Launceston and the Tamar River

We had a whole day at the Beauty Point marina and guests notwithstanding, that meant what it usually meant – jobs!! Harj and I grabbed a lift into town with Luke, the marina caretaker, stocking up on fresh food at the supermarket and exchanging a gas bottle at the servo. Meanwhile, Matt and Dylan hosed the boat down and filled our water tanks. There had been a lot of threats from Uncle Matt to Dylan that he was to scrub the boat with his toothbrush, however I’m pretty sure Dylan was excused for good behaviour.

Later, I did laundry at the local laundromat while the boys all went to Seahorse World. Apparently it was very interesting and they learnt the difference between seahorses and seadragons. Matt now wants a tank of seahorses for pets. Watch this space, I guess!

We had a lovely lazy afternoon and celebrated Australia Day with sausages in bread for dinner. The weather was strange; hot sun one minute, then heavy cloud and cold the next. A warm wind alternating with a cold wind. Four seasons in one day doesn’t appear to just be the domain of Melbourne! In the evening, Harj was treated to a classic cruising experience. A couple wandered up to our boat and said Hello. Matt got chatting to them and after a while invited them onto the boat for a look, which turned into an offer of drinks. And so it was that several hours and many topics of conversation later, our new friends, Jill and Al, left, a little worse for wear, as was Matt who fell asleep on the couch.

It was probably fortunate that we had to wait for the tide to turn before we could set off the next morning. We had a slow start to the day and then motored around to the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club to fill up with diesel. There were some strong gusts blowing through as we attempted to tie up on the fuel jetty so I was very grateful to have crew on board to help with throwing and catching lines.

But finally we were off, ready to show our team a different type of cruising. No sailing for us, this time we’d be motoring upstream and Dylan was very keen to have a go at the helm. He did a great job of steering us, with Captain Matt keeping a watchful eye beside him. It was very quiet on the river, not many other boats about, and we’d timed the tide well so we were being pushed along nicely by the current, averaging six to seven knots and even hitting nine knots through a few stretches.

The boys all went up to the bow to watch as we glided under the Batman Bridge. Taking a sailing yacht under a bridge is quite a strange sensation as it appears that the mast is too high to fit underneath. The closer you get to the bridge, the more impossible it seems that you will be able to pass under, and then all of a sudden, there is the bridge looming high overhead and quite amazingly, the mast is immediately dwarfed. When we were discussing fitting under the bridge, Dylan suggested manifesting to make sure. ‘Uh uh,’ said Uncle Matt, shaking his head, ‘when it comes to yachts and bridges, we know for sure, we don’t just manifest!!’ And even though I knew the Batman Bridge was 28 metres high and our mast is 20 metres tall, meaning we had plenty of clearance room, I still found myself a teensy bit nervous!

We reached Rosevears in the early afternoon but our chosen pontoon, right outside the pub, was occupied so we tied up on the other side of the river and went for a walk. After a while, we moved back over and anchored just outside the pub. Matt ferried us all to shore and we secured a table at the Rosevears Hotel where we could keep a watch on the pontoon. The restaurant was lovely and we shared a delicious grazing platter. As soon as we saw the boat begin to move off the pontoon we wanted, Matt and I were out of our seats and rowing back to Cool Change. Soon she was safely tied up to the dock, meaning we could all walk on and off easily. It was time to relax. Dinner was yummy and we had a quiet evening on the boat.

As we once again had to wait for the tide before moving upstream, we had the morning to fill, so a good long walk was in order. After coffee from the bakery, we walked up the hill to Tamar Ridge Cellar Door and Turner Stillhouse. After the obligatory gin and wine tastings we meandered back to the boat.

And then, we were off, motoring slowly upstream to Launceston. The final stop for Harj and Dylan, they would be leaving us early the next morning. The sky was overcast and grey, and had quite a gloomy feeling as we approached Launceston and searched for the berth we had booked. Strong winds battered us as we attempted to dock, and once again our crew proved themselves very handy.

Then it was time to go for a walk. We followed signs to nearby Cataract Gorge and marveled at the dramatic canyon. The views down the gorge are absolutely spectacular. After a quick walk over the suspension bridge, it was back to Launceston to search out somewhere for dinner. We stumbled upon a fantastic restaurant, The Kings Bridge. It has an interesting history, having been moved 60 kilometres from its original destination in the Midlands where it was built as a watermill in 1840.

The food was delicious and the wine flowed as we celebrated the end of a wonderful trip. Harj and Dylan would be going back to life on land, and we would be continuing on, just the two of us. It had been great to have our friends on board and I would miss them. I would especially miss Harj’s culinary efforts, but maybe most of all, his insistence that he and Dylan would do the dishes!! Thanks so much guys, it’s been an absolute pleasure cruising with you!!

Walking back, we were treated to an incredible spectacle of colour as the Launceston skyline turned purple and pink:

And then, just like that, the boat was very quiet and it was back to just the two of us. After waving Harj and Dylan goodbye at 6 am in the drizzling rain, we crawled back into bed. Where had summer gone?!

The next week was a strange one for us. Harj and Dylan left us on Sunday morning and we had originally planned to stay a couple more days in Launceston and then head back downstream, with the aim of sailing east on Wednesday. However, a large front bringing incredibly strong winds was forecast and would make our chosen anchorage at Preservation Island untenable. It seemed that we would have to wait for the front to pass.

Resignedly, we booked three more nights on the pontoon. But that’s cruising. You just have to make the best of it. It seems we were going to see a lot more of Launceston. On a positive note, when Matt went in to rebook he discovered that the tour company whose berth we were renting had a shower that we could use. A hot shower! I was a happy girl!

And so we set about exploring Launceston and its surrounds.

Cataract Gorge, arguably Launceston’s most famous attraction was definitely our favourite and we hiked the steep track in on several occasions. The dramatic cliffs, rising rapidly up from the narrow river were stunning. One day was absolutely beautiful, sunny and hot, and I packed bathers and a towel for our walk. We swam in the free pool at the First Basin and spent a few hours lounging in the sun and reading. Quite blissful!

The very friendly echidna we encountered on a hike in to Cataract Gorge:

One of the things that amazed us was just how low the low tide was. We’d been warned about how shallow and how muddy the Tamar River was right up in Launceston, but it was really something to see it. At low tide, boats everywhere were sitting dry on the riverbed.

Around the corner from where we were berthed was the Seaport Marina. We had been warned that the marina became very shallow at low tide and that a boat with our draft would likely sit in the mud at low water. Fortunately, we had come across the Tamar River Cruises pontoon and we floated comfortably at low tide.

But just how far in the mud a boat could sit was something we had to see to believe. Wandering around to the marina at low tide, we gasped in disbelief as we saw the floating pontoons completely filled with solid brown mud. Holy moly. It sure was a sight.

We spent a day wandering around the city, and although the James Boag brewery was not currently doing tours, Matt did manage to sample a Boags in a pub. When in Launceston…. and all that.

One of the more unusual attractions in Launceston are the Japanese macaque monkeys in City Park. Free to visit, and apparently beloved by locals, the monkeys were a gift from Launceston’s sister city, Ikeda, Japan, in exchange for 10 wallabies in 1980. Of course we had to go and see them.

A day was set aside to catch the local bus back along the Tamar to the towns of Beaconsfield and Grindelwald. Beaconsfield is most famous for the mine collapse disaster in 2006 and the miraculous rescue of two miners. We toured the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre, learning about the town’s gold mining history.

Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre:

Then it was on to Grindelwald, one of the more bizarre towns we’ve been to on our circumnavigation of Australia. Built in the style of a Swiss Village, it is a residential development and resort, but with most of the activities seemingly aimed at children (think mini golf and pedal boats), it was a pretty long two hour wait for our bus.

Our last day in Launceston brought rain, rain and more rain. It was also the day I’d earmarked for laundry and groceries. We both trudged through the drizzle to the laundromat and in the afternoon I popped out to Woolies. Walking back with my two bags of groceries, I was caught in a major downpour and although I attempted to take cover, I was completely saturated by the time I arrived back at the boat. Sopping wet, freezing cold, and my back killing me, I was so ready to move on!! We treated ourselves to dinner out, just around the corner at a lovely restaurant, the Levee Food Co. and it was hard to believe it was summer as the icy breeze from an Antarctic blast had us shivering on the short walk home.

Puttering slowly downstream the next day, we were cold and frustrated. The weather forecast had changed again and it still didn’t look good to be out at the islands in the east that we wanted to go to. We were checking and checking different forecasts and coming up with alternate options, when we anchored near our friends; Jo and Chris from No Regrets and Karen and Pete from Laylah.

Just as our conversation was turning to the possibility of having to skip the islands and head straight down the east coast, Jo, Chris, Karen and Pete motored up in their dinghy. They’d just been to a winery onshore. They shared their plans of an overnight sail to Wineglass Bay leaving early Sunday morning, which is pretty much what we had just discussed. Matt and I looked at each other, resigned that this was indeed the best course of action.

After we all moved to a more sheltered anchorage, we were invited onto No Regrets for dinner and drinks. It was lovely to catch up with these guys and hear what they’d all been up to and dinner was seafood that Chris and Pete had caught along the way; squid, whiting and crayfish. Yum!! It was super calm and flat in the anchorage and when the sun came out, quite beautiful.

After consolidating plans for the passage down to Wineglass Bay, Chris kindly ferried us back to our own boats. Matt and I were now feeling pretty content with our decision. It was time for the next stage of our journey. Bring on the East Coast of Tassie!!

Make the most of What you have, When you have it, Where you are.

Eleanor Roosevelt