The Ultimate Girls Weekend In nipaluna/Hobart
A wall of vulvas, oysters on tap, overflowing coupes of sparkling wine and cozy nights by the fire with your besties: Hobart is the ultimate girls trip destination.
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Lumière Lodge (image: Dearna Bond)
For a little island at the bottom of the world, Tasmania offers all the ingredients for a perfect weekend away with the girls. With its world-class food and wine, immersive stay experiences, and an endless agenda of things to see and do, lutruwita/Tasmania has it all.
Though the state spans less than 350 kilometres from one end to the other, it’s a surprisingly jam-packed space to conquer in 48 hours. So get the girls together and base yourselves in nipaluna/Hobart for this weekend, and come back to see the rest of Tasmania soon.
STAY
Set on Hobart’s iconic waterfront, The Tasman is the first of Marriott’s Luxury Collection hotels in Australia. Each of its rooms highlights local materials, including original 1800s sandstone and distinctive Tasmanian timbers, with views out to the harbour and heritage architecture. Splurge on the Aurora Suite, a sprawling rooftop multi-room retreat with an outdoor terrace and firepit. Sleeping up to three, it’s the most decadent of lodgings to come home to each night.
The Tasman (image: courtesy of The Tasman)
For larger groups, the luxurious Lumière Lodge sleeps six in the leafy streets of West Hobart, just a short walk to the CBD. The Victorian-era home has been lovingly restored to its 1890s glory, and features a claw foot bath, cosy wood fire, and original stained-glass windows. With a fully-equipped kitchen and the very best local supplies on arrival, the temptation to eat in will be surpassed only by the allure of local eateries, Ogee and Born in Brunswick.
If you all prefer to have your own hotel room, Mövenpick Hotel offers up 221 of them in the heart of the city. Complete with a daily Chocolate Hour (yes, chocolate), it’s a 4.5-star base from which to explore Hobart with your besties.
EAT & DRINK
For late-evening drinks and snacks, step into the broody intimacy of Mary Mary, where an evolving cocktail menu takes cues from native botanicals and fruits to pour the Tasmanian story into a glass. Ask for the small plates menu, and put at least a dozen oysters from Peppina Restaurant’s kitchen at the top of your order. Locally plucked, freshly shucked and served with a seasonal mignonette, they make more-ish bedfellows to just one more drink.
Hobart takes its carbohydrates seriously, and there’s few better ways to start a day than with specialty pastries from one of the local favourites. Join the queue at Pigeon Whole Bakers for Tasmania’s best-loved sourdough and flaky morning buns, drop into Queens Pastry for oven-hot croissants, and discover why the locals quit their diets for Little Missy Patisserie’s triple cheese scones.
The Agrarian Kitchen (image: Anna Critchley)
For lunch, put The Agrarian Kitchen firmly in the crosshairs of your radar. Tucked away in the Derwent Valley, a meandering 35-minute drive from Hobart city in the quaint town of New Norfolk, the enterprise comprises an award-winning restaurant, outdoor kiosk, cooking school, and one-acre walled garden. Settle in for a multi-course set menu beneath the high ceilings of the Bronte building (once part of the town’s old mental asylum), where ingredients are sourced exclusively from the on-site produce garden, and a close circle of local gardeners, producers, fishers and farmers. For a more casual affair, The Agrarian Kitchen’s kiosk slings seasonal house-made pastries, cakes, sandwiches and salads that do their best work picnic-style on the expansive front lawns. While you're in the neighbourhood, head to The Drill Hall Emporium - a visit to New Norfolk isn’t complete without a meander through this treasure trove of awe-inspiring antique finds.
Restaurant MARIA (image: Fiona Vale)
Restaurant MARIA is one of the latest additions to a long list of destinations putting Tasmania on the map for exceptional food experiences. Do girl dinner the Mediterranean way - MARIA’s menu takes its inspiration from the coastlines spanning Lisbon to Lebanon, while making the very most of local produce. Located in Brooke Street Pier, a pontoon floating on Sullivans Cove, the space oozes with the old-school romance of a European summer, and has an excellent vinyl soundtrack to boot. Gather around the chef’s menu and matched beverages, covering vineyards both local and abroad.
Sunday morning’s Farmgate Market kicks off at 8.30 on Bathurst Street, offering up plenty of elixirs for the sins of the night before. Try a warming bowl of congee from Rough Rice and Nectar Eater’s freshly-baked cookies, then grab a cheeky bottle of whisky from Derwent Distillery to go.
While you’re in the neighbourhood, check out Sonny for cool vibes and a seat next to the chef, Pitzi for lip-smacking hand-made pasta and Lucinda Wine Bar for natural wines and a cracking snacks menu. For drinkable sustenance, find the best espresso at Villino Coffee and Coffee Darling.
DO, PACK & PURCHASE
You’ve almost definitely seen the wall of vulvas on your Instagram feed, and Hobart is your ticket to catch them live. The Museum of Old & New Art (Mona) is 25 minutes down the river on a conspicuously camouflaged ferry. Book your spot in the Posh Pit, the ferry’s private lounge, where you can sit on velvet and leather while drinks and canapés flow. Make a day of the museum - there’s plenty to whet both appetite and curiosity, including Executive Chef Vince Trim’s menus of unearthly delights at The Source and Faro restaurants. Mona’s calendar of exhibitions is ever-changing, but the stalwarts remain and the vulvas aren’t going anywhere soon.
No girls getaway is complete without a little spa-style indulgence, and if in-room eye masks don’t cut it, a visit to Sanctum Medical Aesthetics certainly will. Serious about helping women and men age intelligently, Sanctum’s specialist team holds more than two decades of experience in rejuvenating treatments that reduce fine lines and improve skin tone. Set aside an hour for the Hollywood, Sanctum’s signature facial, which combines a hydrating lactic acid peel with laser technology to send you out brighter than you stepped in.
Sanctum Medical Aesthetics (image: courtesy of Sanctum Medical Aesthetics)
Keep the glow glowing with luxury Tasmanian skincare from SIRCLE, a new range of products created and curated by a team of experienced doctors and nurses. Australian-made, the Sircle sunscreens, cleansers, serums and moisturisers have been crafted to nourish and protect all skin types.
Want to up that glow even more? Get your sweat on with a Cycle class at Happi Studios, a heart pumping, soul-soothing dance class on a bike, or head to Udara for a hot vinyasa session. For a nature bathing fix, take a 10-minute drive from the city centre up kunanyi/Mt Wellington, and tackle one of its many trails. Heads up: the temperature on the mountain can be drastically cooler than sea level, so don the thermals, and pack a puffer jacket, water and plenty of snacks.
Ghost Rock Wines (image: Ness Vanderburgh)
Make room in your suitcase before a visit to Hop Vine & Still, a boutique city cellar specialising in local wine, small batch spirits and craft beer. The little island is making some of the best Pinot Noir in the country - take home a bottle from Ghost Rock Wines, a second-generation vineyard in Tasmania’s iconic north-west countryside, producing single block heroes and nouveau varietals. Gin has made a big impression at the bottom of the world, too, benefiting from the state’s pure water and unique botanicals. The Tamar Valley’s Turner Stillhouse distills locally-grown roses into its Three Cuts range of gins, which play just as nicely in cocktails as they do sipped alone over ice.
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