A summer in Tasmania

[drron]

I was going to go to the Mole Creek hotel which has some good recommendations from the locals.However the first place I came to was this.
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The Wandering Trout.A craft brew house serving Mexican Street food at the moment.You can also stay there.The brewmaster ,Justin,is friendly and the service is good.A really nice place for a lunch on a miserable day.
I had one of his ales that I enjoyed and the Quesadilla with pulled pork and smashed spuds as a side.
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Good simple food.Also an unusual wine list as he stocks local North west vineyards.First time I have seen the White Rock dornfelder on a wine list.So if you like Mexican food a good place to drop in.
It appears it has been open just over a year - great timing!From their facebook page it appears the menu changes from time to time.The earliest TA reviews have it serving Tapas.A few pics from their page with changing menus.
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And the current Mexican menu.

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[Cossie]

I was going to go to the Mole Creek hotel which has some good recommendations from the locals.However the first place I came to was this.
View attachment 238827.

The Wandering Trout.A craft brew house serving Mexican Street food at the moment.You can also stay there.The brewmaster ,Justin,is friendly and the service is good.A really nice place for a lunch on a miserable day.
I had one of his ales that I enjoyed and the Quesadilla with pulled pork and smashed spuds as a side.
View attachment 238828.View attachment 238829.

View attachment 238830.

Good simple food.Also an unusual wine list as he stocks local North west vineyards.First time I have seen the White Rock dornfelder on a wine list.So if you like Mexican food a good place to drop in.
It appears it has been open just over a year - great timing!From their facebook page it appears the menu changes from time to time.The earliest TA reviews have it serving Tapas.A few pics from their page with changing menus.
View attachment 238831.
View attachment 238832

And the current Mexican menu.
View attachment 238833

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I'll put that in the memory bank for our next visit, thanks!

 

[drron]

I then walked around Mole creek.Some nice old buildings and interesting history.
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Notice the smoke from the chimney in the middle of summer.
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And many houses have very nice gardens.
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And the Mole Creek hotel.
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[drron]

A roadside museum of the Mole creek rail line.Surprised to find it only finally closed in 1992 though the last train ran in 1985.
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[drron]

There was also a display of the Mountain Huts.
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On the way back evidence that the poppy crop is nearing harvest.
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I had taken a picture of this field on 27/11/20.
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[drron]

Friday and as I was on call a local walk.First down to Bell's Parade.This was Latrobe's port back in the day.
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I walked over to Pig Island.A centre of boat building in the early days.For most of the 19th century Latrobe was a larger town than Devonport.
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A lot has been turned into parkland.
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[drron]

A beautiful spot.
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[drron]

A weir keeps the water level constant.there are trout in the river and platypus sometimes seen but not today.
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A good path to walk around the island.
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[drron]

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Across a little creek.
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[drron]

Some beauty plus a human who obviously behaved badly.
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That is the point where the Mersey divides forming the Island.

 

[drron]

The last of Pig Island and the Mersey.
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Plover central.
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[drron]

A sculpture with murals of Latrobe history.
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The Latrobe Brass band the oldest continuously active Brass band in Australia.
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And woodchopping.now the home of the Axeman's Hall of Fame.
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And the local museum - Sherwood Hall.More of that Later.
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And the gates to Bell's Parade built in 1954 to celebrate 150 years of Tasmanian occupation.
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And the big platypus.
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[drron]

I now drove a short distance to Victor Street Latrobe and walked the tracks over Doooley's Hill behind the Latrobe Main street.Wide tracks.Actually best late in the day as the animals come out.literally thousands of small marsupials live here.Quolls in particular.
First a nice house with a great garden before starting the walk.
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Now the tracks.
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Now there are some native cherries here but the fruit wasn't ripe on most trees.Don't get tricked with this bush which funnily is usually growing alongside the native cherries.
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The top of the hill is farmland and acreage blocks.
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So there are invaders.Unfortunately the banana passionfruit are not ripe.
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[drron]

You can do a loop along tracks that are not too steep.There is one track that runs from the northern end of the Latrobe township close to the IGA to Bell's Parade that is steep at either end but not really long sections.I avoided those though.
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At one point a kookaburra had been under a fern beside the track.It decided to take off as I passed.I hadn't seen him.
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Some views of the far hills.
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[drron]

On friday I went back to Sherbrook House to do a tour.Quite expensive - $2.
Dolly Dalrymple was the first known person of a Tasmanian Aboriginal and a white that was known to survive.Her mother was an Indigenous person from Flinders Island.She was brought up by white foster parents and eventually married a convict Thomas Johnson.They became probably the richest couple in early Latrobe and she was said to be the brains of the family.This is what she owned on her death.
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And to the house-just 3 rooms are open,the rest is the caretaker's residence.
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It really was interesting.One of the exhibits was Dolly's family tree.Many of the businesses in Latrobe are her descendants.Really gave a new insight into the history of the Tasmanian indigenous history.
Interesting also was the history of the house.
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[drron]

So National trust Tasmania says on it's website that it's properties are open on saturdays and sundays from 1000 to 1600 so popped around to the Latrobe PO and Home Hill.Neither open on weekends.But I did walk around the Garden of Home Hill.
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Home Hill of course was the home of Sir Joseph Lyons an ALP Premier of Tasmania then Australian PM for the UAP.He was the first PM to die in office and the only Tasmanian PM.Also one of only 2 State Premiers to become PM.
After his death his wife lived here.One of the first 2 women to stand for the ALP in a Tasmanian state election in 1925 and in 1943 one of the first 2 women to be elected to federal Parliament.She was the first in the Reps whilst dame Dorothy Tangney was the first woman Senator.
Dame Enid served as the first woman Cabinet minister under Menzies.

 

[drron]

On the way back to my digs I was stopped for a train-only the third time in 15 years working in Tasmania.I took a lot of photos as I like trains.
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I noticed that that last blue container was an HNA company.Maybe not many more of those appearing.
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[RooFlyer]

drron, you should check out the Summer 20-21 edition (#99) of FortySouth magazine - has an article on Tas orchids from p 72. You'll find the mag on sale at larger book shops, or in the L'ton library. Its worth buying - the articles are many and varied.

 

[drron]

I then stopped at La Villa winery at Spreyton.This still is a large apple and pear orchard but they have diversified and now a couple of blocks of grapes.No winemaking on site.That is done by Dalrymple Wines at Pipers River.
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I did enjoy their pinots and they had a very nice sparkling rose.So my purchases.
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[drron]

I had earlier made a short detour to Railton as I like the Seven Sheds brewery there.replenished my stock.
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