Thursday, November 19, 2015

Tasmania's giant crustacean, bruises, and a beautiful beach

Yesterday we went to a cafe called Two Oaks which is on the Bass Highway at Somerset - anyone my age and older will remember the drive in cinema that used to be there. The cafe has been built out of local stone and timber and is set in a lovely garden - the food is good too.




Now I was very remiss in my last post, not mentioning the main reason that we're home in Tassie. Someone (mum) has a very big birthday (80) so we're here to help her celebrate. Mum is pictured below making shortbread, which are the best in the world - I've just eaten two whilst writing this.



One of my many hobbies is researching our family trees which is one of the reasons I have such an affinity with graveyards. Today we got to see a headstone marking the approximate spot that an aunty and two uncles were buried when they died as children - the grave and headstone was arranged by their sister and my aunty. It's nice to see them remembered properly - Jean died in 1928, Leonard in 1937, and Reginald in 1942.




Our next stop was the Lobster Ponds at Flowerdale. The Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Lobster is listed as a vulnerable species due to overfishing and habitat change, so since the 1990's it has been illegal to catch them, with a fine of $10,000 if you break this law.

At the ponds they are helping to preserve this beautiful species for the future. (I have to admit that when I was young I was one of the people who enjoyed eating lobster which was caught by dad and the boys, but thankfully the species is now safe).


Inside they have several tanks so that you can see the lobsters, as in the ponds which have the natural habitat of tannin coloured water it's really difficult to spot them.





If you look closely in the picture below you'll see a claw sticking out from under the log - our guide was very impressed that I had spotted it.



View from the lobster ponds....


Now an update on Crumble's adventures. Today he made two new friends and managed to behave himself - he met a rare green squirrel (relative of the rabbit) and then he met a very unusual looking cow. I think the fact that they were both bigger than him helped in his behaviour.



Final stop on our mini tour was Boat Harbour beach. This beach has in the past been voted in the top ten beaches in Australia - it's a little piece of paradise.  Being at a beach of course I went sea glass hunting, which resulted in a little bit of an incident which has left me with multiple bruises. We were walking down a rocky and loose stone slope with Ken in front to stabilize me but I still managed to slip, fall backwards, pull Ken down on top of me, and slide down the slope - it must have been quite a sight. I didn't notice the painful spots for a while because I was too busy laughing - I'm such a klutz.






Below is some cheese we spotted in the local supermarket - I'm not sure I'd want to eat something that might bite.


We hope you're enjoying this visit to Tassie and all the delights it has to offer. Until next time, stay safe, keep smiling, and do something nice for yourself this week.

Pamela and Ken
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S: Final shot - I think the jet lag is really getting to my beloved.


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