Stanley/Devonport (14-17 January)

Oceania » Australia » Tasmania » Stanley
January 20th 2009

Published: January 21st 2009

Edit Blog Post

kersers

The Nut, Stanley

From Cradle Mountain, we drove up to the north coast and stopped briefly in Wynyard. We then went up to Table Cape Lookout before stopping for lunch (barbecued sausages) at Sisters Beach on the edge of Rocky Cape National Park . It was a lovely warm day, so after lunch we went for a swim at the beach, which had a few small waves and was also located next to an inlet, so was nice and sheltered too. Annelies and Thomas tried out their new boogie boards, bought with some of their Christmas money. We headed west again around mid-afternoon to stay for three nights at the Stanley Cabin and Tourist Park, located near the base of The Nut.

That evening, a cool southwesterly change came through and the wind started blowing a gale, literally - a gale warning was current for coastal waters for the next two days.

On Thursday, we spent the morning relaxing inside the camper trailer, sheltering from the wind and occasional shower. However, in the afternoon we braved the gale force winds and walked up and around The Nut. On Friday we decided to drive out west and follow a loop that took us through Smithton out

The Nut, again

to the west coast near Marrawah, then south to Arthur River and 'The Edge of the World', further south to Couta Rocks where we headed inland across Kannunah Bridge to Edith Creek and Irishtown.

At Marrawah, we headed out to Green Point near Ann Bay where we had good views of Cape Grim and Tasmania's first Wind Farm. We also enjoyed watching a couple of wind surfers enjoying the conditions - gales and a fairly large, though choppy swell.

At Kannunah Bridge, we took a detour into Julius River Forest Reserve where we had lunch and then walked on the short Sinkhole and River trails, followed by a visit to Lake Chisolm. We saw lots of commercial bee hives along the side of the road, as this area is known for its Leatherwood-tree honey production.

That evening, we went out for dinner at the very busy Hotel Stanley to celebrate Mark's birthday. The sticky-date pudding that Alex had for dessert was delicious but very filling!

On Saturday, we packed up and headed east, stopping for lunch in Penguin after visiting the Burnie Farmer's Market. We then drove to Devonport, where we stayed the night in preparation

Two more nuts!

'Edge of the World' lookout

for our early departure on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry back to Melbourne the next day.

We spent just under five weeks in Tassie, but could easily have spent another five. We had a great time, doing some long walks, hiking to the top of Cradle Mountain, seeing fantastic old forests, catching up with friends, and the children got to experience snow for the first time!

Additional photos below

Photos: 15, Displayed: 15