Alex the seal (Launceston)

Alex the seal, I hear you enquiring dear reader? You are correct, it is not actually a song but what is referred to as a mondegreen. The correct lyric is "our lips are sealed" by the Go-Go's - obscure reference apparent later in the blog. Welcome to the 201st travel blog - who'd have thought way back in 2011 when I commenced blogging my trips we would make it this far? Certainly not me. Today we shall combine two days for the sake of economy.

We happily wended our way down the dirt track from Lemonthyme Wilderness Retreat back to tar and civilisation - of a sort. The road across to Launceston was as expected, meandering. The added challenge to this leg of the trip was the logging trucks. Curiously the unladen ones were more of a danger than those carrying a load of logs. The former travelled extremely quickly on very narrow roads with scant regard for staying on the correct side of the centre line. It is no surprise that there is so much road kill. In fact, I believe that there is more road kill in Tasmania than live humans.

Once again Jayne expertly navigated us from one part of the island to another using nothing but her native cunning and an iPhone. Fortunately she is with Telstra. As an Optus customer I was disconnected from the digital world for three days. Yes, first world problems. There were times however when I doubted her prowess when we seemed to driving in large rectangles through fields of poppies. Drug trade? Well yes, but not the illegal kind. Tasmania produces about half of the world supply of poppy straw that are used to make opiates such as codeine and morphine (thanks wikipedia).

Soon enough we were out of the paddocks and back on a (relatively) main road heading for Wines for Joanie, a delightful little winery in Sidmouth. I have been very brave so far on this trip as you would have noticed dear reader; there have been no side excursions of wine tasting. This has required great self-restraint as there are many excellent wine makers in Tasmania. However, a trip to the Hunter Valley last November has ensured that my cellar is still full. Wines for Joanie is my only exception and I highly recommend their wines. I hope to return later this year to spend a weekend in the cottage they have on the property. Picturesque and relaxing.

Quamby Estate

A delightful dozen now freighting their way back to Redfern, back into the car and off to locate our accommodation for the next two days: Quamby Estate, near Hagley about 20 minutes outside Launceston. The house is set in manicured, gorgeous grounds complete with a 9 hole golf course. Built in 1828, it has been lovingly restored and has lost none of the grandeur of yesteryear, particularly when you consider the ensuite bathroom has a spa and underfloor heating.

From the front

A relaxing bottle of wine on the verandah with the computer to complete some more blog entries was a delightful way to while away the afternoon. There is also a restaurant with a menu that changes daily. Last night's selected offering of Tassie scallops followed by duck breast and cinnamon orange brulee was enough to ensure we'll be back tonight. Jayne also had the scallops followed by lamb racks and raspberry and chocolate meringue all washed down with a bottle of Tasmania's finest pinot noir. And the best thing? The walk to bed was about 25 metres.

The perfect place for an afternoon drink

After a comfortable night's sleep and a continental breakfast we decided that a drive into Launceston to complete the gorge walk would be the day's activity. It was an easy drive into Launceston, but not so finding the gorge - well, more precisely, parking. We drove to the Gorge Reserve car park to find it completely full, so we wound our way back down the hill and parked near Stillwater (a restaurant that had been recommended to us) and walked back to the beginning of the Gorge walk. It was stroll more than a walk, punctuated by stoppages to watch a rock climber not actually climbing, but trying. She was gone on our return so we assume she was either successful or lying at the bottom of the rock face. Unexpectedly, there were also a couple of large seals just lounging in the sun around on the rocks up towards the rapids, hence the title of today's post.

The Gorge walk is one of the major tourist attractions of Launceston. Yes, it is very quiet around here. While we were surprised to witness a couple of seals in the middle of suburbia (literally four minutes drive away from the CBD), it is apparently not so notable if you are a native of this area. The day after Christmas, a seal lumbered up the streets of suburban Launceston and sat on the roof of a car. You don't see that everyday, either on the banks of Parramatta River or in suburban Sydney.

The Gorge - major tourist attraction

If I asked you dear reader what you would expect to find at the end of the gorge walk, I wonder what you might answer. Like the seal sighting, I certainly did not expect a cable chair lift crossing to the other side of the valley, where, on that bank of the river, was an olympic swimming pool. After reading the reserve rules in the rotunda, which stated there was to be no boisterous behaviour, games or bad language, naturally, we got out of there fast. It was time to GTFO.

Look closely and you'll see the rock climber

Alex the seal

Following the walk, we paused at Stillwater for a coffee and then went into Launceston itself and wandered around looking at the historic buildings. That didn't take very long so it was back to Quamby House to once again sit on the verandah and enjoy the peace and quiet with a glass of wine.

The peace and quiet didn't last as long as we hoped as a party of 10 people arrived. While their arrival proved to be rather noisy, they were staying in rooms above ours, their overall impact was minor. Dinner was very good once again, although they are gilding the lilly somewhat by saying the "menu changes daily". Some of the menu had changed from the previous day, but largely it was the same. Nonetheless, there were still plenty of options to ensure no repeat meals. We were finishing our meals as the large group arrived, the perfect time to drift back to our room.

Tomorrow is Freycinet, a highlight for me and a possible reconnoitre for future bushwalking trips. However, the forecast is for rain which could curtail my plans. We are also moving back into a media blackout. I will certainly have no phone access and there is no mention of wifi, so I assume the internet is s till a curiosity in that part of Tassie as well.  In which case my dedicated reader we shall communicate again once we have reached our final destination in Tasmania, Hobart, for a brief stopover before the airport.