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Cooking a key feature of the bay experience

ONE of the most photographed features along Tasmania's magnificent Bay of Fires coastline is a cookbook. Guides whip up such impressive meals at Anthology's Bay of Fires Lodge that the recipes are highly prized and guests often take photos to re-create them later.   Landscape photographer Grenville Turner recently hosted camera enthusiasts at a four-day workshop at the lodge and the food was sublime. From breakfast of baked eggs with spinach or Tarkine leatherwood honeycomb on toast to evening mains of wallaby rissoles and smoked salmon, there was no  stopping the culinary talents of our hosts. Managers Rob Gluckman and Aimee Woods and guide Claire Tetley are hands-on in food preparation and some of their secrets lurk in the recipe book, where most meals are designed to feed a small army. "Anzac biscuits _ makes 24-30 dozen,'' gives you the idea. We had set off from Launceston mid-afternoon to find this wilderness retreat, designed to much acclaim by Tasmanian architect Ken Latona and opened in 2000. Minibus driver Bruce Garratt is careful to avoid any of the dusk's scurrying creatures as we make our way along the north coast from Bridport to Gladstone and then into Ansons Bay. It's dark when we reach the disused Ansons Bay shop and are met by Gluckman in a  troop carrier and carted along a four-wheel-drive track. So far it's minibus, troop carrier and finally shanks pony (walking) with the luminescent assistance of nifty wind-up torches. That's the first hint that you are heading somewhere with a light environmental footprint. At the lodge we are shown the Clivus Multrum composting toilets, which are inside the main building so there's no cold trek to an outhouse when nature calls. A pump apparatus requires cranking to fill the tank above the showers for four minutes of gas-heated water. There's a wonderful wooden verandah with deck chairs overlooking the Tasman and a glass-fronted library with similarly spectacular views. I'm tempted to abandon all photography and camp for four days in a huge padded banana lounge by the window. The long living and dining room has an open fire that completes an atmosphere of extreme cosiness. It's that sort of place. Our tour complete we settle in to nibble cheeses, sip wine and wait for dinner. The conversation topic is photography but Turner is keen to make sure that his guests enjoy the experience too. Photo shoots are optional; workshops are informal. Turner and the lodge team have organised a second generator so that powering camera batteries, laptops and a big colour printer is no problem. The night brings a get-to-know-you session. Jacki, from Sydney, is an architect; Lucy, another Sydneysider, is a manager in a bank's IT section; retired schoolteacher Lynn is from Adelaide, as is her friend Margaret, who works in administration for a philanthropic businessman. Turner's work has taken him to many places. A current project has him calling Alice Springs home. Gradually, everyone retires to be fresh for the dawn photo shoot. Our first day is to be a walk from Eddystone Point to Ansons. It turns out to be a full day, so we skip the sunset photos, dine and spend an evening watching our haul of photos through a big-screen projector. The next morning I sleep in then rush to the beach to catch the group. They are wandering the dunes, setting up tripods for wonderful dawn photos. We return for home-baked beans and various other brekkie treats and then most of us prepare lunch for a rendezvous with the Anson River. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it