We left Strahan this morning, heading to Launceston via Cradle Mountain. Much of the road winds up and down through the mountains. It is very wild country.

Cradle Mountain is part of the World Heritage area that includes the Gordon and Franklin Rivers. There is a shuttle bus that runs from the Visitors Centre up to the top at Dove Lake. The bus drivers seem to be selected for their bushman appearance and ability to tell tall tales with a very dry voice.

Unfortunately phone signal is quite weak up there.

The Grand Chancellor Hotel in Launceston is a cut above our normal choice of accommodation. It is very civilised, with a separate dressing room and plenty of space in the bedroom. All of our hotel rooms have had king size beds, which is quite luxurious. Although if you want to cuddle the wife, you have to do the old “Coo-ee” call to locate her.

Being civilised people we like a cup of tea, made the proper way, and the Grand Chancellor delivers that.

Driving into Launceston was quite pleasant. After you get down from the mountains, the country becomes quite flat. Coming in on Sunday afternoon meant that the traffic wasn’t too bad.

We are here for 3 days, so we will have lots of opportunity to check out some district attractions such as the seahorse farm, a raspberry farm, a tea blender, and much much more.