Tasmania tends to be a leader with new produce: truffles, saffron, wakame, wasabi were all trialled and produced here. Decades ago Tassie, as it is affectionately called, introduced Atlantic salmon to the antipodes. The ingenious locals produce almost everything they need, as well as dreaming up fantastic spinoffs of indigenous foods (pepper berry liqueur, anyone?) as well as some flights of pure genius. Who would have thought of marketing ‘cloud juice', aka rain, for example?

They have a saying in Tasmania - 'small enough to know, and big enough to share' – and that just about sums up the state that sometimes inexplicably gets dropped off Australian logos, yet has given us Tasmanian Atlantic salmon and King Island cheeses.

Tasmania claims green grass, green wildernesses and a clean green environment that produces pure foods of the highest standard. No idle boast this, because as an island-state, Tasmania is able to defend its primary industries against many pests and diseases. Expect careful and stringent quarantine inspection for plants, animals, fruit and vegetables at all entry points.

Once simply dubbed the Apple-Isle, Tasmania is now known for much more, producing everything from seafood to confectionery, beer to poppy seeds. A garland of pick-your-own orchards and berry farms loop around Hobart, the capital, itself a food-lover's paradise. The food from this island is not just good – it is gourmet-plus. So how about this for a costly little shopping list: abalone, saffron, oysters, Atlantic salmon, yosterberries, game - and those truffles!

As well as the established mainstream beef, dairying and sheep industries, this fertile land supports many exotic animals such as deer, emu, quail, wallaby, possum, yolla (muttonbird) and Cape Barren geese. Crops are equally diverse and include onions and potatoes, peas and other fresh vegetables, grains, hops, buckwheat, wasabi, poppy seeds, honey, amaranth, quinoa, bush foods, flowers, saffron, nuts, and an infant truffle industry.

Orchards of apples (Tasmania is still Australia's largest apple-exporting state, with 1.5 million trees) and other cool-weather fruits, as well as a thriving wine industry, complete the smorgasbord on this amazing island.

GALLERY