Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Our day began in Derby, Tasmania. It rained overnight and the grassy field we camped in last night was wet, but the air temperature was surprisingly warm and humid this morning.

As we fell asleep last night, Andi and I kept watch over the field surrounding us, waiting for wallabies to venture out from the surrounding forest. The owner of the property told us they come most nights to eat the grass. Once a month or so, he said he shoots one and invites the neighbor over for a BBQ. Um, what?! Wallabies are a novelty to us, but for local Aussies, I think they’re as common as deer are to us back home in Wisconsin.

Andi did his conference call inside the RV this morning since it was raining outside. He drew the privacy curtain and worked from our bed while Tory, Aden, and I stayed quiet on the other side.

By 10:00am, we were on the road to Launceston. Launceston is the largest city in northern Tasmania, and is specifically known for its gastronomy. All the locals we talked to said, “Oh, you’ll like Launnie,” and suggested the typical zoo or adventure park family activities. They also mentioned Cataract Gorge as a must-do during our visit.

Nobody mentioned that Launceston is a city built on hills! Not exactly RV-friendly driving as we navigated our way to Cataract Gorge located in the heart of the city. Left-side-of-the-road navigation through a series of roundabouts and traffic on steep 20% grade hills. NBD.

We found a spot to park our rig in the First Basin parking lot. “I’ll be ready in a minute!” Tory said as Andi, Aden, and I exited the vehicle ready to go. Fifteen minutes later, the three of us were still standing around the parking lot waiting for her to finish her make-up.

“Oh, I can’t wear slides?” Tory asked, as she finally emerged from the vehicle. “No, Tory, we’re walking around this gorge,” Andi said with an undertone of annoyance. “Gah, be right back.” Back in the RV she went while we waited around for another five (or 500) minutes.

Finally at the main gate, we purchased a family bundle of tickets for the chairlift. It seems like most attractions in Australia have a discount bundle available for families. Kids are free, or the price is reduced for children under the age of 15.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from our visit to Cataract Gorge. There was swimming pool here, a chairlift, walks through the gorge, a restaurant, and a cafe. Given the weather we’ve experienced so far in Tasmania, I couldn’t imagine it being warm enough to swim. It’s been windy, cool, and rainy most days. The climate felt different in Launceston though; the air was warm and humid.

Andi purchased one-way tickets on the chairlift. We figured we’d ride over the gorge, and then follow the walking trails back. Andi and Tory rode together in one chair, and Aden and I followed behind. Several peacocks meandered around the chairlift as we waited.

It was a peaceful ride as we glided above a playground, swimming pool, and the gorge itself. A couple people were swimming, but the park wasn’t crowded in the least bit.

As we exited the chair lift, we were greeted by a group of wallabies and peacocks. They were very tame, so I suspect they are residents of the gorge and are used to people being around them. One lady fed a wallaby some food, and another bent down to take a selfie with one. “Can I do that?” Aden asked Andi. He recorded a video of himself petting one of the wallabies.

We decided to walk the Cataract Walk which links Cliff Grounds to Kings Bridge. It was an easy 1.2 mile paved pathway following the waterway. The walk was beautiful with signage along the way explaining the history of the gorge. The original pathway and some of the huts along the gorge were created in the 1890s.

As we neared the Kings Bridge, it started to rain. The four of ducked underneath one of the huts for shelter until the rain shower passed. Andi suggested we walk across the street to Stillwater Restaurant for lunch. This was more of an up-scale restaurant, but they offered a children’s menu so Andi thought it’d be OK to go.

This was the first restaurant we’ve eaten at in Australia with table service. Our waitress was friendly enough, and suggested we try the Tasmania oysters as they were fresh today. We agreed to order three oysters, as well as the market fish of the day, a soy chicken salad dish, and a side salad to share. The kids each ordered spaghetti with red sauce.

Aden was brave enough to try oysters with us! They were served with a passionfruit sauce which we drizzled over the top. “When in doubt, just hurry up and swallow it,” Aden said with a smile. They oysters tasted fine. I can’t say I’d crave them, but it was fun to try the local specialty.

All of our food tasted excellent, especially the market fish with quinoa, macadamia nuts, pickled zucchini, and fennel.

I would have loved to walk down to the sea harbor, but it was raining again. We decided we’d better start our walk back to our RV parked at Cataract Gorge. Our walk back was an enjoyable one, too. We took the First Basin Loop trail which walked underneath the chairlift and through the playground. The kids asked to stop for ice cream and a spin on the hamster wheel play structure.

Afterwards, we loaded back into the RV and navigated our way to Old Macs Caravan and Motorhome Farm Stay. Andi booked us a powered site at the campground for the night.

This place surprised us as well. Located within the city of Launceston, the popular campground features a restaurant and farm animals on site. The campsites were nestled together pretty closely which isn’t our favorite way to camp, but the campground itself was nicely kept and had lots to offer for the kids.

Now that we were at a place with an actual dump station, our first order of business was to give our toilet cassette a good cleaning as well as its cabinet inside the RV. We tried our best to clean it up with paper towels and a bottle of spray cleaner on the side of the road yesterday, but it still smelled gross.

Then, we parked our camper and settled in for the evening. The kids helped Andi set up the power, water, and Starlink. We all assumed our usual positions when we finally have internet in the evenings — on our electronic devices. After a day of adventuring, all of us usually need a minute of chill time.

The sun came out and heated up the wet, humid air. It was hot inside our camper, so I chose to sit outside in the grass. Then, Andi and I went for a campground walk to get in some more steps.

Andi told the kids we’d order something from Uber Eats if they could both agree on one restaurant. There was some squabbling back and forth between the kids while they settled on a place for dinner. Eventually, they agreed upon Subway. Andi placed our order and 30 minutes later, a guy showed up with our sandwiches. He also ordered grocery delivery which was a nice treat.

Andi said Australian sarsaparilla tastes like root beer with an aftertaste of Dimetapp.

Our site at Old Mac’s Farm had power and water, and there are community toilets but no showers. Andi suggested we all take showers inside our RV and he’d continue filling up our water tank as needed. This was a welcomed treat; we all needed to shower after a few days of dry camping.

Tomorrow, we’re making our way to Cradle Mountain — one of Tasmania’s top attractions. Looking forward to it.