Joyful Steps: 2014

Long journey to Launceston!

This day, we drove about 300km from Strahan to Launceston. It was snowing at Cradle Mountain area. We did not expect to see snow for this trip! We were so lucky that it wasn't snowing when we were at Cradle few days ago, else the temperature would be even lower. We stopped the car and let Phin Zhe experience the snow dropped on his hands. :)

But then at 90km away from Cradle Mountain, the weather was great! We stopped at Elizabeth town cafe for lunch. Since they were selling Ashgrove cheese, we skipped the original plan to visit the cheese factory.

lunch

Then we went to 41'c salmon and ginseng cheese farm. Don't forget to buy the ginseng spice from them. Good with almost everything on the plate!

nice scenery

salmon pond

feeding session

can u see the salmon fish in the picture?

We also dropped by Melita Honey Farm @ Deloraine. Unfortunately it was not opened that day.

Finally, we reached Forest Road Apartment at Launceston, which we rated the best stay for this Aussie trip.

getting the house key with the code provided in email

It was a 2 room apartment with a big living hall and a full kitchen.

On the kitchen top, there are travel notes,welcome note, welcome truffle, farm eggs from the garden, food for rabbits and hens. The truffle was nice, we found it at Davies Grand Central the next day.

This was the bedroom. Another room has a full height cabinet with toys!

This was why we were given rabbit and hen's food. Phin Zhe enjoyed feeding them very much.

At night after dinner, Phin Zhe enjoyed blueberries as his dessert while

we adults, have Valhalla ice cream, blackberry cheesecake flavor.

World Heritage Cruise at Strahan

We had finally decided to go for World Heritage Cruise, a must do in Strahan. It was expensive, but then we were glad that we did it. It was a memorable day cruising the Gordon River.

Since we had a baby, we opted for the most expensive gold seats which offered better view and more comfortable seats. They are the red seats in the pictures. The blue seats are premium seats. And they do have cheaper options, standard seats at the main deck. You get better view at upper deck, but then even with standard seats you are free to walk around.

Standard seats - $105, include a lunch buffet
Premium seats - $130, include a lunch buffet
Gold seats - $150, include a morning tea and a lunch buffet

They allowed us to wander about the vessel, even the pilot room. Yes, that was me acting on the pilot's seat. ;)

an hour guided tour at Sarah island

posing at Sarah island

Morning tea was a cup of tea/coffee with a sweet/savoury

I got some Duplo from the playroom for PZ

fast asleep baby

and now papa's turn to carry the sleeping baby

One thing worth mentioning was their lunch buffet. It was superb! We talked about the food again and again after the cruise.

My first plate: cold meat, smoked salmon, potatoes salad, rotini, beetroot pickles and apple celery walnut salad.

My second plate: smoked salmon, apple celery walnut salad, cracker and bread with cheeses.

The cruise ended at about 3pm, then we spent the rest of the evening wandering about Strahan town.

World Heritage Cruise
view website

Dove Lake......to Strahan

This was the rustic timber self contained cabin we stayed last night. Inside the cabin, it was perfectly furbished and spotlessly clean to ensure a luxury and pleasant stay. Outside the cabin, it was surrounded by natural bushes and trees. It was so close to nature that we had welcomed wildlife at our doorstep. :)

the short walk path to our cabin

That morning, we took a 15 minutes free shuttle from visitor center to Dove Lake.

spotted wildlife again!

Dove Lake circuit was an easy 6-7km walk. We spent about 3 hours enjoying the spectacular views in the morning breeze. Do go early, have the whole lake and jungle to yourself and enjoy the quietness.