Monday, March 18, 2024

Blue Trees

As we have been driving around Launceston, we have noticed several blue trees. Our driver had no idea what they were for, but Dr. Google certainly does. Apparently a young girl and her brother were cleaning out their father's shed when they found some blue paint. They decided to take the paint and paint an old tree blue, just to see how their father would react. From what I could gather, her brother eventually took his life and she began to use the blue tree as a symbol of mental health. She became one of Australia's young stars and founded the Blue Tree Project to raise awareness for mental health. There are over 1100 registered trees, wome of which are in the US.
It is an interesting international project that bears watching. In this age of mental health crises, maybe seeing blue trees will help someone.

Heading to Cradle Mountain

Because of a mix-up, we missed our tour to Cradle Mountain and our agent hired a private driver for us. Thank goodness! The weather at Cradle Mountain was abysmal - cloudy, misty, windy, and cold. We were not remotely interested in hiking, and so, after seeing the visitor center and a lodge, we went to several other places.
The forest on the way to Cradle Mountain changed as we went up the hill - beginning with the plains and traversing through thick rain forest. The ferns were huge, the eucalyptus trees tall, and the flowers gorgeous.
Apparently wombats can be seen in the area, but they must have been cold. We did see a wallaby, several kookaburras, and the cormorant above.
Now i cannot get the kookaburra song out of my mind!

Quirky Towns

When we were in Port Arthur, we began to pick up the idea that some towns are a bit quirkier than others. Then on Monday, when we went to Cradle Mountain, we were introduced to several others, and in order to remember them, I am writing about them. Near Port Arthur, we drove through Doo Town, where Eric Round, a Hobart architect, started a trend by naming his home a name Doo I. Then came Doo Me, Doo Us, Dr. Doolittle, In Doo Time, Make Doo, Dooing Nothing, How do you Doo? . . . you get the idea. I think if we lived there, we would have to name our house Doo Dah!
Then we went to Sheffield, the city of murals where they have a competition for muralists. They also have murals on many buildings, some which were stunning. One of the best, I thought, was this one, where, from far away, it truly looks three-dimensional.
Doesn't it look like you could walk right through that door? The one next to the above one is this one of a woman in car driving out of town to Cradle Mountain.
Each year a competition is held for murals on approximately 8' x 16' panels. Every year the theme changes, and at the end of the year, the winner is chosen to remain in the permanent exhibit and the others are sold. There are at least 20 years of murals in the park + the ones for this year and a few extras. Below are a few of my favorites from the competitions:
The symbolism of the current man who is who he is because of the men before him really grabbed me.
I so envy those with artistic talent, and these are just a few examples of a talent I really do not have. Finally, Railton is the town of topiary trees. Many of them had not been shaped in awhile, but we saw some really fun ones. A town of topiaries is just pretty cool!
Apparently there are many other quirky towns like these, but we did not visit them. It would be fun to return, however, and find them!

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Cataract Gorge

Another highlight of our Launceston trip was Cataract Gorge. Our driver took us to the chairlift that took us over the Cataract Gorge. Launceston has created a park around the gorge, and besides a monstrous swimming pool, hiking trails abound. The chairlift was slow and relaxing, and the view below was just plain fun! Besides a large grassy area, the park had a huge pool, and people were also swimming in the river water. It was a beautiful day, hot enough for swimming . . . I can imagine in the summer this place is packed.
Once we arrived at the top of the chairlift, we were met by wallabies, padamelons, and peacocks. Not at all what we expected to find but a fun treat.
I wish we had had time to walk the trails - they seemed to be well used and beautiful. Next time!

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover!

We were excitedly anticipating going to the platypus house, but we had no idea what to expect. And upon driving up, we were a little concerned. It looked somewhat like a shack - a tin building with an unassuming facade . . . not sure about this one. We walked into a gift shop and cafe, but again, it was quite unassuming. We were hoping the tour would be ok, as we had a little girl who kept screaming, a building that was not the greatest, and gift shop that had some interesting stuff in it but just seemed a little understated. We were taken into a room where our guide filled us in a bit about the platypus and the echidna, and it is a good thing our guide had a strong voice and a patient demeanor, because the little girl gave us all a little more than we wanted. Then we were treated to a visit to the male and female platypus. Worth every minute! The platypus are not as large as I expected - they are slender like an otter, about 15" long with a 5" tail, and they only weigh about 3 pounds. The males have a spur with a venom in it that is not fatal to people but can hurt for months afterwards.
Then we went to see the echidna. We sat on the ground, and they just wandered around us. One time, the little one actually crawled on Don's leg to try to reach some food. It was quite funny. The echidna has a tongue that is about 12" long and its spines are sharp but has no hooks, so they are not like a porcupine. It is "anteaterish" and walks around minding its own business eating ants and other insects.
These two animals are so different from others we have seen . . . a great learning experience.

Day Tripping to Launceston

We had a lazy morning preparing to go to Launceston, but our driver was able to fill us in on many things about the area, including farming, wine making, and distilleries. We stopped for lunch at the Ross Bakery and tried their meat pies. Don's Curried Scallop Pie was delicious, and although I liked my salmon and brie, I preferred his!
We also saw several quaint sites such as this windmill an the writing on a bridge into Ross:
Next stop Platypus House!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Drunken Admiral and Art around the area

We were told about a seafood place called the Drunker Admiral, so we had made reservations to go there for dinner. The food was much more our style - nicely cooked salmon for Micky and me, fish and chips for Don. The building was very clever, which made for a fun meal.
Then we viewed the art work along the pier. One group of statues told the story of the 3000 female convicts who were kept in Hobart and the number of children who were in orphan schools because both of their parents were in jail:
and then on our way home, this water-filling station named Fish Out of Water:
This town has so much to offer, and we didn't see much of it at all. I wish it was not so far away - I would return in a heartbeat!