Luxury Lodges Australia Welcomes Tasmania's On Board To Their Collection

October 2023 - Built and launched in Tasmania by On Board in 2023, Odalisque III is an intimate, expedition vessel that delivers a maximum of 12 guests in seven cabins to some of the farthest reaches of the state's UNESCO World Heritage-listed wilderness. 

On Board's signature experience is a five-day discovery of Port Davey on the remote Southwest coast, a spectacular region inaccessible by road. Home to a protected marine park, the Southwest National Park and UNESCO Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, the vast Port Davey harbour region is one of the world's few remaining places of raw, untamed beauty and the destination for epic, unforgettable adventures.  

The Tasmanian-owned, family-operated experience begins and ends in Hobart with a 40-minute scenic seaplane transfer to the floating wilderness lodge. A feast of Tasmania's finest sustainable seafood, wines and whiskies awaits, while lodgings offer all the soft luxuries, framed by expansive, ever-changing views of untouched waterways, peaks and forests via knee-to-ceiling windows.

Once in the Southwest National Park, guests join expertly guided adventures exploring Bathurst Harbour and its surrounding ancient rainforests, buttongrass plains and quartzite mountain peaks. Guests walk the untracked sands of wild Southern Ocean beaches and the islands, with a chance to spot rare and endangered wildlife and learn of Tasmania's Aboriginal people and their culture and history. 

Sustainability has been at the centre of Odalisque III's design. With intimate groups of just 12 guests, a minimal footprint is maintained when exploring sensitive wilderness areas. All guests are inducted by expert guides and made familiar with biosecurity practices to protect the fragile environment. Food miles are kept to a minimum, and locally produced, crafted and created elements feature across every aspect of the boat.

On Board's Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour expeditions run between January and May, and East Coast Expeditions run from June to November. Private charters are also available. Visit onboardexpeditions.com.au for more information.

Additional news and insights @ On Board and Odalisque III

Luxury Lodges Celebratory Offer: 

Odalisque III by On Board has been welcomed as the latest member of the Luxury Lodges of Australia collection. 

Book an expedition cruise with On Board before 9 December 2023 to receive an AUD$1800 travel credit per cabin towards your journey to Tasmania. Valid for travel dates between 2 December 2023 to 30 May 2024. For full offer details and to reserve your cabin, contact hello@onboardexpeditions.com.au. Mention 'Luxury Lodges Celebratory Offer' at the time of enquiry.

Port Davey Escape Wild Walks Expedition - NEW EXPERIENCE

Discover the best day hikes in Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour - including part of the Port Davey Track and South Coast Track (Melaleuca to New Harbour Range) - on a special walking-focussed 5-day expedition cruise.

The inaugural  Wild Walks Expedition (8-12th January 2024), led by expert guides, is for active adventurers with a passion for walking. The experience makes the most of the long daylight hours during Tasmania's summer with extended hikes along untracked beaches, up craggy mountain tops, through rainforest and over buttongrass plains. On Board's purpose-built adventure boats will provide scenic cruise transfers to the start of the walking tracks (and back again). Expect 4-6 hours of walking each day, carrying just a day pack. The reward? Breath-taking vistas over prehistoric landscapes and vast harbours - and at the end of each day, return to the soft lounges and boutique accommodation aboard luxury expedition vessel Odalisque III for a feast of fresh Tasmanian seafood and sparkling wine.

Coast-to-Coast Luxury - NEW EXPERIENCE 

Tasmania's leading luxury lodge Saffire Freycinet has partnered with luxury expedition cruise operator On Board in a select series of exclusive expeditions - Coast-to-Coast Luxury - combining small ship adventure through the remote southwest corner of Tasmania's Wilderness World-Heritage Area with a stay at Saffire Freycinet on the east coast's spectacular Freycinet Peninsula.

Exclusive round-trip transfers by seaplane link the three-night luxury expedition cruise in the southwest with a three-night stay at Saffire in the east, from the Hobart base, offering seamless connections and a breathtaking aerial perspective to the island state and its rugged wilderness and sparkling coasts.

Port Davey Wild Wellness Expedition - NEW EXPERIENCE

Book early for the new three-day Wild Wellness cruise in Port Davey from 29 April to 1 May 2024. Learn life-changing breathing techniques with Stay Koel's Piet Blokker, trained by Dutchman Wim Hof, or sink into cool tannin waters to recharge your system. This Wild Wellness cruise expedition is the antidote to today's stressful existence and is designed for anyone needing a lasting mental, spiritual and physical recalibration.

In between breathwork and journalling, you'll discover a spectacular harbour in the Southwest Wilderness. Ashore and afloat, this exclusive and immersive experience explores the wild rivers and magnificent coastlines of Port Davey, Bathurst Harbour and Melaleuca. Picnic on untracked beaches, hike to craggy mountain tops, and encounter native flora and fauna on guided hikes, shore and tender excursions.

Expert Local Guides AKA Walking Encyclopedias

The experience is delivered by an all-Tasmanian crew, who show a depth of knowledge and passion for place that is infectious. Expert local guides, with decades of experience design bespoke itineraries that immerse guests in the wilderness, from sea cave to mountaintop, ocean beach to river gorge, rainforest to button grass plain.

Our guides, recognised Tasmanian leading experts in their chosen fields (from Tasmanian devils to the critically-endangered orange-bellied parrot), enrich the experience with extensive knowledge of the landforms, geology, flora, fauna and cultural history. They also double as personal walking encyclopaedias and are larrikins, their tales bringing to life the landscapes, wildlife, and the stories of those who once lived here.

Supremely Comfortable Accommodation

Queen-sized beds are framed with photographs of On Board's favourite places, taken by one of our talented guides who doubles as a gifted photographer. The suites of the upper deck exude sophistication and reflect the moody tones of Tasmania's southwest while the relaxed and thoughtful cabins of the main deck have a coastal-chic feel, reminiscent of the soft, sandy colours of Tasmania's east coast. All cabins have private ensuites

Guests rest their heads on linen pillows featuring local Tasmanian botanical prints including kelp and a rare flowering holly only found in the southwest, Lomatia tasmanica, made by local artist Deborah Wace. Each morning a new wilderness scene plays out through enormous bedside windows that invite the natural world in.

Thoughtful Interior Design

Esteemed Tasmanian interior designer Rebecca Kirkland has been involved with On Board since its inception in 2016 furnishing Odalisque I. Rebecca is renowned for her intuitive sense of style and her ability to create aesthetically pleasing spaces considering both form and function - which is particularly important when working within the size and weight constraints of a vessel.

Wheelhouse Lounge - Australia's most remote bar?

After the day's adventure (or perhaps even over lunch), sink into a soft lounge to tipple top-notch Tasmanian wines, spirits and whiskies. In arguably the country's most remote bar, Odalisque III has two Moo Brew beers, a Willie Smith's cider and a Tasmanian gin fizz on tap. The cellars, stocked with wines from Tasmanian vineyards like Mapleton, Arras and Ghost Rock, star local grape varietals including sparkling, riesling, chardonnay, pinot gris and pinot. Featuring handmade ceramic plates and bowls, artworks by the likes of Tasmanian Michaye Boulter, a library of books and a wheelhouse where guests can chat with the skipper at the open Huon pine helm, this is no ordinary lounge bar.

The On Board Dining Experience

On Board's chefs have been borrowed, begged and stolen from some of Hobart's top restaurants. Curated by Head Chef Courtney Drew, formerly at the helm of North Hobart's A'petit Bistro, the menu takes a fresh and sustainable approach, starring moreish plates of fine Tasmanian fare in a relaxed atmosphere. 

Our chefs source top local produce and, of course, seafood plucked straight from the ocean. Dinners range from red-wine-braised goat to barbecued Cape Grim hanger steak to Acqua Pazza with risotto blanco, changing with the season. Food miles are kept to a minimum, using only the freshest local ingredients and suppliers. 

Top Tasmanian wines are poured after a day of hiking or bird-watching, complemented by fare that embodies the Apple Isle in a mouthful: think Bruny Island oysters with a flute of bubbles, local-caught crayfish paired with chardonnay, King Island brie with a delicate pinot noir. 

Share-style meals with a story or two come standard on Odalisque III. It's an open kitchen, so guests are encouraged to pop in and see what's being sauteed, blanched or barbecued ahead of the next degustation.

Livery design for new vessel

Odalisque III's hull depicts the beautiful patterns of sea whips and sea pens, delicate creatures normally only found in the depths of the ocean. These organisms, which call the tannin-stained waters of the Port Davey Marine Reserve home, are an important part of the area's fragile marine ecosystem. To those who have travelled with On Board before, the design may look familiar - Odalisque II also features a similar pattern, sand-blasted into the aluminium hull.

New Seaplane Delivers Guests to Floating Luxury Escape in Port Davey

The Cessna Caravan Seaplane, the first of its kind in Hobart, provides door-to-door transfers from Hobart to wilderness only accessible by boat, air or on foot. Multi-day expeditions range from four to six-night cruises aboard the new 24-metre catamaran Odalisque III, exploring Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour.

"The scenic wilderness flight which bookends On Board's Port Davey expeditions is a key point of difference for our experience and a spectacular way to arrive in a remote wilderness area," says On Board's founder and skipper, Pieter van der Woude. "As the flight takes off from Hobart, civilisation quickly falls behind. It helps us showcase how vast scale of the Tasmanian World Heritage Wilderness Area and how precious and unique Port Davey really is."

The seaplane will be operated by Tasmania's Above & Beyond in partnership with On Board. It has capacity for up to nine guests and can be booked for scenic flights. Guests can choose different flight options (weather permitting). For instance, they may head out overland via the mighty Federation Peak en-route to the luxurious vessel and return via Southwest Cape on a coastal route back to Hobart.

Exclusive Wildlife Experience with Raptor Refuge

This rare experience provides guests with the opportunity to meet a masked owl up close on a walking tour that includes private viewing time with wedge-tailed eagles in Australia's largest flight aviaries. Tasmania's Raptor Refuge works to rehabilitate birds of prey for release back into the wild. Highlights include learning about peregrine falcons, viewing a rare grey goshawk and seeing Australia's largest raptor, the mighty Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle. This exclusive opportunity is reserved for group bookings.

Sustainable Cruising

The new vessel has allowed On Board even greater opportunity to bring their operational sustainability to the highest standard. Through considered design, the experience is designed to have a low environmental impact and avoid the requirement for a land-based footprint.

Built in Hobart, a focus on local materials and suppliers was paramount throughout construction and furnishings were also sourced locally. From the tinted windows (reducing the reliance on air conditioning) to the large lithium-ion battery bank (to minimise the use of generators), sustainability has been at the centre of Odalisque III's design.

With intimate groups of just 12 guests, a small footprint is maintained when exploring sensitive wilderness areas. All guests are inducted by expert guides and made familiar with biosecurity practices to protect the fragile environment. Food miles are kept to a minimum, using only the freshest local ingredients and suppliers.

"Our expeditions are designed to inspire a greater appreciation for the natural world. We aim to educate and excite our guests about conserving the wild places that we love for future generations," says Pieter van der Woude.

Showcasing Tasmanian artists and makers

Locally produced, crafted and created elements feature across every aspect of the boat.

Custom tableware by Small Fires Studio

Bespoke tableware made by Hobart-based Small Fires Studio elevates the travel experience aboard our new flagship vessel. The exquisite green glaze adorning the cups, plates and bowls is designed to reflect the colours of the waters we explore and the texture of lichen of the rocks lining the coast.

Vases and ramekins by Wild Mud

Free-form vases and ramekins grace the dining room and lounge. With their textured surfaces and organic feel, each piece is truly individual. They're crafted by potter Taillaine of Wild Mud in her Huon-Valley based studio.

Huon pine tables by Rex Heathcote Furniture

The hand-crafted foldable tables, made with raw Tasmanian materials and nestled in the Wheelhouse Lounge are made by Rex Heathcote, a highly esteemed Tasmanian craftsman.

Huon pine helm from Courtney Drew

Before it housed the navigation equipment and controls for Odalisque III, this long, knobby section of Huon pine led a very different life. It lined the bar of Head Chef Courtney Drew's Hobart-based restaurant A'petit Bistro, where many a drink was poured over it. The bar was given a new (nautical) life situated at the heart of the Wheelhouse Lounge.

Skincare by Milie Organics

Rowena of Hobart's Milie Organics genuinely cares about the health of your skin. All her skincare products, including the shampoo, condition, moisturiser and body wash supplied in each bathroom are made from quality, locally formulated and sourced ingredients.

Hand-crafted Tasmanian timber objects by Tassie Timber Things

There are special bits and bobs all over the expedition vessel that have been handmade by local craftsman Simon of Tassie Timber Things - sassafras pepper grinders, Huon pine name tags worn by the crew, and a range of custom cheese boards.

For more information visit: www.onboardexpeditions.com.au

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We welcome interest in famil trips!

For further info please contact Tracey@impresssionsmc.com.au

Tel 0415 290023