Flowers for all reasons

Serious case of rose rage today. We discovered that for all these years we thought the word was spelt “hedgerows”, but in fact down here they are “hedgerose”. Lynne has been terribly upset that her prized rose in Brisbane is dwarfed by roses of a hundred varieties growing apparently unkempt and happy in the high country south of Devonport.

As predicted, the crossing was calm and on time. “Ocean recliners” are the cruise-ship equivalent of an airline seat, but with more tilt, and fewer facilities. Sleeping is about as much fun though, with the noise of a plane replaced by the lights of a boat. No matter though. We were woken gently by arrival into port and then spent an interesting half hour watching B-Double trailers being disgorged by little tonka toy prime movers with reversible cabins.

The day’s plan evolved slowly following groceries and fuel. The first unexpected stop set the theme and was Spreyton Fresh, an apple juice company that has become the Spreyton Cider Co and cherry farm. He opens at 12:00, or 9:30, or whenever he shows up in between and probably broke some law by serving us before 10, but was mighty pleasant about it.

That was on the road to Sheffield, the town made famous by murals painted on walls of various buildings throughout the town. In the last two decades though it has branched out, exploiting the tourists brought in by the famed murals. From there it was off to Tasmazia.

While Sheffield introduced us to roses disguised as hedges, creepers, screens and all manner of other uses, the roa d west to Lower Crackpot literally dazzled us with bright shows of colour. Tasmazia claims to be the largest maze complex in the world, and when built, the main maze was the largest in the world. It makes use of hedges and gardens to build walk-through mazes made more interesting by the “look what else you can find along the way” challenges. The day had certainly cleared as predicted from the grey start in Devonport to the dazzling blue that showed off the gardens to best effect.

Among the many coloured cultivated fields were some bluish-white fields behind very unfriendly signs, raising the prospect of death if consumed, with no further information. We eventually worked out they must be opium poppies, as Tasmania has one of the worlds largest crop of legal poppies for morphine production.

Gradually, the day evolved more seriously into food. Having missed the chocolate tastings, we caught up the with gourmet cheese factory, raspberries, smoked salmon and ginseng, avoiding wineries and other treats less desirable in the time available in the fading day, if not fading light.

On the way to Liffey Falls, we found a camp at Quamby Corner to make use of washing and shower facilities, and the camp kitchen. It’s 8:30 and the sun hasn’t yet left the hills, but the temp is dropping rapidly. Clear skies has seen the twitcher to bed early, attempting a metamorphosis into an astronomer. However, having seen all three asleep across the back today, I’m tipping a peaceful slumber.

p.s. Today is dedicated to Janet, the sponsor of today’s (and I suspect many more) morning tea. Merry Christmas Janet!