We had a fairly short flight from Melbourne to the town of Launceston, where we start our Tasmanian adventure. We were only here one night to check out the Cataract Gorge, and stayed at a beautiful hotel, Stillwater Seven, nearby. The hotel is a converted flour mill, and has a great restaurant!
After an excellent lunch the hotel had arranged for a guide to take us through the gorge.
There is an excellent easy trail that runs along the edge of the gorge.
The lower part of the gorge is saltwater from the ocean, while the upper part is the freshwater Esk River. There is an excellent fishing spot where the two merge. You could see all of the fish just below the surface.
Our guide mentioned how frequently Launceston had been subjected to floods, so the upper part of the Esk River has a dam to control the flow. He said during periods of heavy rainfall this spot makes for some excellent white water rafting.
Further up the gorge is this lake that is a favorite swimming hole for the locals during the summer. Even though it wasn’t that warm there were people swimming here.
Some local entrepreneurs built a chair lift across the gorge back in 1972.
It’s apparently been so profitable that they were able to build this house with an incredible view of the gorge.
Adjacent to the lake we were surprised to see an actual Sequoia tree from California, that was planted in 1894.
Looking back up the gorge towards King Bridge on the return trip. You can see a tour boat in the distance.
There is a small building on the side of the trail called the Duchess Hut. It was built in 1926 and picked up it’s name when the Duke and Duchess of York visited in 1927. Note that it’s made out of concrete and chicken wire, as the guy who built it was tired of the wooden ones getting knocked down during storms. Looks a lot like something you’d see at Disneyland.
One last look up the gorge from the King Bridge at it’s entrance. The house on the right was the Caretaker’s Cottage.
Our guide pointed out that Launceston has it’s own version of Banksy, with some local painting little cats and mice in various locations in town. First the kitty.
Not too far away was the mouse.
Remember the house with the great view built by the chairlift people? Here it is from the trail just below, that we checked out on our way out of town the next day. These supports had to cost a fortune!
One last look at the gorge from up the hill, then off to beautiful Cradle Mountain National Park!
