Happy New Year from Launceston!

     Steve and I just got back to Sydney after nine days in Tasmania. All six of us (Andrea, Adam, Olivia, Owen, Steve and I) flew from Sydney to Launceston in the northeastern part of the island. We spent five days there together, and then Steve and I took a bus south to Hobart for another three days after the others went home. For those of you who may have as little idea of Tasmanian geography as I did, here's a little map...
 

 
     Launceston is a quaint, charming, super tidy, colonial-looking town of about 100,000 people. It's chock-filled with 19th century buildings that have been maintained in excellent condition and really give the city its old-fashioned and yesteryear feel.

 

     A few blocks from our hotel/Airbnb was a lovely park simply named "City Park" that housed a collection of macaque monkeys - a gift from Japan, a small plant conservatory, and a handy playground for Owen and Olivia to enjoy.
     An easy walk from downtown Launceston is stunning Cataract Gorge. Steve and I only walked as far as the First Basin, and enjoyed every moment. We learned that the rock walls lining the trail through the gorge were largely constructed by convict labor. Yes, Tasmania was originally settled as a place for Great Britain to offload its criminals. Some of the native Tasmanians we met proudly let us know they came convict stock. But we also learned that being a "convict" often meant simply not having enough money to pay your bills back in Merry Olde England. Or stealing a loaf of bread to feed starving children. Or sleeping in someone's barn without their permission. (I'll write more about Tassie's convict past in the next blog entry about Hobart and Port Arthur.)
     As we walked through Cataract Gorge, we came to a beautiful rotunda building, peacocks, and a sweet café for our "afternoon tea." Then it was onto the chairlift across the river and over to the public pool where Andrea, Adam and the kids were waiting for us (they had driven over). While fooling around with the kids in the pool was a lot of fun, the highlight for me was taking a dip in the natural, rock formed pool. Just stunning and so peaceful!

 

      Earlier that same afternoon, Steve and I had taken a harbor tour boat ride from the city waterfront. We rode along the Tamar River and learned about the huge floods that hit the town in 2016. Apparently, in recent years Launceston has become a popular retirement community because of its beauty, relaxed pace of life, and housing prices that are much, much lower than anything in Sydney or Melbourne. We also learned that the Tamar River system is actually an estuary that runs all the way up to Bass Strait (the body of water separating Tasmania from the Australian mainland). The Tamar is Australia's longest tidal river. A couple of days later we drove all the way up to its northern tip.
     Another excursion was a trip to the Tasmania Zoo about 20 kilometers out of town. Because how can anyone go to Tasmania without seeing some Tasmanian devils? The zoo did not disappoint. We also saw wombats, meerkats, emus, wallabies, little blue penguins, and koalas. Plus, lions, many multi-colored birds, various monkeys, and a bunch of farm animals.

You little devil, you.

Baby wombat

Its really hard to see, but there is a sleeping koala in that gum tree.

Wallaby

Little blue penguins
 

Andrea, Olivia & Emus

 

Frogmouths

 

 Owen meets an ovine.

     At times during our stay we thought almost nobody lived in Launceston because the town was so quiet, the sidewalks never crowded, and there was hardly any traffic. But when we went to watch the fireworks along the Tamar River on New Year's Eve, it was a different story. That's where everybody was hanging out.

    
     But before the municipal fireworks, it was time for the family to celebrate Andrea's birthday. (Sorry, we couldn't be with you this December 31st, Zach!) We took her to the Jailhouse Grill and Andrea seemed to love her yummy mud pie dessert.

 
     Then it was time for family (9:30 PM) fireworks. Welcome to 2019!

     
     On January 2, our last day together, the six of us drove up the Tamar Valley all the way to Bass Strait. At the windy northern tip of Tasmania we found Low Head Lighthouse.

Low Head Lighthouse - built in 1888.

 

     
     We also greatly enjoyed the Low Head Pilot Station Museum with its many interactive exhibits and historical artifacts about navigation. Apparently, the stretch of water where the Tamar estuary runs into Bass Strait looks deceptively calm, but is actually quite treacherous with its strong current and hidden rocks. Since 1805, experienced boat pilots have been guiding ships in and out of the narrow and rocky tidal channel. But even with the pilots' best efforts, quite a few ships have crashed on Hebe Reef located in the mouth of the river. The last shipwreck was not that long ago -- in 1995. So even with modern 21st century navigational equipment, ship pilots are still needed today. And so is Low Head Lighthouse whose red light still warns vessels approaching Hebe Reef.
     Right next to the museum was a nice stretch of beach perfect for seashell combing. A good day was had by all!
     Coming next -- Hobart and Port Arthur...