At Saffire Freycinet, luxury and remote wilderness meet in Tasmania’s Apple Isle
What is travel if not offering something truly unique? Head for the Apple Isle this summer for faultless escape of cocooned luxury and nature

THERE’S NO MIDDLE ground with oysters. You’re either all in, or you’re out. And those who claim aversion, and whom are not card–carrying anaphylactics, are never to be befriended. It was a string of thought I struggled to move past on a recent Thursday afternoon. It had to do with the fact I was stood, waist deep in faded waders, at a dining table dressed in its Sunday best and planted 20 metres from shore. An amiable and energetic guide felt about the waters around his knees to pluck another generous dozen of medium-sized Pacifics that he shucked, plated and offered for Esquire’s exclusive consumption. It’s a highlighted – and heightened – taste of Tasmania. It’s also a rather strong insight into the level of indulgence that blankets a sojourn at the standout Saffire Freycinet.
Tucked into the sandy and scrubby bush of Great Oyster Bay on the Apple Isle’s east coast (a two-and-a-half-hour drive north from Hobart; or, opt for the ease seaplane or chopper) Saffire is a wonderful entwinement of luxury and nature; proof that Australia can, in fact, match our Kiwi cousins and those snowy outposts of Europe and the US when it comes to elevated lodge experiences. To be fair, Saffire’s more retreat than lodge – bold in in its contemporary presence and draped in deep wonder.

The arrival here is, alone, worthy of some words – an opening that even manages to eclipse the first ten minutes of Michael Mann’s cinematic masterpiece, Heat. Out of a car, and you’re greeted, by name, by genuinely engaged and attentive staff who lead the way along a lengthy wooden galley and into an elevated architectural main pavilion that opens to ‘impossible’ views across the bay to the distant Hazards Mountains. It’s flawless. And captivating. A view that demands your attention while whispering, ‘Put your phone away for the next few days champ – we’ve got you’.
Into an Eames lounge chair with a glass of Tasmanian sparkling and a friendly discussion about the literal lay of the land and how things operate at Saffire. Each stay is inclusive – breakfast, lunch and dinner taken when you want either in the main building or delivered to a suite. Yes, the included drinks are labels of note and worth, though you can, for slightly more outlay, push past those to lists of even greater extravagance. There’s no set agenda at Saffire. Become lost to a suite and the surrounds of nature. Sleep. Drink (the mini bar is included and restocked). Drink some more. Walk some of the country’s finest capes – Wineglass Bay sits just beyond – or embrace other tours and experiences that further Saffire’s unique appeal.


Held on 70 hectares that includes its own stretch of sand lapped by calm, translucent (and, yes, rather frigid) waters, Saffire was once a quintessential, if well-positioned, Aussie caravan park nudging Freycinet National Park. The Tasmanian Farrell family – who own and run Federal Group – saw potential for something more, much more, and developed the land with the resort opened in 2010. We mention this because the main building – itself an architectural art piece and the one that appears in aerial photographs like a manta ray marooned in the bush – and all that rests here remain unmarked by time; not a single crease speaking of its wild setting.

The exclusivity and lodge-like peace of the place is driven by the limited number of guests – accommodation held to just 20 suites (think small, individual villas) across three tiers (Luxury, Signature, Private Pavilions). Esquire’s Signature suite is a cocoon of space and warm design – a main bedroom (with expansive and supple king bed) and lounge with separate bathroom (double shower and deep bath with window to those views) as well as a front courtyard and side deck in which to lounge and become lost to bird sound, a book, silence. There’s a chess board made of local Huon Pine, with a loose-leaf tea menu and Saffire-stamped waters as well as bottles of local Gala Estate wines and McHenry spirits. Expansive glass windows frame the suite’s view to the Hazards – a daily dance of light and shadow that renders the large, fold-away TV completely superfluous. It’s rare – save for a Paris café in June – that we’ve actually sat for so long and simply watched as events unfold around us. But to ogle nature for such length speaks of the majesty of this natural scene. It would be easy to come to Saffire to find oneself. Or, perhaps, to lose oneself, dependent on the level of wine consumption. Either way – it proves an incredibly calming antidote to the chaos of daily metro life.

On the foodie front, things here are elevated and impressive. Where breakfast is faultless and fresh, and lunch a buffet affair in the lounge – think kangaroo salami, a sting of salads and cold dishes with a variety of offered proteins cooked on demand – the main action is dinner at Palate restaurant.
Sitting on the second floor of the main building, the offer of five-course degustation with matching wines and à la carte menus (or mix of both) proves ‘mod-Oz’ can in fact mean memorable dining. The produce here is local, crafted with flair (under the stewardship of executive chef Toby Raley, formerly of Sydney’s Quay) and packed with flavour – think chargrilled wallaby striploin with mushroom and truffle. Yes, that wallaby – it’s a Tassie thing and we’re all for it.

Under limited light and with minimal guests, each dinner proves an intimate end to a day. A chance to become lost to the attentive service that’s a match for the finesse of each course; a chance to become lost to a few (too many) local Pinots and eventual stickies that announce the end to an evening. It’s possible to come to Saffire – as many guests do – and not leave a suite or the nearby surrounds. But that would be silly given the many walks, tours and set of curated ‘signature’ experiences, many offered as part of a stay. It meant time with Saffire’s Tasmanian devil population – a retirement village for those at the end of a captive breeding program – and learning of the setting’s deep indigenous heritage and ways of the local Oyster Bay tribe. Where sometimes such experiences come off a little, well, tokenistic, it’s impossible to walk away from time with Saffire’s First Nations guide Mick Quilliam and his ‘Connection To Country’ experience without greater knowledge, understanding and respect.
Then there’s the chance to sport a fetching beekeeper’s suit and indulge some of the most flavoursome honey you’ll ever taste. So too an opportunity to spend an afternoon in olive waders, contemplating life, friendship and the brilliance of oysters that don’t come any fresher.

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