Launceston Country Club

November 2022 and our first holiday for three years. This was the fourth attempt to stage the National Over 70s Cricket Championships in Launceston and it was finally happening. It was good to be able to travel to a cricket championship again after all those years.

When we arrived in Launceston at 3.30 it was a lovely sunny day. We had been driven to Tullamarine from home in style in a very smart and comfortable car. When we  boarded the plane we noticed dark clouds  approaching the airport. At Launceston a taxi took us from the airport to the Country Club Villas where we were to spend the next week. Later in the day we saw Ron who had arrived on a later flight from Melbourne that had been delayed 40 minutes because of thunderstorms.

The complex contains a number of villas with one, two or three bedroom apartments. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment with a spacious sitting room as well as bathroom and kitchenette. During the afternoon and evening there was a shuttle bus which took guests between the Country Club Villas and the main Country Club and Casino.

 

After we had unpacked we walked to the Country Club where had dinner at the Terrace Kitchen. On the way back we saw about ten kangaroos as well as lots of Tasmanian native-hens and ducks. We enjoyed our walk in the country! In the evening we watched the total eclipse of the moon. Unfortunately there was too much light to really appreciate the blood moon. 

In the morning we again walked to the main hotel, a distance of 1 km - a 15 minutes leisurely stroll. We had breakfast at the Links Restaurant overlooking the golf course. Very pleasant. 

After breakfast we walked to the shops to purchase food for future breakfasts, lunch at the games for me etc. The distance from the Country Club to the shops in Westbury Road is 2.2 km along Country Club Avenue and then into Las Vagas Drive and Jardine Crescent to the back of the shopping centre. The shopping centre has a Woolworths supermarket, a bakery, a pharmacy, two tobacconists and a couple of other shops. We also purchased sausage rolls from Banjo's Bakery and Cafe to take back to our rooms for lunch. It was a beautiful morning for a walk.

There is a lake in front of the hotel which we walked around after lunch on one of the rest days. As you approach the hotel you are greeted by dozens of birds including many varieties of ducks and Tasmanian native-hens. They come running to greet you hoping for food.

We saw Tasmanian native-hens not just at the hotel but also near many of the sports grounds we visited when there was a river close by.

Being spring, there were often families of birds prowling the grounds.

At the Country Club hotel we had meals at the Terrace Kitchen, Links Restaurant and Water Gardens Cafe. At the Country Club Villas there is Bolters Pizzeria on one side of the building and Bolters Bistro. Bookings are usually required for meals at the bistro. We had dinner there one evening - Robin had fish and chips while I had pumpkin fetticini. Pizzas are cooked in a wood fired oven and can be eaten in the restaurant or as take-away. On different occasions we had take-away BBQ chicken pizza (BBQ base, chicken, caramelised onion, mushroom, mozzarella and bacon) and Aussie pizza (BBQ Base, ham, caramelised onion, mushroom, egg and mozzarella) - both delicious.

Both the hotel and the villas are surrounded by the golf course. At the back of the hotel carpark there is a track through the bush leading to a lookout over Launceston but unfortunately on our free days the weather was wet and cold so we did not do this walk.

The complex is certainly a restful place to visit, especially when the weather is good.

Launceston - Cricket

 

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