From St Helens, we drove west towards Launceston.
Our first stop was the lovely town of Binalong Bay on the edge of the Bay of Fires, we had a lovely walk on the rocks and beach and the girls enjoyed yet another Tassie playground.
From here we headed north – opting to take the slightly longer route so that we could travel via Derby!
As we were driving we took a slight detour to visit Pyengana Dairy Company, where we tasted and purchased some delicious cheese, as well as having a drink and very tasty scone! We would definitely recommend a stop here if you are ever passing this way.
Derby Down Under
As we drove into Derby we stopped at the sign for a photo! The town itself felt like it was a reconstruction of the American Adventure (for those that don’t know this was a theme park near Ilkeston that closed in the early 00s). So many wild west looking shops and despite there being several shops everywhere was closed so there was an eerie quiet about the town!
Driving further across the country, the views were stunning and we stopped several times to photograph them before arriving in Launceston.
The capital of the North
Arriving in Launceston, it is clear you have now left the wild and beautiful East Coast and are well and truly back in the city. However, despite this the colonial buildings are still standing and very well preserved to tell the history of the town.
After checking into our accommodation for the next two nights, we set out to purchase supplies and get our washing sorted – there is a whole blog post we have to write about washing on the road!!
Saturday was the perfect day to be in Launceston and we started the day at the farmers market where we found some delicious food and drinks as well as taking in the general atmosphere – this reminded us that we need to attend more farmers markets when we get home.
This was the day we also had to buy the girls some new clothes as they were beginning to outgrow their trousers both having had growth spurts, so we headed into the centre and found Target where we were able to get them what they needed! One thing that stuck out for us even in the town centre was the cleanliness and amount of communal space with fountains and benches for chilling out and that the girls found great entertainment.
Next stop was the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (free to visit) where we spent time in the discovery centre as well as looking at the Tasmanian history and finding out what happened to the Tasmanian Tiger.
After a picnic lunch, we headed to Cataract Gorge where we were able to walk across the suspension bridge and up into the gardens. To our surprise, we found a lot of Peacocks and Peahens which were fascinating to watch, before walking further down the gorge in the direction of town. We walked back opposite the bridge to really take in its height and the beauty of the gorge.
We had a great day in Launceston and ended it with Smores – handmade by Molly!
