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Launceston | |
After leaving Cradle Mountain we take our time driving a windy route to Launceston via a number of smaller towns.
One of the stops was Railton, the self-styled 'Town of Topiary' and pretty impressive it was too...
A bit of a Royston Vasey type combination, an afternoon Tea room and butcher with a penchant for rabbit. We saw this place on TV later in the trip and their rabbit pies were heavily praised...
Seahorse World at Beauty Point on the Tamar Estuary. A place dedicated to breeding seahorses and to their conservation. It had a bit of a bizarre shop, dedicated to all-things Seahorse and then with a whole section of creationist DVD's.
In the place itself, they had large tanks of Seahorses from tiny hatchlings to the adult breeding stock. The idea being that people buy them from bred stock instead of taking them from the wild.
Miche and some male seahorses vying for attention by showing their extended bellies...
Next to Seahorse World was Platypus House for a chance to see Platypus under the water...
We'd seen Platypus in the wild a couple of times, but we were never likely to get this view in a river or lake...
The final stop before we arrived in Launceston was Grindelwald, a 'Swiss' Village in the hills with one of the best crazy golf courses I've ever played.
Miche lines up a tricky 180 degree shot...
Fair to say our first day in Launceston was a damp one. Miche taking cover outside the KPMG offices...
To keep out of the rain we took a covered cruise up the South Esk River to see Cataract Gorge...
Looking down the gorge from the highest navigable part...
At least the rain gave the perfect excuse for a brewery tour at Boag's. Miche outside the 'Centre for Beer Lovers'...
The beer and cheese tasting at the end was particularly good.
We couldn't take photo's inside, below is the oldest part of the
brewery dating back to when it was still known as the Esk Brewery...
Me on a suspension bridge above the second basin...
The Second Basin. The river levels were very high after rain in the hills a few days before...
Looking back across the basin to the suspension bridge...
Possibly the slowest chairlift I've ever been on took us across the Second Basin...
View from the chairlift...
The river was so high in fact, that it had flooded the usual footpaths and crossings...
Next stop - Barnbougle