Farm Gates and Roadside Stalls of Northern Tasmania
Northern Tasmania is full of stalls at the end of driveways. Here's a run of them, from a farm stand at Gawler to a fridge at Yolla, and how to find them.
The best part of northern Tasmania isn't on the tourist trail. It's the stalls. Drive the back roads up here and you'll pass a fridge at the end of a driveway, a table under a bit of tin, an honesty box with the prices in marker pen. A fair bit of what this corner grows never sees a shop.
So here's a run of them. A good line of stalls across the north, the sort you can build a morning around. The coast between Ulverstone and Wynyard is the densest pocket of it, so I've started there, then swung back to the Launceston side. Pick a direction, or open the app and use the map to plot your own loop.
One thing worth knowing before you go. These aren't shops with set hours and a sign out front. They're roadside stalls, and what's on the table changes with the day and the season. Right now it's apple, root vegetable and preserve weather, not berry season, and the fridge stalls hold up better than open tables in the cold. That's exactly why the app helps: it shows what each one has out right now and how to get to the gate. Bring a bit of cash too, and each stall's page tells you what that seller takes.
Nays Farm Stand, Gawler
Start near Ulverstone at Gawler, and yes, that's the Tasmanian Gawler, not the South Australian one. Nays Farm Stand is the classic version: a white timber stand with an "Eggs" bar fridge, a "we're open" sign, and a carton and jar returns box so you bring the packaging back. Fresh eggs, dried herbs, and a rack of watercolour cards. Here's Nays Farm Stand.
Little Yellow Fridge, West Mooreville
That yellow fridge at the top of the page is the Little Yellow Fridge, just south of Burnie at West Mooreville, named with the honesty you'd want from an honesty fridge. Eggs and lemons, help yourself, coins in the box. Here's Little Yellow Fridge.
Hearps Blossom Basket, West Ulverstone
In West Ulverstone, Hearps Blossom Basket does flower bouquets, flowers in jars, and little gift tags. The bunches are ten dollars with a chalkboard tag, native foliage and chrysanthemums, for the weeks the garden has nothing. Here's Hearps Blossom Basket.
Fair Oak Farmstead, Kindred
Inland from Ulverstone at Kindred, Fair Oak Farmstead is more of a proper farm. Free-range eggs at the gate, in about every colour a hen can manage, and if you've a freezer to fill, quarter and half sides of Black Angus beef and ten-kilo meat packs. Here's Fair Oak Farmstead.
Fridge on Hicks, Yolla
Out on the Yolla back roads is the one to build the trip around. Fridge on Hicks is far and away the best-stocked of these, and exactly the model that works up here: a green shed, a white fridge with a smiley face drawn on it, and the shelves properly stocked. Leatherwood, clover and blackberry honey by the 500 gram jar, sausage rolls, sticky date pudding, and a run of slices from caramel to hedgehog to clinker. Here's Fridge on Hicks.
Swing back towards Launceston and there are a few more worth the detour.
Simply Homemade by Kim, Bracknell
At Bracknell, an easy pull-in if you're out past Longford, Simply Homemade by Kim is the baking stop: giant cookies, jelly slice, focaccia, and Teddy Bears Picnic cookies for the kids. Here's Simply Homemade by Kim.
Van Tilburg Nursery, Westbury
Just west of Launceston at Westbury, Van Tilburg Nursery sells potted plants rather than produce, hardy natives like a creeping salt bush, which is its own kind of useful in late winter when you're working out what goes in the ground. Here's Van Tilburg Nursery.
Chateaux Hamilton Hayes, Underwood
Twenty minutes north-east of town at Underwood, up in the hills, Chateaux Hamilton Hayes is a mixed farm-gate stall: leeks, squash, homemade jams, apple cider vinegar and little bags of dried seasoning, sold from a stone homestead you won't miss. Here's Chateaux Hamilton Hayes.
Build your own run
That's a good morning, and there are more turning up. Two sensible routes if you want to string them together. From the coast, the Ulverstone, Kindred, Yolla and Burnie arc takes in five of these and is a pleasant hour and a half of driving before you've bought a thing. From Launceston, Bracknell and Westbury make a short western loop, with Underwood a run to the north-east on its own.
The app is the live version of this list. Open the map and it shows every stall near you, the ones open now up front. After something in particular? Type it into the search, eggs, honey, flowers, jam, and it'll find who's got it. Save the good ones to your favourites so they're one tap away next time.
Download the app, open the map, and find local. SideStall is free on the App Store and Google Play.
Selling at your own gate up here? Putting your stall on SideStall is free, there's no monthly fee to take payments, and your neighbours are already looking for what you grow. Set up your stall →
Santo Arabia is the founder of SideStall, the Australian app for roadside stalls and farm gates.
Take the guide with you
Want it on paper? Download a printable one-page version of this guide, good for the glovebox, the fridge, or a guest welcome pack.