3 Best Sights in The Huon Valley, Tasmania

En route to Huonville, this museum, cider house, and café showcases the best of the local product. It's housed in a former apple-packing shed and is a remarkable time capsule, depicting the lives of the early Huon Valley settlers. Over the years this venue has evolved to offer regular events, great food, and even better cider. The Sunday Session is a great way to end a weekend in the valley.

Cockle Creek is the southernmost "town" in Australia. It consists of a a ranger station and a campground, but also a series of stunning beaches. The neighboring hamlet of Catamaran is similarly dotted with picturesque bays and beaches, surrounded by forests and mountains. French explorers landed here before English settlement and aspects of that history can be explored also. There are walking tracks including the awe-inspiring Lion Rock at South Cape Bay. Amenities: toilets. Best for: walking; swimming.

This is the first main swimming beach southwest of Hobart—it's less than 30 minutes' drive from the Huon Valley. The beach sits in front of the fairly developed town of Kingston, on the Derwent River at the mouth of Browns Rivulet. Shopping and housing sit behind and to the south of the beach, and a narrow reserve, picnic area, and playground back the sand. Kingston Beach is patrolled by the local Surf Life Saving Club; however, you should still keep clear of any boating activity in the south corner—the waters are quite deep directly off the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (free); showers; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.