Nov 27 (Part 1) - Tassie Day 3, Guest Blog!

Hi Guys, today we thought it would be fun to view a day from a different perspective so it's with great pleasure that I introduce to you, for the first time appearing on this blog, the fabulous Mr Smart!  Also guys, please click for the bigger versions of the photos as the small ones really don't do them justice.

As I woke up this morning I noticed the sun already shining over the lovely city of Launceston.  Knowing that I had forgotten to do any writing the night before, I had a quick shower before grabbing my laptop and headed out to the balcony to enjoy the view and do my writing.  It did serve to confirm my belief that having a good view can inspire me to write more effectively and I had no trouble putting the words down.

  Soon enough Jess awoke also and we made our way down to Cuccina’s Café for breakfast.  They appeared to be quite busy and despite our sitting next to the counter it was quite a while before they came to take our order.  The wait was more than worth the while though when the meal arrived, Cuccina’s Eggs Benedict with a side order of grilled Haloumi for me, and Eggs Royal for Jess.  They also provided the best coffee I'd so far had in Tasmania but like all the others it was served too hot which made it harder to drink but also brought out the bitterness.

  After the huge breakfast we decided that lunch would be a light affair and headed towards Coles to get some fruit that we would tide us over until dinner.  As we meandered our way through Launceston we came across a dying species that was already pretty much extinct in Melbourne: a second-hand book store.  It didn’t take much contemplation before we ventured in and began browsing the well-worn and well-loved tomes.  After far too long spent deciding, we both had selected various titles to take home with us.  We then continued on to Coles to buy our lunch items before returning to the car to make our way to Cataract Gorge, one of the must see attractions in Launceston.

  Our original plan was to take one of the river cruises which advertised that they ventured into the gorge and seemed like it would be the perfect opportunity to experience it.  Luckily we discussed it with our hotel concierge the evening before and he advised us that the rapids in the river precluded the cruise from venturing into the more spectacular part of the gorge.  He also let us know that there were a number of walking tracks throughout the gorge and we might be better off driving up there and experiencing it by foot.  Eventually this was the course of action we decided.

  We arrived at the gorge, parked the car and headed to the chair lift that would take us over to the other side while also giving us a nice aerial view of it all.  We decided the walking track options with the ticket seller who suggested the walk up and back the other side, a 20 min trip each way.  With no further ado we purchased our tickets and grabbed our ride.

  The view from the chair lift was pretty spectacular and hopefully some of the photos are able to capture what it was like.  The most striking part was that the front section had been converted to include carefully manicured lawns surrounding a public swimming pool.  The contrast between the modern park and the natural bushlands water course was like something out of a fantasy book.

  On departing the chairlift we made our way to the start of our planned walk though we got diverted by a wandering peacock who deigned to let us approach and grab some close up photos of him.  We continued on our way and began our walk along the path.  Looking across the gorge, high up the side of the facing cliff, we could see the lookout that was accessed by the rough dirt track, and seeing how daunting it looked, I was glad that we had taken more sensible path.

Circle shows position of lookout

  Along our path we were passed regularly by keen joggers as well as sightseers who weren’t delayed by the constant photo taking that we were performing. Soon enough we arrived at King’s Bridge, which marked the end of track, and ventured out to get some pictures from the above the middle of the river.  It struck home how close we were to the city, since the bridge was a main thoroughfare in, and from the bridge we could easily see parts of it, yet just a few minutes early we were in the middle of the gorge, completely cut off from any sign of civilization.

  On the other side of the bridge we saw some colonial style houses that had been painted in some interesting colours so we ventured over for a closer look.  At first it looked like it was some sort of historical attraction, but they were actually serviced apartments that had been done in the colonial theme.  It was also interesting to see a tram line running past them, though it had been a long time since it had been used since the tracks had turned to rust.  There was still a tram hidden away in a nearby shed that had also seen better days.

  We made our way back to King’s Bridge and saw the steep stair case leading up the dirt track known as the Zig Zag track.  Without too much encouragement needed, we decided that we would brave the climb up, careful to keep a slow pace as needed.  This was needed on more than a few occasions as the climb was very steep without much secure footing.  It wasn’t too long before I was rueing the fact I was wearing boots instead of the much more sensible sneakers that Jess was wearing.  The climb was more than worthwhile when we finally reached the lookout we had spied from the easy walking track.  Not only was the view absolutely fantastic, but the sense of accomplishment was even more worthwhile.

Arrow points to where we first spied the lookout

  The map of the area we had, along with my phone’s GPS, showed that we had climbed up an elevation of 100 meters, and would head down just as far by the end of the walk.  No doubt Jess will have a few comments more to make of this! We continued on the path that would return us to our start point but not before we encountered some friends along the way. 

  On arriving back, we decided that we still wanted to walk across the suspension bridge but I desperately needed to change my footwear so I returned to the car while Jess saw to seeing our water bottles refilled.

Feeling far more comfortable, we headed up the must shorter track to the bridge, just  5 minutes away, for some more photos from the other side of the basin.  Once there we naturally decided that for completion’s sake we needed to continue across and back view the lower path, just another 10 minutes walk.  This took us underneath the chairlift that we had ridden earlier, along the water’s edge, and back to the pool and lawn area that I decided to call Shangri La.

  That concluded our activity for the morning, which has now stretched well into the afternoon.  All up we had been walking for nearly three hours, which I think went a long way to working off the large breakfasts we had consumed at the start of the day.  We jumped in the car and began the drive to our next destination, Bicheno.
  Mr Smart

  Hope you've enjoyed Part 1 of what was a very very big day.  We are trying to catch up and will have Part 2 to you hopefully tomorrow morning!  I will also add on the Zig Zag Track, yes I was very glad of sturdy footwear.  I was huffing and puffing away but was very pleased to see how much faster I was recovering.  My fitness levels have definitely visibly improved and I was extremely proud of both of us for tackling the "Hikers Only" track!
  Jess