Willow Islands

Launceston. A city I had not heard about until I started planning this trip. So, I came here with no expectations at all, actually getting out of here on the same evening my hiking trip concludes (after a shower ;-)).

So, I just strolled through the town this morning, towards the little river I saw on the map… lucky surprise - I ended at the Launceston Cataract Gorge - which was indeed gorgeous. And ended to be much more sweaty than expected. A beautiful spot…

After that, back to my hotel (still impressed that the guy at the reception knew my name and the duration of my stay simply by telling him my room number!), grabbing my stuff for the pre-trip meeting for my Cradle Mountain Overland Trail hiking tour starting tomorrow. 7 guests (6 women), 2 guides, and we will be ready to go early tomorrow… and it sounds as if we may have to endure a bit of a temperature shock… about 30C today - down to 13 tomorrow… but I was told that the weather constantly changes and we can expect snow or heat or both in one trip - so let’s see what we will get.

And after grabbing some last things from the supermarket (snacks) and (almost) successfully fighting the temptation of all these outdoor stores here (another nice add on of this town) I’m now enjoying a glass of wine and a fancy dinner and the other amenities of modern life (shower, proper bed, light simply by pushing a switch, wifi, using the bathroom at night without shuffling out of a sleeping bag, finding shoes, a headlamp and walking through the cold), before heading out tomorrow.

Remaining question: Should I bring my camera or just take the phone?!?

There may not be many updates during the next 6 days - so all the fancy hiking pics and weird stories will have to wait…

Fun fact: the sun sets only at 8:45pm - and I and my body are sooooo confused…

PS: Launceston is Tasmania’s second largest city with a population of a bit less than 90k, which makes it 18th largest city of Australia. It’s a UNESCO city of gastronomy (little did I know that existed), has some nice restored Victorian houses and at least 8 churches.

PPS: For anyone interested - this is what I’m doing the next couple of days: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/australia/cra…Read more