Thursday, August 20, 2009

Welcome to my back door

Please allow me to show you a little of my place. Launceston is situated on the Tamar River basin in Northern Tasmania. The South Esk, North Esk and Tamar Rivers all converge in the basin, before going out to sea through the Tamar River valley. Last weekend we experienced the worst floods in over 30 years. I managed to visit "the Gorge" yesterday (Wednesday)afternoon, and whilst it is not as wild as it was on Sunday, the volume of water is still spectacular! This is the scene from Kings Bridge, 5 minutes walk from the CBD.

90% of the time, this area is a gently rambling brooke!
The Alexandra Suspension bridge and the cable chair lift - was the longest span in the Southern Hemisphere (not sure if that is still the case) - are features of our Gorge. On Sunday the water level was above the cement base you can see on the left here! Teenagers often swim in this area in the summertime, despite the constant warnings of flood waters being released from Trevallyn Dam, further up the river.
For those of us too chicken to swim in the river, there are 2 swimming pools in the foreground - the one you can see is a wading pool for toodlers, and the deeper pool is still obscured by the floodwater. To give you an idea of the magnatude of Sunday, the swingset behind the orange barrier on the left only had 4 inches of poles showing in the weekend newspaper!
On the way out, I stopped and took 2 photos about 400 meters from Kings Bridge. This one is facing East back into the reserve.
And to the west, you can see the CBD. The Myer building is the 'high-rise' just to the left of the tree, and the old Post Office Clock tower can be seen to the right. This is the middle of town and less than 10 minutes walk away!
From the base of the new bridge - built to handle the increased volumes of traffic in the area in the late 60s I think - this pic shows just how close suburbia is to the Gorge! These homes have fabulous views of the Tamar Valley to the north, the industrial area on the eastern bank and the city. Most of these homes are colonial, but behind them are some rather beautiful modern houses too.
Hope you enjoyed my tour :) Please come again, and hopfully I will have some lace to show you! Don't forget to let me know what you think in the comments ... I love letters from friends :)
Happy days

7 comments:

Vanessa said...

Thanks for the tour Laura. You certainly have more water there than we do in Canberra. Tasmania is on my 'must visit' list. We went to Adelaide this year. Maybe next year for Tassie (but not in winter time!)

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Thanks for the visual tour of your lovely homeland! I would love to visit some day... all I need is time and money! ; )

Unknown said...

What a beautiful place to live! Thanks for the gorgeous photos! :)

tattrldy said...

Loved the tour! It must be a wonderful place to live, it sure is beautiful. Thanks for the pictures and descriptions. Glad you didn't get washed away.

Trayna said...

You make me homesick, in a nice way lol!

laura_rose said...

Hi Vanessa, We are certainly happy to share the rain with Canberra and Adelaide...and Melbourne......and..... Remember to include us on your itinerary when you come to Tassie...I have organising a meeting with Lace locals down pat now :)

Same goes for you Diane! We can save you a bob or two on accommodation while in Northern Tas at least!

Welcome back Tatting Chic, so very glad you enjoyed the pics.

Welcome Tattrldy, so glad you could drop by. Tassie is a great place to live, but we all need reminding sometimes!

Hi Trayna, The Scottish and Irish tourists who visit Tassie say that it is much the same when they are here...makes them homesick because of the similarities...maybe you could find one of 'those' places and pretend :) Your summer is inviting though!

Tatskool said...

Enjoyed the tour, loved Tasmania, would love to go back there sometime.