Launceston to Hobart via the Highland Lakes

We decided to take a different route back to Hobart from Launceston and went via the Highland Lakes.  We didn’t realise however that we would be going up such a huge mountain to get to the lakes.  It was a nice drive with lots of hairpin bends and the lakes were very isolated.  There were also hardly any other vehicles on the road.

I’ve never seen a boat ramp as wide as the one at the Great Lake and it was definitely quite a barren area.

Back in Hobart we checked  into the lovely Henry Jones Art Hotel in Sullivan Cove and then had an excellent lunch at Muirs Upper Deck a short walk away, that would be the classiest lunch we had in Tasmania.  Excellent food, excellent  service, and a magnificent setting.

Smokey Joe’s Creole Cafe, Launceston

We had a great casual meal out at Smokey Joe’s Creole Cafe in Launceston.  It is a well priced meal that is not flash but good honest flavoursome food.

We both had the Half Ribs with Half Chicken, mine was with a Northern Style BBQ Sauce and Jane’s with a Dry Rub.  Both were great, and there was lots of meat on the ribs.

I then had a Cherry Cobbler for dessert that was lovely, and Jane had a Banana’s Foster for that was essentially caramelised banana with a bit of rum and then poured over some ice-cream.

A very enjoyable evening and we’re a little sorry we didn’t discover it earlier otherwise we would probably have been back.

Monkeys in the Park

The City Park in Launceston has a Monkey Enclosure that houses around 20 Macaque Monkeys and is totally free to visit.  The Monkeys seemed very relaxed and we found it was quite enjoyable to watch them get up to their antics.

The Sebel Restaurant, Launceston

We dined in the restaurant of our hotel last night and had a lovely meal with a very professional service.

We started with a shared plate of prawns that were cooked with an Asian influence and had a light lemongrass flavour.  These were accompanied by noodles and Bok Choy that had a Soy and Honey based dressing.  A nice dish.

For mains I had the Fish of the Day, which was Tasmanian Salmon, which was accompanied by a light lemon flavoured Risotto that was a little overcooked and not as flavoursome as what I have become accustomed to (NB: Jane makes an excellent Risotto).  The meal was okay, but not great.

Jane had a beautiful beef dish that had a light anise flavour and she thoroughly enjoyed.  From the taste I had, I could imagine that I too would have been very happy with it.

We then followed this with a variety of nice dessert dishes.

Launceston to Devonport, the magnificent Hawley beach and the Cataract Gorge

The drive from Launceston to Devonport in Tasmania up the Bass Highway passes through a few stops that foodies are likely to enjoy.

Our first stop was at the Christmas Hill Raspberry Farm a few kilometres south east of Elizabeth Town where we had a very enjoyable experience.  The farm is well setup with an outdoor area for kids and they have made good use of showcasing raspberries,  including the excellent Raspberry Latte that I ordered, Jane’s fizzy Raspberry drink she thought tasted like sea water but I enjoyed, a sweet but excellent Raspberry Crepe with Raspberry Ice cream, and Damper (okay it has nothing to do with  Raspberries, but we  ordered it).  They also had jams, a raspberry vinegar and a lovely chocolate dipped raspberry.  The service was great and the cafe had a nice vibe.  This place was our favourite cafe experience of the trip.

We then drove a little further up the road, just  north of Elizabeth Town and went to the Ashgrove Cheese Factory.  They had many cheeses available for tasting and you could watch the cheese being made.

The House of Anvers Chocolate Shop near Latrobe had some chocolates to taste and to buy however I can’t say I thought much of the chocolate I had there.

Devonport is where a number of people enter Tasmania (via the boats that come in), so we were a little shocked to find that the first restaurant we decided to go to for lunch was closed and that the cafe we then tried to go to thereafter was closed until mid January.  I would have thought this would be their busy season.

We subsequently continued on to Hawley Beach and Port Sorell to the East of Devonport.  Hawley Beach has one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever come across and is somewhere that we are very glad we decided to go to.  In addition to rock pools there are beautiful white sand beaches and the colour of the water was akin to what you would normally associate with the tropics.

After a good burger at Port Sorell and a quick drive-by of Hawley House we headed back down towards Launceston via Exeter past many poppy fields, that are throughout Tasmania and a key part of the landscape.

The Tamar Valley is one of the key wine growing areas of Tasmania and the Tamar River flows through the valley looking magnificent.

We then had a short stop at the Grindelwald Tamar Resort Hotel that is modelled on a Swiss Village and has mini-golf, a 9 hole golf course, lake, kayaks, a games room and lots of other fun stuff that seems well equipped for families with kids.

Back in Launceston we went back to the Cataract Gorge and I walked along from the Gorge Restaurant to the Kings Bridge and was taken in by the beauty of the gorge.

The Gorge Restaurant, Launceston

Tonight we dined at The Gorge Restaurant that is situated in the magnificent Cataract Gorge in Launceston.

The restaurant is in a lovely location and a peacock roamed freely through the outside tables.

We started with a disappointing garlic bread, and I followed this with a Smoked Quail entree that was okay although not rave-worthy.  Jane had Oysters done three ways, of which she found that natural was the best and that the other styles overpowered the oysters.

For a main course I had Duck, that was reasonably good and Jane had Lamb that she enjoyed, although the grapefruit accompaniment did not match.

Jane finished with a Rhubarb and White Chocolate Terrine that she enjoyed.

Eastern side of the Tamar Valley

We drove up the East Tamar Highway from Launceston today.

Our first stop was at Hillwood at the Strawberry Farm which was a waste of time.  It was however very close to the Batman Bridge that spans across the Tamar River.

We then continued up to the Low Head Lighthouse at Bass Strait and then backtracked down to some of the vineyards in the Tamar Valley.

Jansz in Pipers Brook was our first vineyard stop for the day where we sampled some lovely sparkling wines.

Literally around the corner we went to Pipers Brook Vineyard where I particularly enjoyed their Sparkling wine, Pinot Noirs and Blends.  We also stopped here for lunch and I had an excellent Prawn Salad and Jane had an antipasto platter.  Both meals were great.

Larceny, Launceston, Tasmania

We dined at Larceny restaurant (previously Q22) in Launceston last night for dinner.  This is part of the Clarion Hotel.

The restaurant is trying to be a classy establishment with nicely set tables and well-dressed waitresses, however it fell short this evening with the “lack of polish” that the wait staff exhibited and the food was okay although not great.  To be fair though, we think that most of the staff looked like they were in training so this may improve, so I won’t labour this point further other than to say that there is a lot of room for improvement.

I had the Venison and this tasted okay and was reasonably cooked, was accompanied by a nice caramelised poached pear and was adequately presented.  It was okay, but nothing special. 

Jane had the Pork Belly and found it to be a little dry and the cider-based jus a bit too acidic, but otherwise it was okay.

It is worth noting that whilst Q22 is in the Entertainment Book, they are no longer taking the card under their new name.

Hobart to Launceston via the Midland Highway and Ross

We drove up the Midland Highway yesterday from Hobart in the South to Launceston in the North.  At Granton we crossed the Derwent river and passed over the interesting bridge depicted below.

This is apparently the busiest highway in Tasmania however it was not abnormal to pass no vehicles for several kilometres.

Along the way there are a number of steel cut-outs that make the drive a little more interesting.  

We then went through the well-preserved town of Ross and had Devonshire Tea at the bakery after visiting their stone bridge.

From Ross he went to Launceston.