Solo travel is not for everyone. It can be daunting to camp alone, eat alone, do activities alone but the planning to do what you want to do, when you want to do it is pretty awesome!
However sometimes that can be a bit of a drag, and if you’re really lucky, someone will come along and offer to spend the day driving you round to tick off things on their bucket list - and they are either things you wanted to do, or would like to do, but probably wouldn’t if you were travelling alone.
Today, I had the fabulous Monica pick me up and drive me along the North Coast. After a quick catch up with some old and new members of our triathlon family, we set off for our first destination - the Table Cape Lighthouse. Tragic backstory - only weeks after opening the lighthouse keepers’young son passed away and there is a memorial to him and a marker on his grave. To this day it is tended and there have been many little momentos left for Bertram in his honour.
Next stop the tulip farm. Now sadly there were no tulips, as it is not the season. Which is really unfortunate, as I can only imagine what the fields looking out to the lighthouse must look like cram-packed with beautiful flowers. The farm has set up The Patch in the off-season, with rows and rows of dahlias of all shapes and colours, along with a corn maze and sunflower beds. The fat bumble bees that were busily collecting pollen were everywhere - they are so cute with their fuzzy, fluffy fur covered bodies, and the noise as they buzz around is fascinating. Monica and I had a ball exploring the different garden beds and trying to get lost in the maize (but Monica was an ace and got us out before we had to call for the air-sea rescue.
Lunch was well-spent at Hellyer’s Road Distillery, where we indulged in a hot and cold platter, maybe a cocktail and a decadent dessert. Sad to learn they are remodelling and may be removing the kitchen, which is a shame, as the food was amazing. The share platters gave the chance to have a tasting of just about everything that was on the main menu, but as bite size pieces. Of course, the Tasmanian cheeses on the cold platter were top grade and were complemented by the cheese kransky, salami, pickles and fruit and nuts served alongside. And don’t get me started on the Apple Crumble Cocktail - it was such a lovely blend of whiskey, cinnamon and cloudy apple cider. Like drinking a liquid apple pie.
Our final destination is the seaside town of Penguin, where, funnily enough you can’t see little penguins come in because their shoreline lacks the vegetation for penguins to nest and hide. We walked along the beach and Monica taught me about sea glass - we found a few different colours - green, brown, clear and a cloudy teal. Very pretty and a lovely little reminder of my trip to Tasmania.
Ok, our final last stop was the Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, which is situated just up over the hill from my campsite. This one is painted red and white, and like most lighthouses I’ve visited, has some of the best views in town.
We finished the day with dinner at the local Irish pub, where I had a really nice seafood chowder which unfortunately wreaked havoc on my gastrointestinal system, causing vomiting and gastro and hot and cold shakes overnight - just what I need to prep for a day on course for the first of three days of triathlon duties.
So until tomorrow let’s see how it all shapes up.
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