LAUNCESTON

Launceston

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The Observer Effect in physics is a theorem positing that the act of observing any phenomenon causes it to change. A practical example such as checking the oil level in an engine provides a simple ‘proof’ of the theorem, in that the dipstick must be removed, wiped clean, re-inserted into the sump and then removed again, in the process removing small amounts of engine oil, to enable the reading to be taken.

 

In our own small ways, we have been altering Launceston during each of several years’ visits.

 

We so enjoyed observing things in the room we occupied at ‘The Grand Hotel’ on William St that on at least one subsequent visit we requested the same room. Though we may not have consciously noticed the air we displaced as we entered and left the room, like a departing Trappist Monk it goes without saying that we had at least that atmospheric effect.

 

We’ve also stayed more than once at a house off Balfour St, and have found that wherever we stay there’s always somewhere interesting to alter by observation, within a reasonable walking distance from either end of town. A particular Beer Café on St John St has oft been for us a favourite Observer Effect scene for participating in the simultaneous alteration of several states of being, involving the draining of ale from glasses, filling with ale of people, the warming of soft furnishings and sharing of convivialities.

 

Thus far, the granite walls of the Cataract Gorge seem to have withstood the erosive effects of all the light reflecting off them for the perception of our eyes, causing me to ponder what happens to all those photons after the retina absorbs them; and whether they fuel the observers’ changes in mind and mood more or less than the thing observed is more cryptically altered? Particle wave duality and hydraulic geomorphology trés bien ensemble.

 

We’ve sat tranquilly with coffee and cake in the café at the Cataract Gorge Reserve, trying and failing to imagine the brutal force of the maelstrom boiling in its basin during the last floods; and stood in the forecourt below, looking across to the suspension bridge, the underside of which was brushed with the branches of trees swept along in the torrent which would have washed around our feet had we been standing in that spot at that time. 

 

The roads leading north out of Launceston on either side of the Tamar provide a unique round-trip route, via the Batman Bridge, to take in as many Cellar Doors as you can fit into a day’s drive. This is Cool Climate wine country, so those fond of Pinot Noir, Riesling and those wines we may now only refer to as ‘Sparkling’ are bountifully well catered for, with several of the better-known Australian vineyards to be found along these roads. Plan for this to take the lion’s share of the day, taking the time to stop and enjoy the places and people.