The West Coast Heritage Centre at Zeehan, Tasmania

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I can walk! After hiking almost 20Ks yesterday I was a bit worried about how stiff and sore I would be this morning. But, my ankles are fine, my knees are good. In fact, I have pulled up remarkably well except for a bit of tightness in my lower calves. I must be fitter than I thought?!

This morning we were visited by black currawongs as we were having our breakfast. They must be accustomed to being fed by the tourists because we had a small flock of them eyeing us off with their beady yellow eyes from the balcony. Very cheeky!

Bernie used the the egg slice to de-ice the windscreen again before washing it and returning it to its drawer. With the car re-packed we checked out at 10.00am and started heading for Zeehan. Unfortunately, as we drove closer to the West Coast the weather deteriorated. We can't complain though because we have just been blessed with one and a half glorious days at Cradle Mountain - in the middle of winter no less.

Arriving in Zeehan we cruised along Main Street to locate the West Coast Heritage Centre and the Pit Stop Cafe that was recommended as a good place to eat on Trip Advisor. It was only half past eleven so we decided to go to the heritage centre first. On a cold winter's day in July I think we were close to being the only tourists in town.

After parking the car right outside the heritage centre we crossed the street to photograph the facade of the old Gaiety Theatre building. In front of the pub there was a chicken pecking about on the footpath which was a bit of a surprise; not every town has a chicken in the main street!

We found the heritage centre rather like the Tardis - much bigger on the inside than it appears from the outside! The heritage centre started with rooms dedicated to mining and minerals. Their mineral exhibition is considered world class and was certainly extensive. The mineral collection of the Zeehan School of Mines and Metallurgy had me reminiscing to Bernie about the boxes of rocks and minerals that we had in high school when we were learning about such things. The Crocoite (mineral emblem of Tasmania) specimens were incredible - sounding like a bit of a science nerd here - so I took rather too many photos of those.

Upstairs the heritage centre houses a rich and detailed pictorial history of the West Coast. The photographs record the region's mining, saw milling and convict histories extensively through more than half a dozen rooms. By now we were feeling peckish so, as the heritage centre allows pass-outs, we decided to go along to the Pit Stop Cafe and have some lunch before returning to see the outdoor exhibits.

With an important birthday coming up on Friday, we popped into the heritage centre gift shop and then the Post Office looking for a card on our way to lunch. I didn't bring a card with me as I felt sure that I would be able to find a nice one somewhere on the West Coast of Tasmania. Hmmn, not much at all to choose from in down town Zeehan. It really needs to be posted today or it will be late as well.

The Pit Stop Cafe is a 50s-themed cafe that brought back memories of our 2012 Route 66 adventure. At this time of the year the menu was a bit limited, but that was OK; we settled on toasted cheese sandwiches for our lunch. The cafe has a lounge area furnished with a 50s couch, TV, etc. An episode of Happy Days was being shown on the TV! The rest room is decorated like a garage with the wall beside the bowl featuring a mural of a motorbike with a motorcycle backrest behind the bowl!!

Back at the heritage centre we ventured out the back where we saw the Masonic Display, the Police Station and Court House and the Gaiety Theatre and Grand Hotel. The Masonic Display demystified Freemasonry ... without giving away any of its secrets! The theatre included an interesting display dedicated to some of the pioneer women of Strahan. These buildings that front Main Street have gradually been added to the heritage centre's holdings and are accessed from the rear after entering through the heritage centre.

The heritage centre 'backlot' included a couple of blacksmith shops, a motor vehicle display, a marine display, a machinery shed, an underground mine simulation and some railway exhibits. Plenty to fill in a rainy day with!

After completing a circuit of the outdoor exhibits it was time to head to Strahan to check into a cabin at Risby Cove. We are being plagued with animals looking for hand outs!! No sooner had we set foot on the verandah of our cabin than we had ducks begging for food. After unloading the car we found our way to the local IGA to top up on some supplies. We had a couple of pre-dinner drinks in our room and then walked around the cove into the main part of town for dinner at Hamers Bar & Grill.

Only 8,053 steps today (5.61km)

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Comments

[Graham]

Enjoy
Informative as usual, keep trekking.