The Art Farm Birchs Bay (AFBB) is located at Channel Highway, Woodbridge, a pleasant 45-minute drive south from Hobart. It’s a place of gently wooded hills where some 30 significant sculpture and art pieces are carefully placed along a two kilometre Sculpture Trail that blends with the natural environment for maximum effect. These sculptures and art pieces range from a steel soaring eagle made from old farm implements to an inter­active Airplay installation, and various ceramic creatures, ranging from dodos to birds and lizards.

Being keen gardeners, our group diverted to Five Bob Farm Garden to inspect the flowers and vegetable crops. In this pro­ductive garden was a whimsical sculpture, titled Which Came First, of a hen atop an egg-shaped dolerite rock, overlooking real hens in the chicken coop.

As we wandered along the path, past an old pear orchard, following the contours of the land up a gentle slope, through bushland and open fields, we made slow progress, as we stopped repeatedly to enjoy and discuss the many and varied sculptures and art works. The Art Farm, as detailed in the handout, was certainly a place for “a celebration for the senses and mind: stimulating, subversive, current, reflective and sometimes simply fun.”

Aesthetically-pleasing benches along the walk provided a chance to soak up the panoramic views across Birchs Bay to Bruny Island and D’Entrecasteaux Channel. At the end of the Sculpture Trail, we ate lunch in the comfort of the entry pavilion. A return visit is definitely planned in the near future. The Art Farm is open year-round, from 9am to 5pm, with a small entry fee of $5 per person, or $10 per family.