P & J Tasmania 2021

  Feb 16th - Launceston to Devonport   Lunch celebration for JEM’s significant birthday and then off to Devonport for the’Spirit of Tasmania’, our last day in Taz! Birthday celebration photo (but I was asked if I could use the ‘young’ filter! 😂 )

  Feb 15th - Coles Bay to Launceston   Travelling day today as we are spending the night in Launceston. The main reason for this is that we decided to bring JEM’s significant birthday forward by a day so we could eat out somewhere nice (as opposed to celebrating in the cafeteria on the ferry! 🥳 ) Got to Launceston early afternoon, and, after booking in, we took off for a walk along Cataract Gorge. It’s quite nice along there, even though the water looks a little bit ‘scummy’. 

  Feb 14th - Coles Bay A little bit of a change today as we went on a boat trip around Freycinet National Park (a recommendation by Mick & Dettes), and wow, what a day. The weather was great, warm and no wind, the sea was like a mill pond, and the scenery was fantastic. On top of that the wildlife was brilliant.  We stopped at a couple of islands that were homes to colonies of birdlife and seals and then three times during the trip we came across shoals of fish being attacked by dolphins, it was just fantastic! One of the dolphin feeding frenzies  As an addition the food and wine were pretty decent as well

  Feb 13th - Coles Bay Off for a bit of a longer walk today, around 15kms.  Stopped for lunch at Hazards Beach, which sounded a bit iffy before we got there but it turned out to be another misnomer really as it was v. safe with soft sand and not a lot of surf.  Lots of beautiful plants and trees on this walk and a great wetlands area behind the dunes at the back of the beach, it was lovely. Oh, and did I mention Tea-trees?  I’ve never seen so many in all my time in Oz.  Out for dinner tonight in Bicheno, a town about 40kms north of here. As JEM has already started celebrating her upcoming birthday, AND we went to a restaurant called the ‘Lobster Shack’, there’s no prizes for guessing what she had to eat! When we visited MONA (the art museum) a few days ago we bought a jigsaw puzzle, with a Paris and an Impressionist theme, which we completed this evening (incidentally, the Spanish for’Jigsaw Puzzle’ is ‘el rompecabeza’ which translates as ‘a head breaker’! 😊 ...

  Feb 12th - Coles Bay Another few nature walks today in the local Freycinet National Park. First cab off the rank was to the Cape Tourville lighthouse. Some very nice views towards Wineglass Bay where we walked yesterday.  A great spot for whale watching at another time of year apparently but unfortunately none today.  Our second hike was to Bluestone Bay, an ‘out and back’ route a little north from Cape Tourville.  The walk itself was not particularly picturesque but the bay at the end was definitely worth the visit. Lots of rough sea and surf, it was pretty wild, a great place to visit.  Our next walk was to a little place called ‘Sleepy Bay’.  We couldn’t quite work out what was sleepy about this little rocky estuary as the noise from the surf would’ve kept anybody awake!   This afternoon we spent some time at a place called ‘Friendly Beaches’, just a few kms north of Coles Bay. Another place that we couldn’t work out where the name came from but ...

  Feb 11th - Coles Bay Another nature day today as we went for a hike to Wineglass Bay, in Freycinet National Park. It was a beautiful walk but, with lots of “up”, it was also a little challenging.

  Feb 10th - Hobart / Bicheno / Coles Bay Travelling day today Hobart to Coles Bay via Bicheno.  Before leaving town we decided to drive up Mount Wellington for a view of the city (this morning was the first time it wasn’t surrounded by clouds).  From the city looking up it seemed like a beautiful clear blue sky but once up at the top (1271 metres) it was a little misty (and cold! 😊 ).  Still, some nice views anyway.  F & C’s for lunch at Bicheno, a lovely little fishing village renowned for it’s crayfish, and with some beautifully clear sea water. We will definitely be back in the next few days to try the cray (it’s only 1/2 hour..ish from Coles Bay) Arrived at our Airbnb this afternoon and, after checking in and unpacking, went for a walk along and around the coastline. Some lovely scenery and, on a recommendation from Mick & Dettes, we’ve booked a boat trip for Wineglass Bay which isn’t too far from here (we’re also planning to walk it at some point ...

  Feb 9th - Hobart A bit of a nature day today as we went for a walk along the coast. Starting off at Kingston Beach it was a very nice walk through the state park with some beautiful views on the 10k walk.  On our return, and after some lunch, we visited a local shot-tower. At 50 metres high it is the sole claimant for the tallest STONE shot tower in the Southern Hemisphere and only one of three remaining in Australia. The other two in existence being at Melbourne Central and our local one at home, Clifton Hill, which is over 80 metres tall (but built from brick). 

  Feb 8th - Hobart / MONA A big day today to MONA, the Museum Of New and old Art. It’s the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere and houses ancient, modern, and contemporary art.  Although mainly wacko exhibits (IMHO! 😊 ) there are some quite interesting pieces as well as some pretty good design features in the building, which is mainly underground.  A tattooed pigskin, Bottom L.  Goldfish in a bowl,with knife, on a chair, Top R.  A Fat Car, Bottom L     Climbing Plants, Charles Darwin, Top R.  Some of the pretty cool, intentionally rusty, outside buildings.