The Salmon Ponds

The Trout Ponds

The Fisherman's Shack

Inside the Fisherman's Shack

The River Plenty

Wild Dandelions (a powerful detox herb) by the River Plenty

Australia had no salmon nor trout before the British arrived to colonise it. We made our way to THE place along the Plenty River which incubated the very first salmon and trout eggs that had made it alive across the mighty oceans from England to Australia. It took a few attempts before people figured how to pack the salmon in living moss and ice well enough to survive the trip. We were very amused by the name of the river running next to The Salmon Ponds. It was called River Plenty. Clearly, the early colonists were down to earth people who called a spade a spade. If a river was full of fish, just call it Plenty. It leaves one wondering though... what happened at Break Me Neck Hill? And were there really pirates at Pirates' Bay? Or are there?

Strangely though, The Salmon Ponds is a trout hatchery. The salmon that were released into the Plenty River didn't come back nor did they reproduce in the wild. Salmon breed in fresh water mountain rivers and then migrate to the ocean to live, coming back to the place of their birth to reproduce. But the salmon didn't come back. As such, salmon didn't really take hold in the rivers of Tasmania. However, the smaller batch of trout eggs were raised and when released, they multiplied and colonised Australia's rivers and streams.

We really enjoyed The Salmon Ponds. The sun shone gloriously and the spring flowers were out in force. I had been everywhere looking for dandelion puffs and only found them here, because everywhere else that I had looked, it was too early for puffs. The lawn was carpeted with flowers. There were those with white petals and yellow eyes. There were others with yellow petals and green eyes. Then there were the bright yellow dandelions. It made you wanna lie down and roll on the lawn because everything smelled so sweet. There were a few touch and feel museums situated at various parts of the park, and these were very nicely presented. I really liked the fishing shack in the picture above. They named it "The Sanctuary", which just underlines the whole attitude to fishing - it's a healthful activity where one drinks in the sun and breathes in the wind... in a place where troubles can't get you.

To end a wonderful morning, we went to the crêpes restaurant on the premises. The crêpes were really good, especially the ham-egg-cheese one... and we had a great burger. I normally don't go near burgers... but this one actually tasted good.