Last day in Launceston

We thought we would have a "no car" day for our last day in Launceston. But after breakfast I  suggested we headed off to Franklin house. A two hour walk wasn't that appealing. Have a car will travel and in we hopped.  The house was built for Britton Jones an ex convict, brewer and inn keeper. The house later became a prestigious boys boarding school. Lovely old house with impressive cedar door frames, doors and shutters - apparently ballast for ships arriving to pick up meat and food.

Then it was in to town to see the umbrella shop. The array of historical umbrellas was a bit limited.  Perhaps it was because they were all collapsed and so looked like any other umbrella. We didn't stop long but enjoyed wandering along George Street admiring the Georgian and art decor buildings. One of the things that makes  Launceston special.

We then headed off to Clarendon house down a dandelion edged road. A national trust property the house is closed on Monday's but the grounds were open. An English paradise built for an English gentleman and his family. Gardens lovingly nurtured by volunteers, the house standing proud amongst the 150 year old elms since 1838.  A home away from home - we even felt nostalgic for England.

It was lunch time and we couldn't resist the little historical village of Evandale for a wander and tea and cake.

It was now around 27 degrees and late afternoon so we came back to our accommodation for a rest. I am really enjoying the heat and after a bit of r and r we wandered back down to Cataract Gorge to do the zig zag track. Chinese for dinner and then another climb up the 200 odd steps and steep slopes to begin packing for the long journey home tomorrow. We have had a great holiday but both feel it is time to go home. Alison went round to our place and said we have some great veggies waiting for us. We can only guess how big the zucchinis are.

We found a rail trail ...

Scottsdale is an hours drive from Launceston. We stopped in the little town yesterday after discovering a rail trail sign. We found the bike shop (closed this afternoon and Sunday - half expected a sign saying "gone mountain  biking, back sometime"). After lunching in a little park and making some small talk with a local we went up to the visitors centre to see where we could hire a bike. The first notice said open from 9 to 5 but the second notice said "closed early". That didn't happen in Dolly Parton's song. The local watched us try to open the door and then signalled to come over - she had closed early because it wasn't busy. She thought we could hire bikes at the art gallery but had some doubt in her voice. The gallery was just down the road and besides selling some lovely glass ware and jewelry also sold coffee and cake and yes hired bikes. All arranged for the next day.

We were driven to the start of the 25km trail. First 75% was down hill - I kid you not! A great opportunity to enjoy the tree fern glades and the occasional pine forest. When the slight hill started towards the end of the trip the trees no longer sheltered the path, the sun was out and the wind came up. We were longing for some exercise and got it. My unreliable pedometer on the phone suggested I had walked 11000 steps - not bad for going down hill with no effort.

We were told we might see wallabies (we did) and snakes (we didnt). Bird life also seemed a bit scarce as were other humans (I think we saw 6 over the 25 km stretch).

I always find rail trails are a time of reflection. Men spent their lives building tracks which open up huge areas of countryside and provide a life line to the residents of communities. I am assuming the workers thought they would last forever. Then there is little demand for the rail transport and they are all torn up, flattened and enjoyed by cyclists thanks to local community groups like rotary.  Ironic really since I am a strong advocate of rail for safety and economic reasons.

We stopped at Bridport for a cup of tea. It was a tad windy and we found a new hobby "tea bag flying". 

 There appears to be a lot of road kill around here and the main victim are little creatures from the kangaroo family.  Interesting thing is there are very few scavengers around to clear up the mess.

Our final stop was Grindelwald- a must see according to locals. We pictured a little swiss village lining the road with lots of cafes and novelty shops. Not so - a bit more like an amusement park with cafes that close at 4 (we arrived at 3.58 to late for our waffles and strawberries) and amusement things like paddle boats, jumping pillows and mini golf. All the buildings were swiss style including many of the surrounding houses.

Dinner was at a Thai place - 6 minutes by car says Mr Google - we took a tiki tour and it took about 30 minutes.

Up the east coast and across to Launceston

We have finally arrived in Laucenston and are sitting on the porch having a well earned cup of tea.  The temperature has dropped from the low 40's yesterday to high teens and we are feeling a tad chilled. Back to long sleeves for our morning adventures. Our first stop after the supermarket was Bay of Fires. At first the orange rocks were a bit underwhelming but after a further 11 km ride we saw the beauty of orange rocks, blue sea, grey sky and wild sea shore plants in a place called the Garden.

Moving on we stopped at Columbia falls - a local had suggested that it was worth a visit. They didn't mention the stunning walk down to the bottom of the falls.

In the evening we visited Cataract Gorge. Our little Airbnb is just up (and I really mean up) the road from this world famous place. We wandered past wallabies and watched babies move in their pouches and peacocks and peahens look after their babies (little peas?).  Had a great walk and more to explore another day. After dinner (nectarine, raspberry and sorrel side salad was the best) we wandered up the 191 steps and rather a long road back to our digs.

East coast here we come

We stopped at Richmond where the very first aussie bridge was built. Very like the little stone bridges in the UK. Over here rivers are called rivulets. We thought initially it could be another name for creek or stream but rivulets are pretty wide. Then we went to the little model village of Hobart in the 1820's and looked down the streets that were once edged by water and now by industry and shops.

 Look at the little ducks feet.

We drove through Pontypool, Glamorgan and Swansea and decided that the Welsh must have  been the first settlers here. Definitely confirmed when we drove over the Wye river (not a rivulet).  Up to a national park where we saw a sign to a water hole. What a find. Nice shaded walk to a refreshing pool (the car said it was 46 in the car park).  The wind was hot in Swansea and didn't seem to cool us down much.

I forgot to mention our stop at Orford. Beautiful golden sand. The harbour had been made with what could be large sand bags. They were fenced off with signs telling us it was prohibited to walk near them. Everyone ignored this as they were the best place to swim. There were ropes to help people clamber up, so it felt quite surreal. We disobeyed the signs too and as you can see they were more fun than just walking along the sand.

It was my birthday today. Thank you for all the birthday wishes.  Lucas and Connie both sent me videos. We had a nice dinner in St Helen's and then came back to take advantage of free wifi.