Launceston
February 5, 2026
We found an excellent bakery a half block from our Launceston apartment and breakfast was really good! After enjoying our pastries, we drove less than ten minutes to the parking area for Cataract Gorge, one of the most popular tourist sites in the area. Despite vowing a couple days ago to never again take a chair lift, we did exactly that. The gorge website claims it is the longest single span in the world at 308 meters out of 457 total meters distance. The chair lift took us over a naturally formed basin filled by waters of the South Esk River.
Once we reached the opposite side of the river, we took a walk of about 20 minutes through the Gorge to King Bridge. The path is paved and there are several historic markers along the way explaining the history of tourism in the Gorge, which started in 1895. The King Bridge is a beautiful iron structure from 1864. We returned to the chair lift station along the same path, seeing peacocks with chicks and a couple of wallabies.
Here’s a photo of first basin with the chairlift just barely visible.
Photos of the gorge, last one below is Kings Bridge.
We returned to our car, ran some errands at a couple of stores and returned to our apartment to continue drying our laundry. We had lunch on George Street, a major commercial street. The center of Launceston had many attractive Georgian buildings.
Later in the afternoon, we took a two and a half hour cruise on the Tamar River, which is mostly an estuary in this location. The captain provided a lot of historical information about Launceston, which is the third oldest city in Australia. We saw wetlands with birds, a historic estate from 1813, one of the oldest churches in the area and beautiful vineyards. The captain told us that the area used to be covered in apple orchards, but the foreign apple market dried up in the 1970s for political reasons. Vineyards have replaced many of the orchards. He also told us about the opium poppy fields we had seen over the past few days, and that Tasmania produces 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical grade opium.
Several photos from the cruise: upper right is a white-bellied sea eagle; lower left is a rock formation in Cataract Gorge seen from water level.
During our cruise back to Launceston, we were provided with tastings of local wines and beer. The last part of the cruise took us under King’s Bridge and part way up the Cataract Gorge, so we could where we were earlier today but from a different vantage. The weather for the cruise was nice and it was an enjoyable afternoon.
February 6, 2026
This morning we wanted to go to the Tamar Island Wetlands, but the best viewing time (low tide) would not be until 11 am. So, before going there, we took a scenic drive along the Tamar River, stopping at two viewpoints. The first stop was Brady’s Lookout, which has a sign describing the short, sad life of Matthew Brady after whom the viewpoint was named. Brady was hanged in 1826 at the age of 27. The placard does not state why the viewpoint is named for him. But we looked it up and he used the place as a hideout before being captured. We found this information on the internet: “He was incredibly popular with the ladies and news of his capture saddened the population of Tasmania. Gifts were thrown at him while he was locked away and the crowd reportedly cried when he was hung.” So the settler population of the area as early as 1826 was large enough for there to be a “crowd” apparently.
Top is a photo from the lookout, and bottom is the not fully informative sign!
After that, we drove farther downstream to the Batman Bridge, which is the only bridge crossing the Tamar River north of Launceston, see photo below.
We then turned back and stopped at the Tamar Island Wetlands Center. We spent an hour and forty- five minutes walking a bit over four kilometers on boardwalks connecting several islands in the river’s estuary.
We saw a great deal of bird life including several species of ducks, swans, oyster catchers plus other birds
This shows the boardwalk in the wetlands.
Below are three more photos.
We returned to Launceston for lunch and admired some of the Victorian and Georgian architecture. We were told yesterday on our boat tour that Launceston has the highest intact percentage of its 19th century buildings in the country.
We then got back in the car and drove about a half hour through the picturesque 19th century town of Longford to one of the historic convict sites in Australia that is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brickendon Estate. This site has a farm and convict village dating from 1824 that includes some historic buildings such as barns, a granary and a chapel. We watched a 20 minute video about the owners of the property, the Archer family. They still live and farm on the estate, eight generations after its founding. This contrasts with another arm of the family that owned nearby Woolmers Estate, who died out and lost their property. We didn’t have time to visit that site today.
Three photos from the farm village, clockwise from left, the original house from 1824, the chapel, and a distant view of many original buildings.
After we visited the farm village, we went across the street to the grounds of the family home, a stately manor house that was constructed in 1828, with additions made in the 1830s. The gardens are laid out in a traditional English style, with roses and other flowering plants.
The 1832 era home in which the family still resides. Quite a contrast with the small, modest original house.
We took a slower route back to our hotel, passing through some residential parts of Launceston, seeing many old, attractive homes.
Launceston’s Albert Hall, across the street from our apartment.
Here is a map showing the places we visited around Launceston.
We have enjoyed our time in this vibrant city and tomorrow we will be heading to Tasmania’s east coast where we will spend the rest of our trip.
February 7, 2026
After having pastries from the same excellent bakery around the corner from our apartment, we loaded up our car. Then we walked a half a block to the weekly harvest market, which opened at 8:30 am. By 8:35, there were long lines at many stands! We were impressed by the quality and variety of products on offer. From meats and cheeses to eggs, bread and prepared foods, along with produce, it is clear why Launceston is the city of gastronomy for Tasmania. Here are two photos from the market.
After visiting the market, we hit the road headed for the west coast. Our travels continue on the next page.
