RIP Taco – a better friend you could not find.
We spent a couple of days in Melbourne where we caught up with Lance & Carmel. Thanks for lunch & welcome to the Seniors Club.
Very relaxing voyage from Melbourne to Devonport. The weather was benign & the seas slight.
Arrived in Devonport to a beautiful day. First stop was the Mersey Bluff Lighthouse which was built in 1889. It sits between the mouths of the Don & Mersey Rivers.
Found this funny looking bird feeding in front of the caravan. It turns out it is a Tasmanian Native Hen. It is one of only three flightless Australian birds, the others being the Emu & Cassowary.
Don River Railway Museum. A great collection of old girls.
Of course we had to go on a ride. Unfortunately the steam engine had a day off. Some of the carriages they have restored are stunning. The woodwork & leather craft are the best we have seen.
In the afternoon we went down to the river to watch the SOT 2 come in. Old mate was riding his mobility scooter up & down the path drinking VB & waving at the passengers. He told us he was ex Merchant Marine & was there everyday greeting the boat.
A glimpse of some of Devonport architecture.
After heavy overnight rain we headed down to Railton to catch up with the couple we are going to house sit for in April. On the way we dropped into Sheffield. There are over 140 muriels painted on walls all over the town. Below is just a sample.
Sheffield Steam & Heritage Society have a great collection of steam tractors & rollers. The volunteers were really helpful in showing us around. As always Ulrika was fascinated 🙂
They also had a steam train running on their own 1km track & I even got to drive it. It is a Krauss 0 4 0 built in Munich, Germany in 1906. It was had an interesting life 1907 – Sandfly Colliery Co., 1908 – Tasmanian Wallsen Colliery Co., 1916 – Tasmanian Government/Kingsborough Council, 1922 – Carbide & Electro Products Co., Ida Bay
quarry, c.1948 – dismantled, 1962 restored.
Lots of flowers around at this time of the year.
Next stop Greens Beach. Weather changed again. Windy, cold & showers. Can’t tell from below but it changed 5 minutes later. Was blowing up to 70kph.
Beaconsfield Mine & Museum. On the 9th May 2006 these two guys emerged from this lift after spending two weeks trapped underground. An amazing story of endurance.
The mine has had an interesting history. Gold was first discovered at Beaconsfield in 1847. The first commercial mining started in 1879 & continued until it closed in 1914 at a depth of 450 metres. It reopened in 1998 as gold prices increased. It closed again in 2012 at a depth of 1200 metres. During this period it produced 906,000 ounces of gold.
A Vivian 12 head stamp battery driven by a water wheel. Used to crush the gold ore.
Seahorses at Beauty Point. They are Tasmanian Potbellys & are bred & exported all around the world. The male has the biggest potbelly as the female transfers her eggs & he carries them & gives birth to live fry.
I have the potbelly, not so sure about the giving birth bit.
Lots of other interesting creatures.
Next door is the Platapussery with another Monotreme thrown in. We are looking forward to seeing them in the wild.
Sunset on a windy headland.
Quote of the Day
“Do you think God gets stoned? I think so … look at the platypus.”
We may try this before we become old or older farts, can I keep your record for further reference or can you advise me of your trip with recommendations and doggie places to stay, now that we have one for possibly the last time xxxanne
You can certainly keep it & I have all the places we have stayed that are dog friendly
Thankyou 💕💕💕