Launceston Festivale

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It’s our last day in Tassie! Already! The first fortnight of our trip has just flown. We’ve discovered things that we want to change/add to the van, and we’ve decided that we don’t actually need everything that we’ve taken with us. Thank goodness we’re calling in at our storage facility – not just to drop things off, but because there are a number of things that I wish I HAD taken with me!

We started the day with the 2km walk around the Tamar Island Wetlands Reserve. We saw native plants and a number of birds, including swans and egrets, and really enjoyed the peacefulness of the place. Afterwards, we headed into town and went to the lovely Launceston Festivale. It is held in City Park which, bizarrely, also houses an enclosure with monkeys. The Festivale certainly is a feast of a celebration of all the culinary delights that Tasmania has to offer. So we went for it! I had some gummy shark, fresh Tasmanian berries and a (sadly, rather bland) Cabernet Sauvignon. Dean had (wait for this!) tempura mushrooms, a chicken bun, oysters, calamari and potatoes, a chocolate-filled German doughnut, a honey pale ale and a James Boag’s Draught. He likes his food, that boy! He also saved the day when he found my lost teeth (ie my rather unsexy orthodontics). Thanks so much Deano! After our extended lunch, we watched some of the local entertainment – most notably, very talented singer songwriter Héloise.

The afternoon saw us driving back to Devonport, so that we don’t have far to go to catch our ferry tomorrow morning. So it’s goodbye Tasmania! We’ve really enjoyed it here and we will definitely be back!

THE TRUTH (by Dean Glasgow)

Whilst walking through the Tamar Island Wetlands, we came across the short-legged mudwaddler. Due to the shortness of its legs and its inability to fly, this species can only be found in Launceston Tasmania.

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