MOT Tour Day 23: Launceston to Tam O'Shanter

Lovely berries

Moving on a busy day of seeing things and meeting up with people, as it turned out.

First stop north of Launceston was Hillwood Berries, a big farm covered in all varieties of berries. Their farmgate is a small shop that also provides coffee and ice creams and the opportunity to not only buy their products but today, to also pick your own punnett - something that sounds a lot worse than it actually is. Because I inherently trusted in Hillwood’s ability to select me the best of their strawberries and was concerned that it would be yet another job lost to the labour market, I would have been more than happy with a packed punnett but not Sue. She insisted she would dive into the world of personal punnett picking. It saved us three dollars, saved us from getting to George Town earlier than we wanted, saved us from buying a perfect selection. It was a courageous decision, especially bending with a sore back to pick them.

I enjoyed my coffee.

The Norfolk

In George Town we visited the Bass and Flinders Museum and were entertained and informed by a terrific volunteer of the history of B & F and their boats. A full replica of the Norfolk, which the pair used to circumnavigate Tasmania in 1798 - another task easier and less painful than it sounds. It was fabulously appointed and we enjoyed walking her decks and climbing down into her three very different cabins. Its creator, Bern Cuthbertson, sailed seven thousand nautical miles in the replica, including a retracing of the explorers track around Tasmania to celebrate the 200th year since the original. We had seen it from the shore in Yamba as Cuthbertson further explored the paths of Flinders.

It’s a small museum which tells a big history but the volunteers make it what it is.

We had a pleasant and healthy lunch at 1069 Cafe on the main street. It didn’t quite know if it was retro in decor but the food was delicious and reasonably priced.

We spent the afternoon at Low Head.

Firstly, we went to Easts Beach to see the quirky chainsaw sculptures of Eddie Freeman. The sculptor believes his sculptures are captives of trees and it’s his task to let them see light. Where once stood dying macrocarpa trees who would have met a chainsaw end, now stands a sea captain, dolphins, eagles, seals, sea birds, a lighthouse … all experiencing chainsaw rebirth.

From there we went to the oldest, continuously functioning Pilot station in Australia, the Low Head Pilot Station. It’s a collection of buildings, all of which served specific purposes in past days but now house a cafe, tourist accommodation and a rather well curated museum. Set out into themed rooms, there is just the right mix of written information and interesting artefacts. Outside, we watched a big freighter coming down the Tamar and a Pilot boat joining it to safely guide it through the many obstacles contained inside and at the entrance to the river. Bell Bay, on the Tamar, is Tasmania’s busiest sea port.

Further out on the point, we were surprised at the Low Head Lighthouse by the appearance of two of Sue’s sisters best friends, Guy and Jenny. Despite having met them previously, neither couple made the connection immediately. It wasn’t until Jenny said to Sue, “it’s uncanny how much you look like a friend of ours in Brisbane.” From there connection was quickly made.

The chainsaw sculptures 
at Windmill Point

The lighthouse has the unique feature of a resonator which creates a bellowing horn for marking the entrance point to the Tamar River. As per nomenclature, the lighthouse is on a low head, often shrouded in fog, so the bellowing horn is a useful adjunct. A lovely anecdote relates to its first months of operation. Farmers were concerned that their cow herds were disappearing, potentially decimating their livelihood. The answer came when more than a hundred of them were found to have gathered in the lighthouse precinct, apparently convinced that the bellowing resonator was in fact a new bull in the district.

Of a similar note, but organised by prior arrangement, we met up with locals Marcus and Tricia at the Pier Hotel in George Town. Marcus is ex-Tamworth and had been helpful in suggestions for planning this trip. True to form, Marcus had a few more tips about our planned visit to Port Arthur.

Our final act in George Town was a quick toilet stop at Windmill Point and more of Eddie Freeman’s tree releases and then we scarpered to Tam O’Shanter and a much anticipated reunion with Errol and Bron, two of our most long-lived friendships. We met and changed the world at Teacher’s College in the late 1970’s in Armidale. The world is better for it, even if those changes are not yet fully appreciated, so this weekend will be a chance to compare battle scars.

Tonight I'll sing my songs again

Click here for today's photos

I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound …

… not yet!

354 @ 11.88 (2487 @ 11.86)