Aussie trip day 5 – 14th May 2014 – Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Vineyards , and Launceston

View of Lake St Clair from our balcony :)

My friends and I woke up early in the morning and got ourselves ready. We could feel the crisp and chilly morning air permeated through our bare face and skin as we opened our balcony door. Our cabin was located among the trees inside the forest. The lake’s morning view was exquisite, tranquil and serene. I wished we could all stay there longer and enjoyed that splendor moment.

We prepared and had a quick breakfast. There were Indomie mee goreng (Indonesia instant fried noodle), fried rice (from last night leftover rice) plus leftover soup with a sprig of chopped parsley and spring onion. Not forgetting tea and coffee as a morning boost to start our beautiful day! :)

Love the scenery so much! :)

We left the place at 9.30am. SJ had to drive back all the way and headed to the north part of the island, to the second largest city in Tasmania, Launceston. And at the western part of it there were many places that we could visit.

In a park with cute animal-cut plants :)

It was such quite a long journey. We stopped few times to fill the petrol up, buy some snacks, and take a short break near a small park. We passed by the same petrol kiosk as the day before, and this time, we bought more variety of snacks. I was curious with the taste of the deep-fried dim sum that they served. It turned out to be so oily and tasted far much worse than what we usually had in Asia. Well, what could you expect? At least I tried :D

We drove passing by a small town that looked more like a fairy tale kind of place people always drew on the book. We also enjoyed the view of the beautiful blue and white sky above us. I’d never get bored with the view at all!

We passed by the same few animals range again and again, but they were still looked so lovely for me. They were busy eating grasses all the time and never ever felt bothered by us.

After 4-hour journey, we finally reached our first destination, which was Bridestowe Lavender Estate, at Nabowla. Yes, it was lavender gardens. However, it wasn’t the right time if you expected to see the purple color field. It was brown and greenish when we visited it. (The flowering time would fall in December and January).

Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Tasmania

We knew about this before arriving there. However, we still visited the place as they also had a gift shop and Woodcroft Café, where we could enjoy and try the unique taste of lavender inspired food and beverages. Although the flowers weren’t there, the garden had already looked so beautiful!

We visited the gift shop, buying their famous pure 100% lavender oil, which had many functions such as: to heal mild acne, dermatitis, eczema and some minor burn; to sooth discomfort of bites, stings, and minor burns; to function as a fragrance by applying few drop to pulse points or mix with fabric; to relax and relieve symptoms of headache, stress, sleeplessness or tension; and even to be part of the flavoring ingredients on your plate.

The pure lavender was quite expensive though. The medium bottle of 15 ml cost A$23.95. I bought only one bottle for my own use as my hubby loved the lavender smell. My friends bought many to be given as gifts, also for their own use. The shop sold many other things as well.

Bridestowe Lavender Estate, Tasmania

Once done with our shopping we sat down relaxingly facing the lavender garden from inside the Café and tasted two kinds of Lavender tea plus a slice of delicious chocolate cake. Hmmm… nyummy… Not used to with the taste of the tea though. It’s a little bit like drinking the lavender oil hehehe… We tried their purple color lavender ice cream too! That was delectable! I liked it so much! Once we were done, we continued our journey.

Next, we visited the vineyards. There were lots of vineyards in that area. We chose few nearest ones as our time was limited, only an hour to go. Many vineyards closed at 5pm. However, the distance from one place to another was quite far. We even lost our ways due to the limited direction from the GPS and we ended up visiting the vineyard that wasn’t in our list. It was called Delamere Vineyard. We tasted few types of wines there and my friend bought one bottle back. We just stayed a while because SJ said that we could try to visit another vineyard nearby and we had been left with just few minutes before closing.

Pipers Brook Vineyard, Tasmania

We managed to visit the Piper Brook Vineyard. It was big! Their wines were quite famous and had many varieties. We tasted some but I didn’t buy any as I didn’t find what I liked. We had to leave in just few minutes as they're going to close soon.

Beautiful sunset in Tasmania, Australia

Our missions were finally accomplished. We could enjoy the rest of our time slowly and peacefully. We saw the sunset from the vineyard and enjoyed their picturesque view. Not long after the sun set, the bright moon was coming up in front of us. Oh my…. We stopped for a while and tried to capture its beautiful image but too bad our cameras were unable to capture it as beautiful as it was in real. We ended up sticking our eyes to the moon all the way from inside the car.

Moonlight in Tasmania

By the time we reached Launceston city, the sky had already turned into dark. SJ recommended us to have dinner at Jailhouse Grill Steak House. Here, the restaurant was decorated like a jail. They sold the souvenir like handcuff, keychain, etc. We ordered beef steaks or rib as main course, while the salad and hot side dishes were free, all you can eat buffet! Yayyy!!!

Jailhouse Grill Steak House, Launceston

That would be our last night being together in Tasmania. All of us were hungry and tired. We took the salad for few rounds before consumed our main dish. We ate quietly and didn’t chit chat loudly like usual. Once dinner had over, we went straightly to our next accommodation, Fiona Bed and Breakfast :)

We were given two separate places. One with one queen size bedroom in it, and another one was an apartment like with two bedrooms at the second floor and a single bed on the first floor amongst the kitchen and living room. At first I thought I could sleep alone in the other bedroom. But, I couldn’t find the portable heater there. Therefore, I slept with Aileen in one room while SJ sacrificed herself to sleep in a single bedroom at first floor, where there was a heater that could warm up the whole area.

Fiona Bed and Breakfast - Launceston

After refreshing ourselves up, we met again in the living room finishing up our last bottle of wine and cheese. We drank, nibble, and chit chatted. Celipu told us, “It’s my first time staying at the Bed and Breakfast. Is that meant that tomorrow morning I will have my breakfast served on my bed?” We were all looking at each other and laughed, “No la… It means, they provide breakfast and bedroom. Not that they will serve you breakfast on your bed. Where did you hear it from?” She said, her aunt once told her about it. That’s why she was very exciting when knowing that SJ would book the Bed and Breakfast. Kekeke….

Our last night wine and cheese session in Tasmania

So, there would be our last night being together. Next morning, we would go in separate ways. I would fly to Melbourne, while four of them would fly back to Sydney.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful journey that we all had together. I enjoyed it very very much and let’s see if we can have another trip like this in near future. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! :)