A taste of Harry Potter

Went on the West Coast Wilderness Railway from Queenstown to Strachan (then bussed back to Queenstown). Was very hot in the carriages as the windows don’t open and the air-con doesn’t work. Apart from that it was a nice trip through the forest and Simon was in his element with the steam engine. The conditions that the men who worked on the line and their families was incredibly harsh. We got back to our car about 5 and started on the road to Hobart. Had a great meal in Tarraleah a refurbished hydro-town, great facilities and a lovely looking town. We spent the night in an old hotel in Hamilton which was comfortable but hot.

Gordon River Cruise

After a lovely breakfast with freshly made croissants we headed down to the harbour to start our cruise aboard a catamaran on the Gordon River. What a wonderful experience it was. We cruised around Macquarie Harbour which is so big you can’t see the land from one side to the other. We went to Sarah Island, a former penal settlement mainly for prisoners who had committed a further offence since being transported. Hearing the history from a very enthusiastic tour guide was very entertaining. The scenery was incredible, all through this protected area and they have a great way of conserving the native Huon Pine. The Huon is no longer logged here, with the wood only used by craftsmen. The logs/branches have to fall naturally, be swept away at some point by rain and end up washed up in a non-conservation area where they can be salvaged by those with a license. Consequently it is not endangered and every branch is used whether straight or knarly. We drove to Queenstown, a copper mining town where the first person we met told us that about half the townspeople don’t like tourists…..We are here to do the Queenstown to Strachan railway tomorrow. Our accommodation is basic but as it is only one night we can cope. What I’m struggling with though is no mobile signal or wi-fi. Completely cut off!!

Cradle Mountain

Got up with EDST by setting the alarm for 4:30am! Leaving Launceston today so we wanted to do the 55 minute cruise to Cataract Gorge. We managed to get there for the first boat which was 9:30. Really nice seeing the gorges from the river. Headed to Cradle Mountain. The drive from Mole Creek to Cradle Mountain was like a rollercoaster and not just because Simon was driving! Curves on top of up and down and hairpin bends made it just that bit more special. Got there about 1:30 and took the charter bus to the top of the access road. Walked and walked and walked and walked some more. Amazing scenery that went from rainforest to scrub and then back to rainforest very quickly. Saw a few wombats too! Got absolutely soaked in a rain storm. One minute we were taking photos and the next minute we heard the roar of the rain and down it came! Went from Cradle Mountain to Strachan, again a lovely drive, so picturesque. Arrived in Strachan, a small fishing boat town which is where we go on the cruise tomorrow on the Gordon River. Staying at Orminston Bed and Breakfast the original home of the founder of the area – what a beautiful home!

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Solomon Caves, Devils Gullet & Alum Cliffs

Really need to try and get on to eastern daylight savings time!! Finally left our accommodation around midday, went and had a walk along the river and then headed west to a small town called Deloraine. By the time we walked around and had a late lunch it was about 3pm. We went to Solomon Caves, unfortunately we missed the last tour of the day so we took the walk around the caves. What an amazing place, the forest is like something you would see in a “beginning of time” movie, all ferns, moss and ancient looking trees. We spent about an hour trekking through. Then we headed to Devils Gullet, access through a gravel track which was fun! What an amazing place, photos just don’t do it justice. That was a bit of a trek up to get there from the carpark but well worth it. By this time it was about 6:30/7pm but we really wanted to see Alum Cliffs. Again worth the side trip and the trek through the forest to the magnificent view. We were actually walking across a ridge – about 4-6 metres wide, with huge drops on either side.

Launceston - Cataract Gorge

We headed down to Cataract Gorge along with most of the population of Launceston. It is a beautiful spot with a swimming pool, lovely lawn and bbq areas as well as the various scenic walks around the gorge. We went via the old suspension bridge to the café, saw the peacocks one of which didn’t like how close I got and flew into a tree surprising everyone! We went back and took a different route that went to an old power station – Simon was in heaven!

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Arrived in Launceston!

The trip was long…very long. We left Perth at 10:30 pm and arrived in Melbourne about 3 ½ hours later but with the time difference we arrived just before 5am Melbourne time. You’d think that because we had a connecting flight that our luggage would miraculously appear on the next plane … but no Jetstar…we had to collect it and re-check it. The airport was so busy, full of teenagers bound for the Gold Coast leavers celebrations, they were all late of course so were being hastily put in front of all the other weary travellers. An hour later we had checked in and had a coffee getting our second wind at about 3am Perth time. After some runway traffic delays we took off about 8am for our very short 45 minute flight to Launceston. After a short taxi ride to Launceston we dropped our bags off at our accommodation and went and had breakfast at Fresh, a lovely little café not too far away, we’ll definitely go back. Went to Budget car rental and had a win, we hired a Renault Megane for the same price as the Suzuki Swift, very nice. We’d originally booked for two nights at Alices Cottages but as our flights were rescheduled to a day early we extended it to three nights. Unfortunately the same cabin wasn’t available for all three nights but we managed to get into ‘Bonnie Doon’ a Scottish highland themed cottage. It is really lovely and fully self-contained with a spa and complimentary port and chocolates. After settling into the cottage we decided to explore the Tamar Valley (still no sleep!). We’d always thought that Launceston was on the coast but it is quite far inland on the Tamar River. We drove up the west side, stopping at lookouts, the lavender perfumery and of course Batman Bridge. We went through Beaconsfield infamous for the mining accident a few years ago and went to the top of the island on that side of the river. We crossed Batman Bridge to the east side and went north to George Town where we found a tea room that was open, not that easy, everything was closed in most towns we went through. We were slowing down by this point so headed back to Launceston. Watched the last bit of the cricket and passed out!

Off to Tasmania!

On the 25th of November Simon & I are off on our first holiday as a couple since.....our honeymoon!!!??? So 26 years ago! We're really looking forward to it and thought we'd re-visit blogging rather than do it through facebook...so hopefully it will work! 

x Sarah & Simon