Day Nine - Tin Dragons

Yes, I am writing this after a bit of a hiatus. In fact, I am back in Canberra, doing the classic thing of attempting to remember my holiday after having allowed the diary to slip. Part of this is my fault, part I blame on the Captain. Allow me to explain.

We only took one dear little notebook computer between the four of us. Four geeks, one computer, limited 3G access ... yes. The Captain had thought ahead to the long relaxing evenings in Tassie and downloaded an entertaining little game for the purposes of the holiday, involving flowerbeds, zombies, traffic cones and dolphins in a swimming pool. Oh, and car keys, apparently. This game was so jolly entertaining that later in our holiday, evenings were more likely to be spent shooting zombies' heads off than blogging. However, I defy anybody to resist ...

Okay. Day Nine in Launceston started with K and myself eagerly hitting the streets (while A and the Captain took their time miseraby loading the car) - yes, it was shopping day!

We started at an entire shop dedicated to umbrellas, where in spite of everything neither of us purchased any umbrellas. The chaps reluctantly joined us at this stage, having loaded the car as slowly as they were able, and we charged up the hill to a rockabilly shop I had noticed earlier (distracted enough to pause for some rather tasty hot chocolate, but again I defy anybody not to, followed by a shoe shop in which the Captain bought me a perfectly delicious pair of shoes, but THEN we raced to the rockabilly place.) Aces and Eights was lovely. It was so nice to encounter such a friendly and well-stocked shop, and I am now richer by some really cute jewellery. Do check them out if you are in Launceston: it is good to see that such a lovely city has an alternative scene or two flourishing.

Next a trip to the fantastic Fin de siècle park in Launceston, to admire a gallery and shop full of fairly spectacular design (heaps of wood, as excpected in Tassie, including the most remarkable cocktail cabinet that K&A are still considering purchasing), and a habitat full of fairly spectacular Japanese macaques who politely but firmly ignored a gawping audience as they got about their primatey business (climbing, relaxing, scratching, socialising, eating KFC ... much the same as their audience, really). I was rather taken with the big male macaque who treated us to a long cool stare then very deliberately turned his elegant back on us. Fair enough, really. He had a lovely dignified appearance and if he were human he would have been wearing a velvet smoking-jacket, no doubt. A venerable gentleman.

Eventually we had to tear ourselves away from Launceston. It wasn't easy. However we were en route to another of Australia's more spectacular areas, Freycinet and Coles Bay, and had a booking that night along the way at the Tin Dragon trail cottages in Branxholm.

This area is and was a tin mining region, attracting a lot of Chinese miners who are remembered in the Tin DragonTrail Cottages, an eco-retreaty sort of place featuring several little huts (with all mod-cons), some pretty scenery and a herd (mob? flock? anyone?) of alpacas. We checked into Ah Ping cottage, and immediately were checked out by local wildlife including wrens and kookaburras. In spite of friendly owner Graham warning us that two of the alpacas were 'frisky' and one in particular was best approached with a large stick in hand, A the animal fan immediately decided to walk down and pay them a visit. Happily he avoided the Killer Alpacas (well, one of them was less killer than petulant teenager, apparently) and went instead to the main enclosure, where we were gradually surrounded by shy-but-adorable alpacas who stared at us dispassionately for a while then lost interest and went back to their grass.

By this stage of our trip, we were all feeling rather tired, and a little too well-fed, so a modest supper involving tomatoes and toasted cheese later, we had one of those quiet nights and retired early. It is quite likely we did not do the Tin Dragon Trail Cottages justice. Perhaps next time.

More of our Tasmanian adventures when I recall what happened next!