Tucked away at the bottom of Australia in splendid isolation, as wild as it is wonderful, Tasmania. A union of prehistoric forests, unique wildlife, cloud covered mountains, and dramatic coastlines, some rugged some powder smooth. Its landscape draws food-lovers, adventure seekers, and visionaries in equal measure and so it was that during two very special weeks in August, thirty-two of these musical creatives from Esk embarked on their own ‘Tassie Tour ‘24’.
It is now late August and most of
the Tassie tourists are back laden with memories, mementoes to summon up some
of the best moments from their travels, and friendships to last a lifetime.
However, to start at the very beginning seems to be a very good place to start…
It was a conga line of choristers
and a few family extras from Esk and surrounds who made their presence felt on
the travelator at the Brisbane airport. Whether induced by excited distraction,
or the weight of some heavy luggage on a wheely walker, the domino effect of
the tumble backwards had a few of the unwary hitting the deck atop their
suitcases. Fellow travellers and
passers-by were kind, injuries minimal, and blessed with a bulk check-in at a
chaotic Virgin terminal, in no time we were all winging our way to Launceston
via Sydney.
Arron, our bus driver and guiding
light in Launceston was ‘Johnny on the spot’ for our pickup andshort journey
to the luxurious Best Western Plus, our Launceston home for the next five nights.
Fondly dubbed ‘Launnie’, this largest city in northern Tasmania is situated at the confluence of three rivers, the North Esk, South Esk and Tamar Rivers, boasting a diverse community of winemakers, artists, designers, growers, nature lovers, and some amazingly talented musicians and music lovers as we were soon to discover.
Our first ‘group’ dinner at
Cataract restaurant, purported to be a 10-minute wander away, proved to be
somewhat further allowing a chance to explore the streetscapes of Launceston’s
old and new architecture. Following a sumptuous
dinner, many, weary from this day’s early morning departure, preferred to pour themselves
into taxis for the return trip, anxious for some respite before the next day’s
Launceston odyssey.
Day 2 and some of the group took
the scenic route on the gentle chairlift spanning 450 metres over the 140-million-year-old
gorge (give or take); others chose to walk the trails leading to the suspension
King’s Bridge or just park themselves under 130-year-old trees, all delighting
in the beauty and calmness of Cataract Gorge with its long human history.
A drive through rolling fields of
cows and black-faced sheep brought us to Grindelwald- a Swiss-style Village
where, with temperatures plummeting, rather than explore, many opted to head
for the warmth of the bakery for coffee and cake…until the wool and gift shop
next door lured a tsunami of bargain hunters to its half-priced habiliments!
With solo performances pending on this night, our final sightseeing stop had to be the place where bushranger Matthew Brady found safe harbour from the law until his capture. Brady’s Lookout perched 140 meters over a cliff edge proved to be a perfect place for some spectacular selfies and snapshots of the Tamar Valley.
Tom: It was so windy here I thought my hair was
going to blow off!!...hang on…it has!!!
Consumed by the beauty of these
places and blessed with unexpectedly fine weather, it was easy to forget that
our reason for being in this city, first and foremost, was to sing. Already four
of our group had remained behind with Alexis to rehearse for their first ‘Class’ sections in the St Cecilia
Performance Challenge, being held in the truly grand Hotel Grand Chancellor,
the site of which was thankfully only a stone’s throw from our accommodations.
Suffice to say, the next three days in Launceston were consumed with
performance competition, and many of our group, audience to some of the most
supreme, breathtaking talented instrumentalists – one young 17year old pianist
so sublime, described as ‘Chopin or Mozart reincarnated’. Oh, what a treat!!
Immersed amongst such talent, it
was not surprising that our soloists, duos, ensembles and choir performed
brilliantly bringing home two gold medals, (flautist Suzanne dazzled), two
silver and six honourable mentions.
Those who did not receive placings all achieved 90% for their
wonderfully courageous performances. Buoyed if not a little bushed after a
day’s achievements and brilliant accompaniments, Alexis, along with a choir
group found a cosy spot in the Hotel bar to unwind, shoot the breeze over a
wine or two, perchance to plan their next day’s performances.
Tom: It was Shamus’s
funeral held at a friend’s home; his body laid out in a back room. To honour Shamus properly it was decided to lay
him on some chairs in the living room amongst all his friends. From the friend in the centre of the room “Let’s
have three chairs for Shamus”!!!
The Performance Challenge, sponsored
and hosted by St Cecilia Productions, was also a wonderful revisit with our own
examiner, now friend, Matthews Tyson who so graciously welcomed the ‘Eskimos’
to his ‘home’ and did champion Alexis and the Esk Community Choir at
every opportunity.
Day 5 and our last day in
Launceston saw the group with Kathie at the helm, numbering off on the bus as
we were wont to do at every gathering to keep our flock from straying. Destination, Cradle Mountain.
of his family…even taking a detour off the Bass Highway to introduce his father-in-law, ‘Billly Boy’, had us gliding amongst scenery so picturesque it well may have been photoshopped. Morning tea amongst the murals in Sheffield, Hawthorne hedge rows skirting sheep dotted pastures, berry and dairy farms, kids of the goat variety jumping around like happy half-wits. Aaron explained about the sustainable timber industry and took us on roads synonymous with the famous Tassie Targa classic car series. And then Cradle Mountain where we met up with our guide for the Weindorfers Forest Walk named for Gustav Weindorfer the man who, with his wife Kate, dedicated his life to ensuring the preservation of this pristine area.
To stroll the paths through this
ancient rainforest walk was a walk back in time passing beneath myrtles and towering
King Billy pines, moss covered pandani and beech. The mission, to experience
the serenity and find a wombat. And by
crikey we did! Grazing in the grasses at the foot of a hill, the cuddly
creature was completely unaware of this pack of paparazzi in pursuit of that
prized photo. No. 25, however, in his
quest…or perhaps on purpose, managed to snap a behind shot of No.11’s curly
locks in perfect alignment, named the photo ‘Spot the Wombat!’, but far too
much of a gentleman to post it on “The Tassie
Snazzies’ Whats App which throughout our
tour had been connecting and informing.
And so, it is with this image in
mind that I will leave you as we head back to the hotel to pack and prepare to bid
adieu to lovely Launceston, and bring you with us on the bus, bound for Hobart and
the final week of our ‘Tassie Tour 24’.
By: No. 26 - Sue Walker
Link to the next part of our story Tassie Tour 2,
Tassie Tour 3
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