Latrobe Chocolate Winter Festival!!

Finally, the day for the event Clancy had said we definitely could NOT miss! The Latrobe Chocolate Winter Festival! It was going to be an awesome day filled with all things chocolate. Food, art, fashion, music, poetry, drinks, entertainment... and more!

The drive from Launceston was great, with nice views of snow on the distant tiers and mountains. There were lots of different activities and competition's for all ages, with a lot of the local businesses and organisations getting involved. Plus the all required taste testing availabilities! Using our stroller with its attached buggy board came in very handy for containing, and keeping two kids moving. However, it was a bit of a hindrance with the crowds of people.

Sonia enjoyed being able to decorate and eat her own biscuit at a stall the local IGA had set up. We all enjoyed the different things on display throughout the town, and couldn't avoid buying some chocolate that was constantly being offered, and fresh fruit from the local market. Hmm... and with Clancy there... there was no way we were going to miss the taste testing sites!

Picking up lunch to take and eat in a park turned out to be a good idea too. We found a nice park with playground, picnic tables, toilets, parking, and creek with small waterfall/rapids and bridge, just behind the shops on the main street. Coincidentally named 'Kings Park'. We're from Perth, WA, where 'Kings Park' is the major park/gardens of the city. Sonia enjoyed the playground, and also the new 'game' of mum trying to set up the camera on a rock for a self timed family photo, then rushing to join everyone else, having to catch and pick up Sonia... who by then was half way down to the camera on the rocks near the creek!

Even without the chocolate festival, the town itself and surrounding districts would be well worth a visit. Many historical sites, natural things to enjoy, and places to eat/drink. I would've liked to have gone to the Axeman's Hall of Fame, and the Warrawee Forest Reserve to try and see a platypus, but time and kids did not allow. We did however get to enjoy plenty of other things.

Chocolate Chef's...

• Parking was difficult due to it being the chocolate festival weekend, but we were lucky and got a quick spot. A free complimentary shuttle bus was operating from the town centre for the day though for those who couldn't get parking.
• The chocolate making area had good viewing windows, and a video running as well, which was greatly appreciated when you couldn't see through the crowd of people at the windows.
• Some good and interesting information on the history of chocolate was well displayed.
• Taste testing was available at the small shop building to the side of the cafe and chocolate making building.
• Was a bit crowded for us to fully enjoy the place and all it had to offer, but we still thought it was worth a visit.

Big Cherries

• Had an excellent set up for visitors, including families.
• Big cherries you could climb up in and look out of.
• There was an outdoor toddler player/area set up with door access to both the outside picnic area, and also into the inside cafe tables.
• Sonia did not want to leave the big cherries and play area.
• They had an aamazing and very informative set of dioramas set up inside showing all the stages of growing, to processing cherries. Including some 'hidden' things to find in each one. Managed to keep Sonic interested looking for different things long enough for us to read the information on each one!

Ashgrove Cheese Cows

• The cheese tasting and numerous painted cows around the outdoor eating area were really the only things that really caught Sonia's attention.
• We were also able to view the maturing room, and read the different informative posters. Obviously more interesting to us than the kids!

The Raspberry Farm Lake

• I popped into this one very quickly on the way home to Launceston, as both kids were sound asleep by this stage.
• Would've been a really nice place to spend more time earlier in the day.
• They also had an outdoor toddler play area, as well as a much larger grassed area near a lake.
• The lake and grass picnic area looked nice. I would've enjoyed the walk around the lake, but had to keep moving unfortunately.
• The tasting and testing of produce available was also very good.