Every now and then it’s nice to escape the confines of the van for some chill time, and so we were really excited to test out the facilities at The Country Club Villas near Launceston. Before arriving we’d taken a look around Launceston so we could relieve some of our curiosity about the area and wind down without feeling we were missing anything. We took a walk around Cataract Gorge, which we’ll be writing about soon, and is definitely worth the visit, before heading to the Villas for a couple of days of down time.
A three bedroom villa was such a treat for the kids, with Amahli enjoying a room of her own, allowing her an escape from her brothers for a couple of days, every girls dream! While we were treated to a television all of our own in our room, it was nice to lay in bed and catch up on the news and some of our favourite shows we don’t often get the chance to see on the road.
The big draw card for the kids was the Pay TV on the main television in the lounge-room. We all got to enjoy Iron Man 3 while we were there, which Byron was particularly happy about, as when we went to the movie theatre to watch it, he’d fallen asleep within the first 15 minutes. The full kitchen was a lovely bonus, including dishwasher, a perfect holiday for me, no more washing up after everyone, although we didn’t eat dinner it, instead taking advantage of the range of eating options on site and over at the main country club.
Night one we were treated to some gourmet pizzas from Bolters Pizzeria. I have to tell you, if you are ever in Tasmania, you just have to try the Peri-Peri chicken pizza, it was the best pizza I think I’ve ever tasted, and that’s saying something seeing as I used to manage a pizza store! The kids tucked into a seafood pizza which left them all happy with bellies full and taste buds content.
The main country club offers pony rides for kids, or trail rides for adults and children over 8, so on our second day the kids got to enjoy a pony ride, which they loved as it had been a while since either had been on a horse. Byron isn’t really interested in horses, so instead he grabbed some food for the ducks and waited quite impatiently for the other kids to finish their ride so he could have some fun of his own.
Night two we took advantage of the courtesy bus between the villas and the main country club, and headed over to try the menu at The Watergarden restaurant. This is a really budget friendly place to eat as a family, with meals starting from around $8. We took advantage of the great prices and opted for a surf and turf scotch fillet, unbelievable value at only $17.50!
The weather in Tasmania has been fantastic, but it’s a bit cooler than what we’re normally used to, so we were all excited to try out the spa and heated pool, heading up twice a day for a swim. The kids took the opportunity to enjoy the playground too, which gave me and Matt some time out while they burned some energy.
We had a great couple of days relaxing and taking some time out from our busy travels just to chill, enjoy the company and the great atmosphere, and of course the great food that Tassie has to offer, we haven’t been disappointed while dining anywhere yet, and there’s so much local produce to try that it’s going to be a challenge to sample as much as possible over the next few months!
*Disclaimer – We stayed as complimentary guests of the Country Club but all opinions and information here is, as usual our own honest opinion, tested out for the benefit of our readers.