Just returned from a Girlie Roadtrip ( myself and Georgie the Diva Doggie) to the Beekeeper’s conference in sunny, seaside Ulverstone in the North West of the island. What never fails to amaze me is the fabulous moist red soil in that part of the island, and lush pastures, which produce some of the richest milk and tastiest vegetables ( and the purest natural honey skincare naturally! ) in Australia.

My first stop was to visit Robbie and Nicola Charles at Blue Hills Honey in Mawbanna, near Stanley  on the North West Coast.

They are right on the edge of the Tarkine Widerness area, which is one of the last remaining temperate rainforests in Australia, and is where they place the majority of their Leatherwood hives, but are now harvesting uniquely potent Tasmanian Manuka too.They were singularly hospitable, despite Nicola being virtually on her knees with the ‘flu,and accommodated us in their single men’s quarters ( no single men, sadly!!) which George excitedly inspected nose to the ground. Onto Stanley for a lovely meal, and a foray in the 4 wheel drive to see if there were any Fairy Penguins out patrolling the streets of the tiny township ( as is their wont apparently) but no luck….the beachside areas thick with browsing wallabies and it looked like Watership Down there were so many rabbits…!

Drove on to Mawbanna Dip Falls, a spectacular waterfall,the view is breathtaking- The water spills down over hexagonal ( spooky, just like a honeycomb cell!!)  basalt columns, formed in ancient times by cooling volcanic rock -and the Big Tree, which is …er….a VERY big tree, 62 metres (203 ft) tall Eucalyptus, with a 17 metre (55 ft) base- awe inspiring in fact, just a fantastic ancient forest survivor . And yes, ok ok, I did hug it.

Mawbanna Dip Falls

Stunningly gorgeous, eh?

I have to say that the cool, sepuchral silence deep off the road in the rainforest, amongst the 2 metre tall manferns is ever so slightly unnerving,broken only by bird calls echoing, and George (who was beside herself in sniffs heaven) excitedly snuffling about in the leaf litter.

The Beekeepers are by nature a reserved bunch, mostly older “bushies”who think a lot and say little, and find a loud, outspoken Londoner a bit confronting, but since I’ve been around for 20 years now they are unbending a bit! We have been telling people about their fabulous honey for 20 years now so I have a few runs on the board..

Shirley and Ian Stephens from R.Stephens Mole Creek, who supply all the beautiful Leatherwood Beeswax for our natural leatherwood honey skincare products were in their 50th year there I believe, beekeepers all their lives, and their families before them.

All the beekeepers have their stories but most importantly a proud  history of harvesting products from the forest in the most environmentally sensitive way, really the first environmentalists of all you may say.

We heard a meteorologist speak about the amazing computer modelling now available, actually pretty fascinating ( yeh, right, I am proudly a nerd!) when you consider that their entire livelihood- and the yield of honey- is driven by the weather, and on the Saturday I gather that an eminent scientist was talking about bee neurology…gasp! I thought you would need the Hubble telescope to see a little bee brain but obviously they is purty smart critters!

Oh well, back to the soap grindstone, watch this space for a fab new real, natural soap soon I feel all inspired, having “gone bush ”  Toodlepip!

Someone called me today and tipped me off to this book “Slow Death By Rubber Duck” which I feel sure is very interesting.

But most interesting of all is how these guys spell out clearly just exactly what those commercial personal care products containing repulsively strong sickly synthetic fragrances ( that we do NOT use in any of our TRULY natural skincare products!) that are heavily contaminated with phalates ( endocrine system disruptors, that we have been telling a disbelieving public about for 20 years, see previous posts) are doing to contaminate your body with just one or two applications!

Have a look at this You Tube clip

Something I have never understood is why people actually think that the smell that hits you like a physical force when you pass those international “natural” body/skin care stores is actually natural!

Worse, when you look at the millions of so called “natural” skincare businesses that claim integrity by the yard, yet still offer synthetic Raspberry and Cream, Frangipani, Summer Rain  ( make a name up as you go along) which are ALL chemical fragrance mixes but claimed as “natural!”, blatantly misleading the consumer.

We have tried to spell this out on our website ad nauseam but cannot get people to understand this concept..

rant over…!

Yep, gazing out of the window at the “weathervane” of Hobart -the wonderfully picturesque and majestic Mount Wellington in Hobart (have a look here live on this local school webcam which has some fab live images of our little city) the winter is really here at last. We hang on to the last balmy Autumn days here with a tight grip, hoping that they will not be the last, because we know that reluctant hibernation looms.

I discovered when I emigrated from the Big Smoke of London that Tasmanians, just like furry little animals in their pre prepared cosy burrows hibernate for a long time over winter, emerging for vital supplies such as natural honey skincare, beer and food!

Being a nation that quite literally lives outdoors ,having fine weather most of the time, there is a sense of resignation that the fire has to be lit, fleecy garments dug out of the back of the wardrobe, along with the Slow Cooker for all those fab stews, tagines and soups.

I recently discovered the joys of sensuously plump, gelatinously tender,Beef cheeks, from Mundy’s Meat supply in Lindisfarne-one of the last real butchers in Hobart who actually selects his steers from the sale yards himself-and REALLY knows his stuff -after 40 years as a country butcher he should! The enticing aroma of a Beef Madras with coriander is just too sexy!!!

Am missing my Kaffir lime ( one of the essential oils that we use in our delicious Lavender citrus twist real soaps) tree like mad ( for my curry pastes)having recently moved house and, whilst I dug it up and transplanted it lovingly to a pot on the balcony, the woody stump of it is glaring balefully at me whilst being blasted  by icy souwester wind gusts…7 degrees today so survival is unlikely.

We are lucky enough in Hobart ( and Tassie in general!) to be within 10 mins of fabulous wild windswept deserted beaches, and one of the other signs of winter are the wild seas which throw up large quantities of kelp seaweed, from the deep sea kelp forests on the Peninsula of Tasmania- Georgie, resident Doggie Diva, loves investigating the fabulously glossy, tangled kelp thickets of beached weed – I’m always amazed at how big it is, and how massive the roots are!

Such pongy explorations mean that a bath once home with her very own Gorgeous Georgie’s Gloss Pet Shampoo bar is a must ..

Not only does kelp taste great- I just love it in all it’s forms, sushi,tastes great in soups too- it has the most fabulous qualities for the skin- moisturising, firming, silkening- and having a great local source at Marrawah on the North West Coast who harvest it from the beaches there and supply it to us.

We use seaweed – just one of the food ingredients we use in our edible skincare products- in, for example,  Seaweed Honey and Herb Polishing scrub ( which, we are told, also makes great scones by the way) Seaweed, Green Tea Scrub Soap and it is included in all of our Natural Soap Shampoo Bars and real handmade soap bars, to which it lends an unparallelled  silkiness and moisturising quality, and creamy slippery lather….Jeez ( throws bucket of cold water over self, narrowly avoiding Mac keyboard) I should take up writing erotic fiction!!!

By the way, happy clients on the independant web feedback site  WOWMOW are posting some fabulous about our products, particularly the Leatherwood Honey Moisture creams…. “This cream is an absolutely amazing product.  I don’t think I knew what actually feeling ‘moisturised’ was until I used this cream “( Leatherwood Honey and Olive Ultrarich Moisture cream)  Hina B which is particularly pertinent as winter arrives- providing your wind buffeted skin with a rich nourishing moisture retaining barrier- ours is quite simply the best around so our clients tell us.

Wrap up tight and watch this space for some new products soon!

It’s spring….officially. But you wouldn’t know it in Hobart today which is blanketed in thick white rainclouds leaking a miserable steady rain- and very chilly to boot!

However having had such a dry winter, it is wonderful to see the plants, trees and grass burst out into a verdant carpet virtually overnight- little green buds on my quince ( oooer Missus, I’d get that seen to!)

I have to say that is one of the things that enchanted me when I first came to Tasmania on a motorbike all those years ago (seems like yesterday!) and one of the reasons that I like it here…the intense palette of greens that compose the landscape,the bush and paddocks- a million hues, which shift and change with the light.

What blew me away when I first saw them ( remember I was just newly arrived city gal rubbernecking at everything) and still does, was the incredible apple orchards in the Huon Valley, which, when massively laden with thick clots of glossy ruby apples in season, are simply mouthwatering, visually….the sheer fecundity of the soil, the colours, abundance…it looks like every apple has been individually airbrushed by Disney’s Pixar studios, too perfect to believe to believe that they had not been “Photoshopped”!

The cows in the malachite green spring paddocks are the same, so clean and white against the intense verbiage…amazing, and no, I have not been hitting the apple cider that the region produces in order to wax lyrical! We do get our fabulous natural apple cider for our Apple Cider and Herb Conditioning Rinse from here however, and apart from bringing gloss and shine to your hair after using our natural soap shampoo bars could make a very fine salad dressing too!

One of the endearing things too, in Tassie, is the roadside apple/veggie/jam stalls, or my favourite- the fridge at Lucaston Orchards filled with their mouthwatering cloudy fresh apple juice- relying on honesty boxes ( admittedly these days much sturdier in construction, and bolted down securely) from which you can claim your prize and drive off happy.

All this produce speaks of one root and branch activity ( forgive the pun) which is a mystery to me…gardening.

Tasmania has some of Australia’s most fabulous gardens I gather,but I’m afraid this arcane art form is lost on me..all I can produce is twitch ( couchgrass for northern hemisphere readers I believe) these days on my little quarter acre suburban plot, due to lack of activity/interest.

Unfortunate really, since my grandmother produced a massive crop of veggies that fed us all when I was little, and a remember hours pleasantly spent in a companionable silence shucking ( and surreptitiously eating) sweet, crunchy peas.

I began well, and upon buying the house 15 years ago, enthusiastically planted an apothecary garden, with a particular emphasis on bee attracting plants, an obvious choice given my interest in and use of herbs in the business, but soon found out that apart from the fact that weeds ALWAYS win, that constant maintainence was required.

Boring, boring boring.

I just don’t get it…all that backbreaking weeding, it is relentless, and quickly buggers your hands, if like me you have the beginnings of arthritis from screwing the lids onto a million jars of face cream!

I therefore only planted those things that I use a lot of like Kaffir lime, lemon savory ( DIVINE with fish/chicken) bay and rosemary, which are all very hardy and require NO attention.

My pomegranate tree has struggled in the cold, but produced small fruit despite the inattention, and I have to say I am just stunned by my quince tree, which produced a whole 12 ( count ‘em!) quinces last year ( WOW!)….I had never tried the fruit until I moved to Aus, but it is simply the most delicious thing in the whole world gently stewed in a slow cooker with star anise and cinnamon for 8 hours to a rose blush/ruby red succulent tenderness….and slathered with thick creamy Greek Yogurt topped with pistachios and sumac…Oh. My. Gawd.

I definitely enjoy looking at a well maintained garden, but just don’t want to engage with it physically ( too time poor) but can see that if you had time, it would be very rewarding, and also produce a fine crop of veggies…and luckily we produce a very fine range of Gardener’s products to erase the traces of your labour and soothe the dry scratched hands of those that enjoy it

Our Gardener’s balm has been reported to have myriad soothing uses, and many mechanics swear by our Gardener’s scrub to clean deep seated dirt. Have a look at our Gardener’s special on for spring right now, and treat yourself or someone you love!

Refugees are in the always in the news, usually being unfairly demonised by the appalling untalented shysters that pass for politicians ( particularly pertinent today before the election!) but we are noticing a different kind of refugee.. a definite and significant influx to our website and store of clients returning to quality,  having realised that most commercial skincare is all about packaging and has no substance!

We employ 12 women and they all started off ,when they joined the business thinking that- for example-one of the largest global “natural” beauty chains was a truly natural, authentic product, until we educated them on reading a label, and they realised the massively chemicalised, industrial nature of these products.

Indeed what we are always horrified by is the sickly, hugely overscented goo that passes for so called “natural” products, but unfortunately that is what people think is “natural” because they may have not encountered an authentic, subtly scented product such as ours.

As a client, Jenna wrote to us recently “The difference the Beer and Honey shampoo has made to my hair is simply astounding – I do not get dandruff any more, and my scalp doesn’t get that dandruff itchiness either! I had never thought that I’d be free of either of those things! I’m fairly sure now that it was the chemicals in commercial shampoos, specifically the sulfate foamers and cleansers that have been irritating my scalp, as it simply doesn’t happen anymore. Paired with the apple cider vinegar rinse, this is the best shampoo/rinse combo I think I will ever find – no more itchiness, scabby piles of skin building up on my scalp, bad smelling shampoos, or that dreaded ’snowflakes’ covering my shoulders! I can’t really express in words the difference the Beer and Honey shampoo has made to my hair  - just thank you!!!! Also in Hobart, there is one other store that states it sells “fresh, safe “products. But if you merely walk past “Rush” ( you can guess who she means!)  you can smell that horrible, chemically stench wafting out the door. I love that when I open my drawer in the bathroom what I can smell is a light hint of honey, with a dash of rose geranium (that’s the scent I have in my moisturiser – heavenly!), and I’m not knocked off my feet by that obvious chemical smell.”

The new clients tell us that they are amazed by the quality and outstanding value for money ( which is very heartwarming, all say aaahhh) and the returning refugees from overpriced overpackaged mainstream products tell us that nothing works as well, and importantly in these straitened times, are very economical.

Indeed our Baby Bee Baby  products have been around for 20 years, long before chemical free baby care was thought of,and we are now seeing teenagers who were brought up on it, and have continued their love affair with our products, which is warm and fuzzy.

The way I look at it, and the reason I started the business, is simple- naively perhaps- I LOVE authenticity and honesty in all things- people, products, movies..and wanted to make something I was proud of.

It is a bit like eating handmade good bread, or beautiful locally grown neon green pungent olive oil, CWA rhubarb and rosepetal jam,homemade pesto with sun hot basil from the garden ( not that commercial crap filled with sawdust cheese, and in one brand, cabbage???!!!)  or a beautiful solid piece of handcrafted furniture glowing with effort, all are a pleasure to use or consume.

it is the realness of it, the untainted, unadulterated, unmessed with nature of things in the that I love….you can see that someone has carefully made it by hand, and you can taste the effort, and in our case feel it.

Luckily we have an abundance of all of the above in Tassie, which is in itself a very REAL place to live, indeed mainland refugees come here all the time seeking a refuge- quite literally- in a place that has a slower, quieter more authentic existence, where community is important, and the noisy external stimuli are exchanged for the tranquillity of nature- navel gazing!

A good example of REAL is one of our ingredients raw,direct expeller pressed ( cold pressed) coconut oil.

Remember frying yourself in the sun in your teens ( we all did it, even in sun starved Britain!) using coconut oil for suntan oil?

I LOVED the smell of that, of course all “coconut”mainstream skincare products are synthetically scented.

Most coconut oil such as copha, is deodorised for commercial use, but in recent years we have been proud to source the most fantastic, yummy intensely coconutty oil from the South Pacific, which has the most fantastic health benefits, externally and internally.

I would highly recommend the book on their site by Bruce Fife ” Saturated Fat May Save Your Life” which offers fascinating insights into the health benefits of coconut oil.

We use it in all our Moisture cream, Body Creams, Cream Cleanser  and Balm products, and the natural true coconut oil scent is just wonderful….I am currently making some delicious curries, muffins and laksas with it too!

Best of all these people have brought social and economic benefits directly to the island people, enabling them, by developing their Direct Expeller Method machinery, to press their own oil on site instead of having to take a poor price dictated by the multinationals that owned the giant pressing plants, and in addition preserving all the fabulous lipsmacking, skindrinking goodness of the oil.

Have a look at their site which is very informative..

It’s all good