Tassie - Convicts and Fauna

Tassie - Convicts and Fauna

Take Vacations. Go to as many places as you can. You can always make money but you can’t always make memories.

Launceston

Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania and one of the oldest cities in Australia having been settled by Europeans in 1806. Like so many places in Australia, Launceston was named after a place in the UK - Launceston, Cornwall. It is situated at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk Rivers where they join to become the Tamar River. (The Tamar river is also a river that separates Devon from Cornwall in the South West of England)On the west bank of the Tamar is Beauty Point, home to two tourist attractions - Platypus House and Sea Horse World.

Echidna

Platypus

Platypus House is home to Australia’s two monotrenes - Egg laying mammals. Obviously the Platapus is one, and the other is the Echidna.

Sea Horse World is where they breed these little creatures to be shipped around the world.After watching these little creatures being fed, it is time for some adult comfort - the wineries of this region, of which there are quite a few.

Once you are feeling good, it could be time to visit the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre. This is well worth a visit

Sea Horse

Everybodies friend

Cataract Gorge

Of course a visit to Launceston is not complete without a visit to Cataract Gorge. Here you will find gardens, tea rooms and of course the chair lift for those who would rather not hike. You could even find yourself watching the locals have something to eat.On the East side of the Tamar are a few more wineries that can be visited on the drive down to George Town, Australia’s third oldest settlement after Hobart and Sydney and home to some museums that are well worth visiting.

If you find yourself near Deloraine (about 60km out of Launceston) on your way to, or from, Cradle Mountain then it is well worth a stop at the Yarns exhibition at the art gallery and museum. This was a community project with over 300 contributors depicting the life cycle of the local area. Truly exquisite.

While in the area a visit to the Christmas Hill Raspberry Farm for a meal would also get a tick of approval, or the Ashgrove Tasmanian Farm.

In the same area is the little town of Sheffield, Tasmania’s town of Murals. The first mural was painted in 1986 and there are now over 60. A great attraction for the town, and their coffee shops.To the east of Launceston is another town with a history. Legerwood. In 1918, trees were planted to honour soldiers that fell during the Great War. In 2001 a report identified that these trees were no longer sound - so what to do with dead trees? Carve them to depict those same soldiers. A chain saw carver, Eddie Freeman, was engaged and as they say - ‘the rest is history’. Legerwood makes a good place to break the journey from Launceston to the Freycinet Peninsula.If visiting markets is your ‘thing’, then don’t miss out on the Evandale Sunday market, a 30 minute drive from Launceston. Here you can buy food, pony rides, hand made items as well as items that grandmother threw out fifty year ago - at five times the price that grandfather paid for them new. Not quite up to the standard of the Salamanca Market in Hobart, but still well worth a visit, and parking is not a problem.

Legerwood carvings

Doo Town

Tasmania East Coast

This part of Tasmania is home to Wineglass Bay, one of the best known tourist attractions as well as a number of penguin colonies. This area is ‘Sea Food Central’. The Bay of Fires is a stretch of beach, over 50km long stretching from Binalong Bay in the south to Eddystone Point in the north. Lichen gives the rocks their rust colour.Further south, at Eaglehawk Nest is the Tesselated Pavement, a rock formation that resembles a man made pavement.What trip to this part of the world could be complete without a look at Doo Town - an 1830 timber station that developed into a seaside village where most of the properties have the word Doo in their name. (Doo Come In; Wattle-I-Doo; Sheil Doo; Yabba Dabba Doo).

Red Lichen

Tesselated Pavement

Port Arthur and the Convict memorial is a memorial to the lack of compassion of our forebears. Where the convicts suffered only to have their stories glorified by the tour guides. Visit Point Puer boys prison where kids as young as 9 were held.If all this history is getting you down, drive a little further towards Hobart and stop at Richmond where you can enjoy some fantastic ice cream as well as look at some more history

Hobart is synonymous with the Salamance Market, the MONA gallery and the end point of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. The market is a ‘must’ if you are there on a Saturday. MONA is worth a visit even if it is just to see what the fuss is about but if the weather is good, take the opportunity of driving up to the top of Mount Wellington.

Battery Point, a good place for a walking tour, is full of old houses, and winding streets.If you are into beer, Hobart is home to the Cascade Brewery since 1824 and they have regular tours. James Boag, since 1881, have tours in their home city of Launceston. This must say something about the quality of the water. If you are not into drinking beer nor local wine, can I interest you in a whisky? Tasmanians make a good whiskey, or is that whisky?