Friday Nov 27
A very early morning flight to Hobart - we left the house at 5:45am for our 7:30am flight on Virgin in Y (short for Yuck) - the queue at check-in was horrendous - we had to go straight to the gate after finally completing formalities. H&G arrived later than us but got through at the same time as they used the full check-in queue, not the bag drop one. We had an uneventful flight and arrived a bit early at 9:20am. We used our free return ticket which is a benefit of our Amex card so our flights were free albeit in economy class.
We collected our hire car at the airport - fortunately it was upgraded from a small to a full sized SUV otherwise there was no way all our luggage would have fit. It was some sort of a Renault and try and we may we could never get the sound to work - either on the built-in GPS or the radio. Ah, French technology !!!
We arrived at Saffire around 12:15 - we were all starving after our early start with no breakfast. The meagre offerings on Virgin did not excite anyone. So after a very friendly welcome we headed straight to lunch. The spread was amazing - beautiful salads as well as 2 selections of made to order mains and a complimentary full bar service. It was not only an excellent first taste of the wonderful food to follow for our entire stay but also the amazing service.
After a long lunch we were shown to our villas where we each spent a lazy afternoon settling in and relaxing. We met for pre-dinner cocktails in the lounge before enjoynig the first of four amazing dinners. (Diet starts Tuesday !!).
Then it was off to bed.
Saturday Nov 28
Ah first full day - after a yummy breakfast we set out on a kayak tour with H&G and another couple (and a Saffire guide) - it was a relaxing couple of hours - the last hour was a bit tough with the tide not quite turned and a bit of a breeze.
We had an excellent lunch then did the oyster farm tour in the afternoon. This tour meant we donned high waders to tramp out to the oysters then stood around a make-shift white table cloth table eating freshly shucked oysters (a cheese plate was provided us Dieter & I) washed down with a local sparkling white wine.
I went back to our villa at 4:30pm to do my hair and rest while the others went to the Tassie Devil experience - about 5 minutes walk away.
Dinner was another 10 out of 10.
Sunday Nov 29
The day of the big walk - after an early brekkie we started out for our self-guided walk of Wineglass Bay - a challenging 3h50m trek - we all made it with no problems - setting a bit of a record for “geriatrics”. We made it back to the lodge in time for a late lunch at 1:30pm. Then we all spent a lazy remainder of the day - Dieter and I did a late afternoon beach walk before showers & dinner.
Monday Nov 30
It started out sunny (well partly cloudy) and pretty warm - high of 25C forecast. We did the cultural walk followed by lunch then a cooking demo in the afternoon. Our final dinner was the deguestion menu - another 10 out of 10.
Tuesday Dec 1
Sadly it was time to leave Saffire - but perhaps for the best - after 4 days of over-indulgence and we all felt it was time to go on a diet or at least serious cut-backs. After dropping H&G at the airport we drove to Hobart and the Wrest Point Casino Hotel for an overnighter. We had a great room - a real suite with great river views. We had dinner at one of the hotel’s many bars/restaurants - the Bistro where the Tuesday special was a free wine or beer with any main course - so we opted for 2 burgers which to our surprise were excellent. Then we hit the sack at 9pm.