15th of August - Launceston

A little water feature

So now we come to the final day of my visit to Tasmania. It is here that I must confess to the dutiful reader that this day did not begin in the highest of spirits, owing to the impromptu pub challenge I had undertaken the night before. Despite a rather sore head, I pulled myself from my small bed in the hostel to enjoy whatever sights I could on a Monday in Launceston.

Some variety of fountain

Leaving my luggage with the hostel, I promptly began a lengthy ramble through the city in search of the biggest, greasiest breakfast I could find. And it was a long journey which, despite the advice of several tourist information centres and even a passer-by who happened to overhear my quest, I found none of the cafes I was directed to to have the kind of breakfast I was after. Eventually I consulted, as I should have from the very beginning, the internet. After traversing nearly the whole city centre again, I arrived at the cafe I had looked up, and was not disappointed - the breakfast served here was indeed enormous, and suitably greasy. So much so, in fact that I - I am quite ashamed to admit - was not able to finish it. But, with a full stomach and somewhat subdued hangover, I was content enough to embark on my sightseeing journey proper.

Macaca Fuscata

Stopping briefly by the occasional fountain or water feature, I slowly made my way to the City Park. In addition to being a lovely green spot with pagodas, a conservatory, duck pond and monkeys. Yes, the attentive reader did not mis-read that. The City Park in Launceston is home to a troupe of macaque monkeys gifted from the sister city in Japan. However, I regret to inform the astounded reader, that the monkeys do not, in fact, run around wild and free, where they can climb into people's hair or steal their peanuts. No, they are confined safely in a natural enclosure as one might see at a zoo.
After enjoying the monkeys' antics for some time I continued leisurely through the park, taking my time to enjoy the conservatory and the duck pond, then went to the Automotive museum, which finds itself just across the road.
While the building is relatively small, the collection housed therein is reasonably impressive (at least for one who is inclined to enjoy such things), however it is not something that can really be translated into an engaging blog post, so that is all I will say about that.
And so I come to the final stop of my adventure through Tasmania - the Boag's brewery, for after this stop my time was up and I caught my flight back to the mainland. And here my luck with tours finally took a positive turn, and I was able to actually be guided through their facilities. In fact, the group was rather intimate, with only one other couple taking part (in addition to the guide of course). Unfortunately, and presumably much to the eager reader's disappointment, no pictures were allowed, but as one who works at another, smaller brewery (albeit in the restaurant, not making the beer itself), I was suitably impressed by the size and scale of Boag's, as I was led through one enormous chamber of whirring, complicated machinery to the next. It is always amusing and interesting to note how small, in comparison to sections such as bottling and lagering, the actual brew floor is, consisting of a handful of relatively modest (though still quite huge) stainless steel vessels. The bottling floor, in contrast, is reminiscent of a giant, industrial, adult version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. After the tour, of course, we were treated to a tasting of their small range. Small, that is, in comparison to the veritable smorgasboard of beers offered by the craft brewery I work at. My predilection toward craft beer unfortunately meant that the comparatively simple and crisp flavours produced by Boag's were not quite to my palate, but I would definitely not say that I did not appreciate the tasting, especially as the beers were all paired with cheeses, which I always enjoy.
But then it was time to go home, so I departed to my hostel to pick up my luggage, then caught the shuttle to the airport - where, to my surprise I found myself sitting the the terminal directly next to the same couple that went on the tour with me.

And so closes another chapter in my holidaying experience. I bid my loyal reader goodbye, until next I go travelling!