Our first full day in Tasmania will be around the Tamar region – the large inlet and river that runs south to Launceston.

Big Apple at Spreyton. I went for a walk last night and there was an Apple pie, Apple strudel and Apple Charlotte on the ground. The streets were strangely desserted.

The Big Platypus at Latrobe. Platypus once walked into a bar owned by a duck, ordered and finished a drink, and asked for the cheque. Duck billed platypus.

The riddle is solved – Old Mate here in Latrobe ruefully looks to the heavens after becoming redundant but he was given the axe.

Bootiful old building at Latrobe

The Big Spud at Sassafras. This guy once had a chip on its shoulder. Despite being skewered in the …. well, I’m not an expert on potato anatomy …. but it could be an eye, I asked if it was happier now with the fame of the roadside position. It replied, “I yam.”

This area is one of the great potato growing areas in Australia.

We passed extensive stonefruit farms all in flower ahead of the summer fruiting season.

The grass isn’t greener on the other side.

Hornamental bovines

Farmland at East Sassafras

Crossing the Rubicon – no turning back!

Feral Rice Grass has taken over the Rubicon River flats. It is a declared noxious weed.

Some roadside wildflowers in bushland near the Rubicon River

Olearia daisybush

Narawntapu National Park protects coastal heathlands and grasslands, wetlands, dry sclerophyll woodlands and all the local inhabitants.

Tasmanian native hen

They are known at Turbo chooks.

White-fronted chat

Currawong

Superb blue wren

Paperbark swamp on raised boardwalk

Melaleuca

Beautiful plumage on the Chestnut teals.

The Little pied cormorant wasn’t impressed.

The boardwalk to the Bird Hide

Views from Springlawn bird hide

Black swan

Coot

Musk duck

Nymph stage of a dragonfly?

Wattle of the Archers Knob Track. The local ranger told us that there was wildlife to see along the Archers Knob track. Speaking of archers, have you ever tried blind-folded archery? You don’t know what you’re missing.

Grey fantail

Pademelons were plentiful along the track but very shy.

Dusky robin

Scrubwren?

Tasmanian pademelon

Bennetts Wallaby

More turbo chooks

Tasmanian scrubwren – one of the 30 species of birds endemic to Tasmania.

Bennetts wallaby

Griffith Point looking at the coastal section of Narawntapu

It was a devil of a drive…

Terns patrolled the shallows looking for an evening meal

There were a lot of wallabies on the drive back through the park in the late afternoon.

White-faced herons at Springlawn

On our drive from Narawntapu to Launceston we saw this Brown falcon after a late meal.

And suddenly by the roadside: “We will fight for bovine freedom; And hold our large heads high; We will run free with the Buffalo, or die…Cows with guns.”

The cows at Ashgrove Milk.

Late drive into Launceston…..

…and dinner at the Prickly Cactus.