Following the failed visit to the Cradle Mountain yesterday, we bit the bullet and set out at 7:30am to catch the first shuttle bus of the morning to Dove Lake. Arriving just before 8am to cloudless skies again, a substantial queue had already built up but nevertheless we made the second shuttle, arriving at Dove Lake at 8:40am. The morning light was probably better for lighting the mountain than the afternoon light but the pictures speak for themselves.
After 3 short walks, we returned to the Visitor centre at 10:30am as the main crowds of the day were growing and set off for Launceston, about 2 hours away. A particular target was to see the national penny farthing championships which were taking place that day at Evandale, 20minutes from Launceston.
The first intermediate waypoint (after a couple of photo stops) was the town of Sheffield which prides itself on its mural park which boast some 160-200 murals across the town, with many in a dedicated park area. The murals tell the history of the area and the people that have lived there.
After Sheffield, we proceeded to Cataract Gorge close to Launceston and a famous suspension bridge. Expecting some grand vistas on the scale of Cradle Mountain, we were surprised to find that Cataract Gorge had in fact been made into a leisure park complete with large open air swimming pool and chairlift providing views of the area. Being a warm summer Saturday, it was popular so we didn't stay long and moved on to Evandale.
We arrived at Evandale at 2:15 to find the streets of the small town lined with parked cars and several of the central streets closed to form a race track for the penny farthing cycles. It was a carnival atmosphere with races taking place throughout the day. Some races were for different age groups, with 'over 70s' being the most senior and within this race, the eldest competitor was 90! The commentator kept us amused with great 'one liners' such as 'the winner's harder to pick than a broken nose' and 'they're going faster than last week's pay packet'.
Leaving Evandale as the occasion was winding down, we returned to our accommodation in Launceston: an old colonial school dating back to the early 1900s which had been converted into a hotel.
Images from the visits to Sheffield, Launceston and Evandale can be seen here.