Day 74 / 2015 - The North West Region

Leaving Burnie we headed west towards Stanley and Tarkine Region. Along the Bass Hwy we stopped at Rocky Cape Tavern which had a free camp out the back so decided to base ourselves here as it seemed central to most of the area we wanted to visit. While checking in they offered a site with power for $10.00 a night so decided take that option instead as we were expectingf cloud during the time we are in the area. Stanley and Dismal Swamp are all day trips from Rocky Cape so it seemed a bit pointless to drag the van all the way in then all the way back out the same way.

The weather was being its usual fickled self but the forecast for the next several days was a day of rain then a day of clear sky. Stanley is a very exposed bit of land being a peninsular almost surrounded on all sides with sea. It can get vey windy so we were lucky the day we picked to go there was mild by Stanley standards.

The most prominent feature of Stanley was the Nut which is a plug from a long extinct volcano which had ceased to erupt many millions of years ago. From the base of the nut you can either walk up a steep track or take the easy option of a chairlift we chose the easy option. The nut is 143 metres high and once at the top you can walk a 2.3 km circuit around the summit giving uninterupted 360 degree views of the Tasman Sea, Stanley, the port and the surrounding countryside. The walk is quite easy but is not disabled friendly as there a number of stairs to negotiate. There are strategically placed lookouts along the circuit which you can rest at before moving on.

Returning via the chairlift we then walk through town. Most of the buildings are heritage listed and contain a selection of arts and craft as well as a number of eateries in the form of cafe's, resturaunts and takeaway shops. The other attraction we were interested in was Highfield house. This historic house was originally built by Edward Curr during the 1830's and sits on a hill opposite the Nut. The property started as a farm of some 250,000 acres but has now been reduded to 5 acres with the rest of the land being sold off to private owners. The house has been restored and is managed by Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife. The house is opened to tourist but can also be booked for private functions such as weddings. We returned back to Rock Cape for the end of the day.

The next day was rain so we decided to wait for the following day to travel to Dismal Swamp located in the Tarkine region. Dismal Swamp is actually a large sinkhole where water drains into an series of underground caves. It has a unique eco system and contains many wild life creature including a burrowing crayfish. You access the swamp floor by a long slide which drops you off at a board walk built over the swamp floor. From here you can walk amongest the Blackwood trees of the swamp without getting your feet wet travelling accross 4 laid out boarded pathways. We spotted a couple of Pademelons feeding next to one of the boardwalks which didn't seem fazed by us walking past.

Finishing at Dismal Swamp we then drove onto towards Arthur River where there is a plaque denoting this place as the Edge of the World. This area is known to have the cleanest air in the world as there is no other civilisation at this lattitude in the world. The claim to clean air has been confirmed by air quality monitoring devices. The coastline is quite rugged and is constantly lashed by seas whipped up by the roaring 40's winds which blow through this area. We completed our jorney by returning back along the loop road which winds through the rain forrest which is prominant throughout the North West Region.

Next day we hitched up the van and headed back towards Somerset. We had planned to stop at Wynyard for the night so we could visit the Table Cape Lighthouse and lookout but the caravan park was fully booked and only had one tiny site available. I was a bit over trying to manouver onto tiny sites so politely declined and went back to the Caravan Park in Somerset which was a lot easier to get onto and cheaper as well. Somerset was only 12 Km way so once we had setup the van we returned back to Table Cape.

Table Cape is another extinct volcano plug some 13 million year old and has rich volcanic soil making it an ideal place to grow large blooms of Tulips. Unfortunatly we were in Tasmainia at the wrong end of the growing year as they bloom in early spring and had all long gone. There were photos at the lookout so you could use your imagination to visualise what it would look like. Table Cape also has a lighthouse which you can tour through. The lighthouse was built in 1888 overlooking the Bass Strait. It is the only operating lighthouse in Tasmainia open to tours. It is 180 Metres above the sea and the light can be seen as far as 32 nautical miles. The lighthouse was originally manned by a keeper but like all other lighthouses is now automated and requires only yearly maintenance work. Even the light bulb changes itself when it blows. You are able to climb right to the top and look out over Bass Strait  watching ships glide past.

In Wynyard the Ransley Vitage Ford Museum is worth a look.  It is an exhibit of old vintage ford cars. The exhiition has 14 vintage cars including one of the oldest being a 1903 Ford Model A. The collection is privatly owned by Francis Ransley and is kndly loaded to the Waratah Council and is displayed in the Tourist Information Centre.