if you’re only here on a short trip, Corinne’s go-to hike is an early morning journey up Kunanyi / Mount Wellington, starting from the Springs and reaching the Pinnacle just in time to catch the sun rising over Hobart. This walk (3.4km, Grade 4 difficulty) has steep steps and sometimes changeable weather. Plenty more strolls in Wellington Park can take you up, down or across the mountain, so pick a walk suited to your ability.
“Bring a hot thermos with tea or coffee and then walk back down, have a meal at Fern Tree Tavern or a hot chocolate,” Corinne recommends. “That’s a nice easy way to spend the day.”
Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)
Ash Thomson Photography
Pepper Bush Adventures
Tasmania’s own Alone Australia Season 3 contestant wasn’t truly alone out there – little carnivorous marsupial Quentin the quoll took a shining to Corinne and her precious rations of wallaby jerky.
“I know he was just using me for my food [but] I do actually miss him,” she says. “He became a source of entertainment for me. He was really cute and annoying.”
But this wasn’t her first run-in with Tasmania’s wild animals. While returning from a seven-day hike on the famously gruelling South Coast Track in Southwest National Park, Corinne encountered another cheeky quoll.
“It just brazenly walked straight past my feet and into my tent and started raiding my food bag,” she recalls.
From baby ‘turbo chooks’ (aka Tasmanian native hens) to intelligent jet-black Currawongs, Corinne is a fan of Tasmania’s unique birds and animals.
There’s just so much wildlife right on our doorstep. At my house, there’s half a dozen wallabies that just eat all my veggie garden.
Spotting animals in the wild isn’t always a given but, if you join a Pepper Bush Adventures tour from Launceston, pro guides can bring you closer to the action while keeping a respectful distance. There’s the Quoll Patrol tour, if you fancy meeting one of Quentin’s relatives, or a birding expedition through biodiverse wetlands. Either way, you’ll enjoy authentic Tassie hospitality, campfire chats and animal encounters galore.
Continue your hands-on adventure
Tasmanian wilderness FAQs
Tasmania has bushwalks for all abilities that offer epic scenery. It’s important to check track information and difficulty gradings before you go. The best beginner bushwalks in Tasmania are hikes with relatively flat, even paths, including Dove Lake circuit at Cradle Mountain (2–3hrs, 6km); Montezuma Falls on the west coast (3hrs, 11.5km); Liffey Falls in the Great Western Tiers (45min, 2km); and Pandani Grove at Mount Field National Park (40min, 1.5km). Remember, preparation is key – walk safely in Tasmania by sticking to formed paths, walking with a buddy, filling out national park logbooks and checking weather conditions ahead of time.
The safest and most fun way to forage in Tasmania is to book with an official foraging tour, such as Palawa Kipli and Sirocco South. Expert tour guides can show you how to identify and prepare ingredients with care and quality. It’s important when foraging to stay safe and avoid poisonous plants, so booking with trusted local businesses is recommended.
It’s best to plan what clothing and gear to pack so you can be prepared for any kind of weather on your Tasmanian wilderness adventures. Tasmania’s alpine areas can experience extreme weather and changeable conditions at any time of year, including rain, wind, snow, sleet or intense sun. Make sure you have layers of clothing so you can take them on and off, with fast-drying materials, woollen socks, waterproof shoes and a waterproof jacket recommended. Carry a hat, sunscreen and light long-sleeved shirt for warmer weather, and bring a beanie, gloves and scarf for cooler conditions. Lightweight day packs and first-aid kits are recommended for hiking in Tasmania.
Tasmania is filled with unique animals that are commonly spotted when hiking across the island. Although wildlife, sea animal and bird sightings aren’t guaranteed while hiking, you have a decent chance of seeing wallabies and pademelons; endemic Tasmanian birds such as black currawongs, Tasmanian native-hens, green rosellas and yellow wattlebirds; distant whales viewable from coastal walking tracks during popular migration seasons; and wombats around Maria Island and Cradle Mountain. You’re more likely to see Tasmanian devils and quolls between dawn and dusk.
Many of Tasmania’s local restaurants are renowned for their quality cuisine showcasing fresh native Tasmanian ingredients. You’re likely to find famed Tasmanian ingredients such as pepperberry, truffles, honey, oysters, wallaby, cheese, beef and crayfish at restaurants across the state that focus on seasonal produce. These restaurants include Italian-inspired Peppina, Aloft Restaurant, Freycinet Marine Farm, Grain of the Silos, Mount Gnomon Farm, Mures Upper Deck and Lower Deck, Timbre Kitchen and many more. Palawa Kipli uses traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal bush foods such as the cunnigong or pigface, kunzea, wattle seed, kangaroo apple, native clover, sheoak and bracken fern.
