Murals, Meanderings, and Our Noble Refusal to Queue

After breakfast we took a short wander through the gardens opposite the Devonport Novotel, then clambered back onto the bus for the drive to Sheffield, which has reinvented itself as Tasmania’s mural capital.

Sheffield

Whole chunks of the town’s history are painted across walls and shopfronts. It isn’t just random street art either. Sheffield runs an annual mural contest where artists paint brand new murals on special boards set up in a local park. We had a good stickybeak while Julieanne and Simon prepared morning tea outside the local Masonic Lodge.

Deloraine

From there we rolled on to Deloraine, sitting prettily on the Meander River. First stop was a visit with Malua, officially the best racehorse you’ve never heard of. “Malua was the most versatile Australian thoroughbred racehorse in history. Malua won over distances ranging from 5+1⁄2 furlongs to 3+1⁄4 miles (1,100–5,200 metres).” Read more… Almost puts him up there with Phar Lap. Almost.

We had a seriously delicious ploughman’s lunch at the Deloraine Deli. After lunch we wandered the streets admiring the little statues that pop up on each corner. Some of the group embraced retail therapy with gusto. Pete and I, having recently downsized, took one look at the dust-gatherers on offer and bravely resisted. Heroic, really. 😇

Cataract Gorge

Next was Launceston’s Cataract Gorge. I remembered it as a wild bit of bush, but it’s had a serious glow-up with wide lawns, a pool, and crowds everywhere enjoying the sunshine. The queue for the chairlift was epic, wrapping around the buildings like a python that’d found its calling in life. Pete and I are both allergic to queues, so we went for a walk with some new friends to see the real gorge from the bridge. Views, fresh air, no standing around for an hour. Winner. And time for a coffee at the loacl cafe, too. Some of the group did brave the line for a twenty-minute ride. Each to their own.

That evening we checked into the Country Club Launceston, home base until New Year’s Day. Dinner was delicious, and after a long day of murals, horses, rivers, gorges, and queue-dodging, we were more than ready to put our feet up and call it a night.

If you’d like to follow the whole trip, go here.