Slept well, worn out after yesterday, had a quick breakfast then walked 15 minutes to get the car. Made sure it didn’t have any damage and drove back to the apartment to pick Song and Victoria up.
Headed out of Hobart, traffic not bad. Zipped along until we hit some roadworks so down to single lane and speed of 60 kmh.
Very annoying, it went on for about 20km. We’d decided to stop at a small town to stretch our legs and turned off just as the roadworks ended.
Wandered around, saw an antiques shop so went over but they were shut. Probably for the best because the shop was filthy – there was a bird’s nest in the window and lots of twigs and poo on some of the items, plus loads of cobwebs and dust.
Carried on in the car, weather still great, and turned off to go via some lakes since Launceston was only a couple of hours away so thought we’d go the long way around and see some scenery.
After a few metres we hit a gravel road – dang – there was something on the rental agreement about it, so I checked and it didn’t say not to go on them but there was a charge if I had an accident.
It was 20km so decided to chance it.
It actually wasn’t too bad, and passed a few other cars – we had a Nissan X-Trail SUV which I’d deliberately chosen just in case. I’d also pre loaded the Google map of Tasmania, again just in case.
Bounced along for a while through dry trees and rocks on either side of the road, then came across the lakes – a bit disappointing. Carried on down the dirt road and then realised I might be going the wrong way so checked the map, luckily had just turned off so turned around and headed off down another dirt track for another 25KM.
The landscape was still mostly dead trees and rocks, not very interesting and Song and Victoria went to sleep.
Trying to take the scenic route was a bit of a let down.
Finally arrived back onto tarmac and drove a bit until we hit Miena, a small town but there was a pub which served food so I had a warm chicken salad, Song had salmon salad and Victoria had a fisherman’s basket (fried seafood and chips).
Back on the road, and we saw the Great Lake to our left, and kept seeing it as we drove alongside. Started to climb, and were soon driving along winding roads amongst the trees, catching glimpses of the lake every so often. As we reached the top, there was a sign for a lookout, so stopped.
Amazing. An incredible view across the lake, and with the weather perfect we could see for miles. Stayed and took photos, then back in the car and started to head downhill. Lots of valleys and mountains, and we could see Cradle Mountain in the distance.
Stopped off at Deloraine for a stretch and loo stop, then just 30 minutes to Launceston, we arrived around 16:30. Song and Victoria slept about half the trip.
The accommodation in Launceston was a bit ropey – a motel on a main road, and the room smelt of curry. A rare stumble by Song. But it was clean and had a good view of the city and river.
Decided we needed to walk since we had been in the car all day, Song remembered a nice spot when she visited 10 years before, the Cataract Gorge so drove 10 minutes to that. It was pretty spectacular- a river that had a couple of small waterfalls and ran through a gorge into a basin before flowing out again, and there was also a suspension bridge that you could walk across over one of the waterfalls, which we did.
Walked around a bit and came across a couple of peacocks and a wallaby just sitting under a bush.
Googled for somewhere to eat, a lot of places were shut because it was Monday, but one of the top rated places was open so thought we’d see if we could get in, and we did.
I had a Thai Beef Salad, Song had Salt and Pepper Calamari and Victoria sea food pasta. All were good.
Drove back to the curry-scented room and I watched the World Cup final, I’d managed to avoid the result all day because we’d been in the car (Argentina won against France on penalties).
Watched a bit of TV, then bed.
Tomorrow we are going to Bay of Fires, the main reason we came to Launceston, then back to Hobart, a lot of driving for me and sleeping for Song and Victoria.
