BreadnJamRndTassie 10/12/17 Week 10

Our camp at Launceston

This is a pic of Old Mac's Farm where we stayed  while in Launceston.

$10 a night with access to water & toilets. A picturesque stay for 5 nights.

Although we were rained in for a day & a night. In fact we were on flood watch

for a couple of days. Luckily, our van, which is far left was high enough 

not to have be moved, but other vans on a lower level had to be moved to higher ground.

Anyway, it was a good base to range around & see the countryside.

Our first day took us to Beaconsfield, scene of the gold mining cave-in in 2006,

where 2 miners were trapped underground for 2 weeks, fortunately they were rescued,

but 1 miner was killed.

It was a minor earthquake that caused the rockfall that trapped the miners 1km underground.

14 were lucky to get out, but 2 were trapped in a small cage, which saved their lives, 

while the miner who was out of the cage on a machine, was crushed.

The site is now a museum.

A waterwheel driving stampers that crushed the ore, although steam was the usual 

form of propulsion in the early days of the mine which dates back to 1877

At its peak, employing over 700 men,  & recovering over  26 ton of  gold.

Jan tickling the museum's ivories

After leaving Beaconsfield, we travelled north to Beauty Point,

and had lunch overlooking the Tamar River.

Then it was on to Greens Beach to see some chainsaw sculptures in a  yard.

Next day, we took a trip up to Georgetown, on the East side of the Tamar River, 

with Beauty Point being on the West side.

We found more Chainsaw sculptures there.

Went on to the Leaning Church Winery hoping for some lunch. 

Missed out there, but Jan took an outside & inside pic of the church.

Me feeling very pious in my yellow Billabong Tshirt, & studded Harley Davidson Belt.

Came back home via  Lilleydale Falls, a nice walk up to the falls, 

through luscious ferns & tropical plants.

Had a dance at Launceston Country Club on Sunday & Wednesday night, 

& had the pleasure of catching up with Wilma Carson who lives in Launceston & publishes 

Wilma's Gigs & Events in Tasmania, a reliable source of

music & dance events, Festivals,  & Dances in Tasmania.

A go-to entertainment  guide when in Tassie.

Father & Son Duo, Rino & Jade Morea, playing both nights while we were there

Very entertaining, & very danceable music.

On the last day in Launceston, we went on the Chairlift at the Cataract Gorge,

 wandered round the gardens, walked the old suspension bridge,

had a look at the old tearooms & Rotunda. All the while, there were peacocks

wandering throughout.

We left Launceston on Thursday, & headed for Bridport, which is on the North Coast,

overlooking Bass Strait, where the Bridport to Flinders Island Ferry leaves from.

We're staying at the Bridport Tourist Park, right on the Beachfront.

The Van park is about 2kms long, & terraced, with most sites giving an ocean view.

Looking out from our caravan at Bass Strait.

only the bird's got a better view!

We're only here for 3 days, so we took off on the 1st day to have a look  at

Lulworth, Weymouth & Bellingham.

No waves here like that!

Deserted beach at Lulworth

Looking over the Pipers river at low tide from Bellingham to Weymouth

big tide differences here. This area is full at high tide.

Moving on tomorrow for St. Helens on the East Coast. 

BreadnJamRndTassie 3/12/17 Week 9

Made another friend Chris, his name's Al Packer, doesn't say much, but he likes a hug.

Left on the Spirit of Tasmania Tuedsay night, bound for Devonport.

It was a pretty calm, uneventful night. We had a cabin, so slept pretty well.

Slight hiccup getting off, however. We took a pic of the level No. our car was on,

but it was actually the level above. So when they called level 5 to go to their cars,

we waited, as we thought we were on level 6, eventually they called our number plate,

& we found we had a long line of vans behind us, waiting.... waiting!

The next day we get a message from Kimberley, letting us know what we did, 

& he wasn't even on the boat! Apparently, the van that was stuck behind us, became 

his neighbour in the park he was staying in.

I thought we got away with that!

We stayed at the East Devonport football ground for 3 nights, at $10 a night,

& explored around the area for that time.
Our first day, took us to Latrobe, where we had coffee.
The  owner said to make sure we visited a shop called Reliquaire.
A fascinating shop, full of curiosities, & lots of little rooms behind doors,
with surprising inhabitants.







The entire shop was burnt down 2 years ago, but they've done a marvellous job
of rebuilding, & restocking the shop.

Upon opening one door, we were immediately confronted by the mouth
of this T-rex.

after escaping from him, we had to negotiate around his friends.



The more rooms we went into, the more character we found.











Not to mention the other curiosities.







But at least there were guards outside to protect us.




Called into the Cherry Farm, hoping to buy some of that delicious fruit,
but it was too early in the season.
The only Cherries we saw we these 2 big Kahunas out the front.



We finished off the day by driving through Wilmot, & down Wilmot Rd,
to take a look at the unusual letterboxes created by some of the landowners.











The next day the weather was a pleasant 25deg, the last of the good weather
for a few days, as rain was on its way.
So we headed off to Sheffield, to view their wall murals. They have a comp
every year, for artists to come up with the best mural, & they're painted around the town.
Jan loves her wall murals, so she took plenty of pics. These are some of the better ones.





 
Nice place to have lunch, which we did. lots of interesting memorabilia inside.

The next, as predicted, rained all day, so we were confined to quarters.
The day after was just as gloomy, so we decided to pack up, & head off to Launceston,
calling in on the way to Deloraine, where we had lunch at the 50's Diner there.

Lunch was average, but the memorabilia inside was good.
Before the Diner, it was a Museum, and I suppose it's a 50's & 60's museum now.

























We have now arrived at Launceston, & are staying just out of town at Old Macs Farm,
a natural setting around a lake.
Only $10 a night, with water & toilets & licensed Café onsite.
We're staying for 5 nights at this stage, using it as a base to have a look round the countryside.