A nice spot but it's heyday was probably a hundred years ago, its' camping facilities are definitely past their use by date. It's a very popular spot for barbecues and picnics and if you are totally self sufficient then it's a great place to overnight but if you want a shower, you have to get a key from the Lilydale store, there's a $50 deposit and they charge $6 a night. Don't go for the key and they don't know you're there.
The Falls are obviously better in winter but still worth the 5 minute stroll.
The next day we went back up to Scottsdale, another lunch at that great bakery and then back down towards Launceston by another route. This one A3 passes the Sideling Range Lookout and the views are amazing, you can see Bass Strait, (well I suppose it is only about 30kms away).
We stopped here for a while and chatted to the local (Springfield) blacksmith who was up there enjoying the views whilst he had his lunch. He was a very interesting lovely old chap.
Then a few kms further down the road we came to Myrtle Park Camp Area. This is a great spot, it's only 35kms from Launceston and just $3 a night, with clean toilets and showers. They were very busy but had a large 'overflow' area which was reasonably level and we found some shade. Having an awning on each side has caused a few comments but it came into its own here. It's lucky that they have a manager on site and have a maximum stay of 7 days policy so that it doesn't deteriorate into somewhere where people set up camp for the whole of summer, Dad comes down at weekends and the kids turn feral.
After 2 days it was time for the big city - Launceston.
On the way there we checked out a possible overnighter in St Leonards, after a day in the city.
It seemed a 'possible' but I wasn't sure.
Michael on the other hand was VERY sure - "No way. It's a cottage".
(A place where gentlemen of a certain persuasion meet like minded gentlemen).
So, we went into Launceston, found a good place to park and only needed to pay for one hour because after 11.30am it was free. It was just a short walk to the Seaport and the Wooden Boat Rally.
Am I the only one who thinks that this seat looks like a Venetian Masquerade Ball mask?
We bought a couple of raffle ticket to win a little wooden boat - you never know your luck!
After checking it all out we walked up into town for some lunch and a look around.
We plan to do most of our Launceston sight seeing when we're parked up at the motorhome Combined Chapter Rally in a couple of weeks time, but had a quick walk around. What grand buildings, nearly all still intact. The city council is apparently strict on maintaining the heritage appearance and the tallest building (Myer store) is going to remain the tallest. No modern skyscrapers.
We left Launceston and headed down to Evandale, an historic village that hosts a large Sunday market. There is a motorhome overnight park there but as it's in the market grounds it's not available Saturday nights and there is no alternative nearby. (The council has put no camping notices at the park that was suggested to us.) So we had a quick look around the village, it reminded us a little of villages in Gloucestershire UK, and then we headed on out. We drove up to Hadspen intending to stay there but the caravan park was really unappealing and the 'town' had nothing to offer, so we pressed on.
We stopped in Westbury. There isn't a caravan park in Westbury but the bakery, Andy's Bakery, has a motorhome park out the back. We made a BIG mistake and checked in without checking it out!
Once we'd set up I went to the loo - ugh! and then I couldn't find the showers so I went and asked.
I was expecting a charge for the showers but $6.00 a pop! and the shower was a moulded plastic cubicle on the edge of the yard (like the transportable toilet cubicles you have at shows, concerts etc.) - and the
best thing was that it was open air - it didn't have a roof!!
So we were paying $12 to park, and if we both showered, another $12. That's $24 a night.
Luckily I got our money back and we moved on.
We moved on to Deloraine, only 16kms down the road so we can go back and do sightseeing and graveyard checking (we haven't forgotten Max)in Westbury as day trippers.
Deloraine has a 'self sufficient motorhome park' and a caravan park.
The caravan park is $30 a night for a powered site (only $6 more than Andy's 'yard'), the toilets are spotless and we're parked right next to the river. There's rumour of platypus in the river.
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