Day 32 – Launceston    

 Today we left the Deep Creek campground and headed for Launceston, but took the morning to explore the coast.  We drove down the road from the campground and stopped at a few nice beaches.  They were white sandy ones and had some nice rocks to climb on.  There were a few boats out in the distance, no doubt local holiday makers.   It was pretty warm for Tassie and the sun was actually out so we had decided to wear shorts and t-shirts, well Jo wore a skirt and I wore the shorts.  Anyway, we enjoyed the beaches, especially one called Baileys rocks which was like having a little stretch of beach to yourself.  We also went and saw the lighthouse, it was built from granite in 1889 and was nice, there were lots of lady birds living all over it.

After a little while we got bored with the beach and headed up to a small mountain, Mt William near by in the National Park.  It was only 250 meters high and an easy walk, it was a bit hot still and took about an hour to climb up and back.  There was only one other car parked in the car park below, but as we walked up about 5 different groups of people came the other way, I don’t know where they all came from.  There was one guy who was probably the biggest bloke I have ever seen, he was really tall, towering right over us, and was built like a tank.  We reached the top and the view was OK but a little too hazy to be spectacular.  You could see north to Flinders Island and down south past Eddystone point and some of the other Mountains within about 50km.  There were also a few lizards along the way.  We were happy to get back to the car for a drink and some lunch.  Unfortunately the spaghetti we had taken out of the freezer had not defrosted, but we were hungry enough to pick at it and eat it with icy bits in it, at least it cooled us down.

 From there we drove back down the annoying corrugated road and back on the normal twisty Tazzie roads to Launceston.  On the way we came across Little Blue Lake.  It was the bluest water I think I have ever seen.  It was an old mine that had been filled back in with water, and was high in aluminium and acidic so you couldn’t swim in it, but it looked really good.

 I wasn’t really sure what to expect at Launceston and where we would stay.   I thought it would be a county town like almost everywhere else we had been, but realised that this was a city, and there wouldn’t be anywhere to camp either.  It was actually a really amazing city, there was a fair bit of hustle and bustle, but surprisingly almost every building seemed to be from the 1800’s.  It’s a very pretty place because the old buildings were just made so much nicer than modern ones, there’s even an old clock tower that dings every hour, half hour and 15 minutes.  It makes me wonder why we have to be so bland now.

We decided it was such a pretty place that we should find a nice place with character to stay at for the night, and to camp tomorrow night, rather than save the indoors night for our last night.  We found a nice place up on the hill overlooking the old city, it’s a B&B that used to be a girls boarding house in the 1800’s.  The owners are really nice and so are the rooms, it’s just like going back in time and best of all, Jo is really pleased with it. 

 We went out to dinner at a pub down the road, an old one with lots of history and character, which they all have anyway.  The prices weren’t cheap, but the atmosphere was really nice, it had a fire place, wooden everything, and intricate little bits everywhere.  There was a second raised level around the edge of the pub where meals were served.  I got a chicken parma, and Jo a chicken breast, both were really really good.  I was happy because I was full, and Jo was happy because it was all very nice.

 We walked back up to our old boarding house and chilled out with biscuits and wine.