Gumnut flower

Would you believe, even here in lush green Tasmania, they still have lots of Eucalypt flowers breaking out of hard, woody gumnuts. Not at all sure if the Tassie bees do what Mainland bees do - with relish - and get stuck right in to these small but nectar- and pollen-rich flowers; but if they don't they should.
Moved on today to an Airbnb near the beach in Bicheno, on the east coast. A long and very winding road to get there, over two or perhaps three low-height mountain ranges, but when the dark morning clouds clear and the sun starts shining, no-one really cares.
Towards the end of the road, approaching Bicheno, the wineries have finally got their collective act together, they're all open for tasting and sales, and Tasmanian wine now has two more enthusiastic followers.
Lunch outdoors seemed to be the order of the day in this fishing and tourism town - with a population that doubles or triples during peak season in summer - so who are we to buck the local tradition? Fitting right in with the local culture, we promptly snapped up a table on the deck of a restaurant with views of the beaches, and, like the bees and the nectar, got stuck right in to fresh cooked seafood with oodles of green salads and - a new one on me - generous sides of extremely thinly battered French fries. All helped along by some of that very impressive locally-made Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
Having a couple of hours standing between us and access to the Airbnb, we didn't really have much choice. But once lunch finally rolled to a stop, it became clear that dinner tonight would have to be more of an eat-in affair than eat-out.
Which is perfectly OK when you've taken sensible and adequate precautions against running out of wine supplies.
The valuable lesson learned here is that if you're going to do the wine tasting loop, be sure to do the wine buying loop as well - just in case the favourite wines you tasted are not in stock at the local wine shop.
It's just common sense.