We returned to Dove Lake the next morning to see if we could get a better view of Cradle Mountain on what appeared to be a sunnier day. It was a bit better but still stuck under the clouds. Unfortunately, this is common in Tassie.
me and Katie in front of Cradle Mountain, I swear.
We got an early start on the drive back to Launceston, which was a really good thing since Katie and I have a tendency of taking the scenic route. Is it bad when you have to tell your navigator they're not even looking at the map in a moment of unmistakable lost-ness? Well, the up side to all of this is that we had time and we had a beautiful drive. Above is the Wilmot Valley of views. Cradle Mountain was off to the right (not in the picture) and was still covered in a cloud, which made us feel less bad about having poor weather the day before.
We made it so far off course that rather than heading east to Launceston, we arrived in Devonport, nearly due north from our departure point. This is where the Spirit of Tasmania ferry arrives from Melbourne. Ah well, I was a bit curious what the city was all about so all is good. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the northern coast of Tassie before sorting our path back to Launceston.
Once again, we were enjoying a beautiful, sunny day. If only we could have chosed when and where the sun would shine...
Katie was stoked when we passed a cheese factory en route to Launceston. We did a 180 to pull into her cheese paradise with lots of funky painted cows in the pastures.
We sampled around 20 cheeses, me picking the tiniest piece I could find as I'm not much of a cheese lover.
Beer, however, now that is something I can get stuck into. Next stop was the Boags Brewery in Launceston.
This was a display-only bar. I went in for the photo op and got a bit of a shock when beer came gushing out when I pulled back on the tap.
The Boags beer selection on display.
I'm hoarding every beer that comes off the assembly line.
And hugging a life-size bottle.
I arrived back in Melbourne around 6:30pm, and met Glenn and Josh at 8pm at Bridie O'Reilly's on the corner of Sydney Rd and Brunswick Rd to celebrate St Patrick's Day! We had the traditional Irish corned beef with cabbage dinner, and a few obligatory beers.
I'd never been to this pub before, but it was huge with a live band and lots of holiday festivities.
