Launceston, Devonport, and beyond

After our tour had ended, we found ourselves with about four days to kill before heading from Tasmania back to Melbourne. To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot we felt like doing in Launceston. It is a cute little city, with a few nice areas to walk and some interesting shopping districts, but we were feeling somewhat frustrated by our lack of transportation options. After two days in Launceston, we headed up to Devonport, where we would be catching the Spirit of Tasmania overnight ferry back to the mainland.

The day we left was, like most days in Launceston, raining steadily. The rain did bring about some form of amusement, however, as it heralded the apparition of a rare and noble creature, namely the Humpbacked Glen:




Devonport was similarly a pretty but somewhat dull pace to visit. There are beaches, but I would frankly recommend staying away from them. If the warning signs speak the truth, the Devonport beaches are out to kill you:



I think that the many days of non-stop driving and touring was finally getting to us, and we were wanting to be able to kick back and shut our heads off for a little bit. Happily, our Devonport hostel was completely devoid of other visitors save us, and we found an unsecured wireless connection in our room. As our room was a private double bed with the luxury of its own sink and television, we basked in the relative glory of our newfound electronic access and did little more than sit around, go out for groceries, cook and eat for two days. We did take some walks here and there, but there wasn’t much around to really grab our attention. The fact that Glen was in the throes of a nasty cold he picked up in Hobart didn’t exactly help our energy level either.

The Spirit of Tasmania voyage was quite lovely. We had gone with the budget-friendly option of ocean-view recliners that were on a promotional sale, and enjoyed a nice on-board dinner (the first nice dinner out we’ve taken since arriving in Australia), a shared bottle of wine, and an evening screening of Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix. As a result of entirely too much rich risotto, too much wine, and a very choppy sea, my night’s sleep was redolent with dreams of being seasick and throwing up overboard. Happily, such nastiness didn’t actually occur in real life, but it did make for an, uh, interesting night. Glen, on the other hand, slept like a rock.