Words and pictures: Stephanie Williams

The hand reel fishing line was being tugged and my oldest son’s face lit up, it was possibly going to be his first catch. Despite the odds. We’re not fishers and we were told no one ever caught anything in this spot at Corinna. We had let the boys believe it’s possible though and had been sitting on the jetty watching them try. “It’s probably a snag,” I suggested. Next minute up comes a full fishing rod, complete with a lure tucked into itself. This was better than a fish, they had caught a new fishing rod…it was an upgrade from a hand reel and meant both boys could now fish. And they did, all weekend.

We booked in for a long weekend of three nights at Corinna Wilderness Village, on Tasmania’s west coast, overlooking the glassy Pieman River. It’s an old gold-mining town, on the southern edge of the Takayna / Tarkine wilderness, and is now an eco-resort with beautiful renovated miners cabins for cou­ples, groups and families, as well as campsites and RV parking. It’s about three and a half hours drive from Launceston and five and a half from Hobart. We deliberately chose to drive there via the north west coast to avoid a few windy roads, but if you do come from the south, you get to enjoy the unique experience of crossing the Pieman River on a vehicle punt known as the Fatman Barge.

Going into the long weekend we discovered there was no phone reception, no wifi and no television, but as soon as we arrived, that was all forgotten as we settled into a deliciously slow rhythm of life at Corinna. No tech allowed us to recharge and connect.

The Tarkine Hotel is the heart of the village and our first two nights were spent eating at Tannin Restaurant, a casual tav­ern-style diner with a hearty menu – exactly what you need after a day of kayaking or bushwalking. Standout dishes included the chickpea curry, seafood saffron linguine, garlic bread and the incredible sticky date creme brulee. There’s also happy hour at the Ahrberg Bar each day, and we discovered they have excel­lent hot chips to takeaway down to the boys’ fishing spot.

On our first morning we booked two double kayaks to paddle to Lovers Falls, climbing the Instagram famous ‘Stairway to Heaven’ leading to a waterfall, only accessible by kayak. Leaving early, the water was glassy and the silence was uplift­ing, punctuated by birdsong. It was about three hours return to get to Lovers Falls and then on our return we took a detour up Savage River to see the wreck of the steamship Croydon, a logging boat that sank here in 1919. Eerily you can still see it under the waterline.

On our second day we checked in for a trip aboard the MV Arcadia II, a mag­nificent 17m (54ft) craft built of Huon Pine in 1939, and listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels in 2009. She’s lived many lives – as a pleasure craft in Hobart, in the Second World War in New Guinea as a supply ship, a scallop fishing boat on the East coast and as a cruise boat on Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River in 1961, then onto the Pieman in 1970. Our trip cruises to the heads and back. The hospitality on board is lovely (all the staff all weekend were outstanding) and the captain was both knowledgeable and fun – the boys enjoy steering the boat and wandering the deck at their leisure. Our destination at the heads is fascinating – it’s a shack commu­nity for a privileged few, only accessible by boat or beach, but we’re told the leases are coming up in about 10 years, so watch this space. We learn to tell the difference between different birds, male and female Huon Pine and hear stories of pioneer life on the river.

Bushwalking was high on our to-do list and we set out on the Whyte River Track first, which left literally outside our cab­in. It was a one hour loop, although we thought it was shorter and finishing near the jetty so the boys brought their new fishing rod along. It made for some odd looks from fellow walkers! We also did the Old Telegraph Hill walk, a steepish uphill and back, and were surprised with a moment of phone reception at the top of the climb.

Corinna had all the ingredients for a won­derful long weekend – comfortable, re­mote, lots to do and great food and wine. And for those interested in the fishing situation…the boys did end up catching more at the jetty. Eels. Delightful!

The writer was a guest of Corinna Wil­derness Village.