All too soon we were leaving Stanley, enroute to Launceston. It’s just a 2 hour 30 minute drive, so we had plenty of time to explore the wonderful coast road.

Our first stop was Boat Harbour Beach where we stopped for coffee. We found a beautiful little cafe right on the beach.

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There are so many small coves and bays along this route. Next stop was Devonport. This is the port where the “Spirit of the Sea” docks. Sailing from Melbourne twice a day, overnight and in the day. Next time we visit Tasmania this is what hubby would like to do.

Following Penguin Road along the beach there is also a railway line, that is in close proximity with the road. We were lucky enough to see a freight train riding along side of us.

For lunch we settled on a restaurant called Drift, which overlooked the Bass Strait. It was housed in a glass walled timber structure jutting over the beach.

Before driving to our hotel in Launceston we had to make an additional stop at the airport to change our car as the aircon had stopped working! They were expecting us so we were able to make a swap without too much trouble!

Arriving at our hotel at 5 pm, we checked in and then went off for a walk. We definitely took a few wrong turns and it ended up being a very long walk.

Launceston is just so full of old historical buildings that have been renovated or restored and now house businesses and restaurants. It was nice to see whole buildings intact, unlike Perth, WA, where often they just keep the facade.

Customs House was built in 1885 and features beautiful intricate Corinthian columns.

Albert Hall built in 1891 and is still used for events and functions.

Price Memorial Hall built in 1896 and the Independent Church built in 1836, by the Reverend Price, once stood next to it.

Launceston is a riverside town and is very different from Hobart. It’s the second largest city after Hobart. It seemed to me that the streets and roads were much steeper. The Tamar River runs through Launceston where there are many wineries and vineyards along the route.

We ended up at the Seaport where there are many restaurants and bars, and had happy hour in the Mud Bar.

There was a concert being played the weekend we were there, Jimmy Barnes and some other equally famous bands, so we were told everywhere would be booked out. I did make a few restaurant bookings before we arrived though and for our first night we went to Novaris. A very elegant Italian restaurant not too far from our hotel.

Tomorrow we will pick up Laurence and Maddy who are joining us for the rest of our stay in Tasmania.