Launceston

Trip Start Jun 11, 2009

Trip End Jun 29, 2009

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Waratah on York Launceston

Flag of Australia Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Sunday, June 21, 2009

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning (until 7.30am) then went to breakfast at the Cube, a caf�/restaurant at Seaport down on the waterfront, then a short drive to Cataract Gorge where we jumped on the chairlift across the gorge to the walking tracks. Apparently, this is the longest single span (308 metres) chairlift in the world. The chairlift offers good views up and down the gorge, but if you don't want to pay the $7.00 return fare, there are plenty of walking tracks across the river, a fairly easy 3 to 4 minutes. The views of the water cascading down the gorge, across all the rocks and weirs into the catching pool under the chairlift are quite spectacular and definitely worth the visit. We walked across the suspension bridge which also offers good photo opportunities up and down the gorge, then spent about 20 minutes wandering the paths and boardwalks on both sides of the gorge. We saw plenty of friendly wildlife in the gardens and surrounding bush, wallabies, birdlife, peacocks etc. Back into town and to the Tasmanian Design Centre which displays a collection of local timber works, sculptures, furniture, knick knacks and custom jewelry

Cataract Gorge Chairlift

. Then we decided to head up the eastern side of the Tamar River and do a bit of a wine tour, beginning with Bay of Fires Wines about 40 minutes from Launceston. Liz’s birthday today, so we sampled a selection of their best sparkling wines, Rieslings and Chardonnays, then bought a bottle of their vintage Arras 2002 Chardonnay Pinot Noir to celebrate with tonight. It rates highly as one of the best sparklings in Tassie (according to them).

On to Jansz Winery, where the girls and Peter sampled some more and we bought a 2001 and 2005 Vintage from there as well, so plenty of liquid refreshments for the next few days. A short 20 minutes on to George Town, where we had a late lunch at Peppers in York Cove, right on the waterfront. We shared an antipasto platter (one of the best we have seen and eaten) and a couple of pizzas, caught up on some more birthday phone calls & messages for Liz, then headed down the western bank of the Tamar back to Launceston. We have booked to eat and celebrate Liz’s birthday tonight at the Black Cow Bistro (a restaurant we saw showcased on TV about 2 months ago, but which we couldn’t get in to last night when we turned up without a booking).

(after dinner entry). Our dinner was spectacular, oysters, prawns, steaks, dessert, we took the Bay of Fires bubbles for Liz and Anna to drink, Pete and I had a Stefano Lubiano Merlot, ’06 which was recommended by the head waiter and suited our steaks perfectly (there is a $20 corkage fee for BYO, but we considered it worth the price, as the wine we got from the cellar door wasn’t available anywhere else and was still less than comparable wines at restaurant prices). The meals and restaurants are getting better as we travel. We can recommend the Black Cow Bistro if anyone is in Launceston looking for an exceptional meal with fantastic service…go there!

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