Saturday 16th April 2011

We are now into our last day in Tasmania.  Tomorrow we set sail back to the mainland (big island).  On Thursday we travelled the short distance to Burnie from our stopover at Legana, just under 100kms  As per usual we did not just follow the highway but took some minor roads as they tend to be more interesting.  Again we are twisting and turning through mountain scenery that is gorgeous.  Up and down dale, past green pastures with fat cattle and produce growing.  We finally join the highway at Devonport but again take a detour for a look at Turners Beach.  A quiet little village with a lovely foreshore and what looked like lots of ‘weekenders’.  We enjoyed our cuppa there and went for a walk through the coastal shrubs to have a look at the beach.  Sand and stones stretch out before us and it seems that it is a popular place for walkers and dogs.

We head back to the highway and head out for Burnie where we intend to base ourselves for a couple of nights. In the 1990's Burnie had the reputation for being Australia's dirtiest town.  Today with the change in industry that has occurred (the paper and pulp mill closed in July 2010) the town has been reborn.

woodchip ready for export at Burnie

 We get ourselves settled into the park and then take a drive to the Makers Workshop where I had read about being able to take a paper making tour and being able to make your own paper.  This building is reasonably new (opened 2009) and incorporates the Tourist Information Centre.  The main focus is on the various crafters (24) who have workshops in the building and at different days you can see woodcarving, jewellery or musical instrument making, ceramicist, photographer, fibre artist and of course the paper makers amongst others.  The crafters creations are all available for purchase so it is different when you can see the product being produced for sale.  There are also wonderful paper people on display that have been crafted by two local ladies who combined to produce these lifelike figures.  Unfortunately they are not for sale.

a fellow traveller at Burnie

It is a 1933 Ford and they camped in a tent. 

Needless to say craft mad me had to have a go at this paper making tour.  Our guide Darren explains that all the paper they create is from recycled natural products.   The base for all their paper is cotton fabric or recycled paper.  They even use denim fabric cut into small pieces (about the size of a postage stamp) then processed through what looks like a major blender.  Their ‘different’ papers include those made from roo poo and wombat poo.  They have a wildlife sanctuary nearby who donate the raw material just like the towel weaver in Devonport who donate the end cottons etc from their towel processing.  The towels are made in 150 different colours so the paper makers also do not need to use any chemical dyes.  There is also a ‘forest floor’ paper made that includes matter from the forest floor.  Another paper is ‘apple’ and this includes the apple pulp donated by a juice maker in Launceston.   As Darren advised, they do not have to purchase their raw ingredients and that allows them to make paper that is different but still affordable for those many folk visiting the Makers Workshop.  I now have ‘my’ paper with it’s own watermark.  We each were able to make about 6 sheets of paper and then collect 6 sheets from those that had previously been made and had dried.  Once the wet paper is drained it needs 24hrs to dry so we of course could not take the actual pieces we made.

On Friday we took a drive out to the west coast to Marrawah, a total of 135km from Burnie.  This took us through Wynyard and out to a lighthouse there called Table Cape. 

view east from Table Cape lookout

The information board showed a photo of the nearby tulip farm in flower in springtime and looking around it was easy to imagine what it must be like when the surrounding paddocks are full of tulips in bloom.  This tulip farm actually sells bulbs to Holland!  The information board also advised that the children who lived there in the early 1900’s had a particular game after schooling and chores were done that proved to be a little deadly.  The children would hurl rocks etc over the 300 foot cliff to the water below.  One day one of the children (8yrs old) fell to his death taking part.

Driving on from the Wynyard area we went out to Rocky Cape headland and enjoyed our cuppa overlooking a little cove that looked so secluded and peaceful.  There were some small shacks around but no-one was in sight.  Just delightful.  We travel on to Stanley sited at the base of ‘The Nut’, actually called Circular Head, and enjoyed fish and chips.  There is a walk to the top of the rock and also a chair lift for those so inclined.  We drove around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery that was on display for us on this fabulous sunny day.  Not a cloud in the sky and only a gentle breeze so at last another magic day.

the Nut with Stanley at it's base

Marrawah is located out on the western coast of the island and is the end of the A2 highway.  We enjoy seeing very healthy looking Hereford cattle on lush green hills and also lots of potatoes and onions growing in the fields.  This country was settled to be used for agriculture to feed the population down south due to the rich volcanic soil that was found when those early settlers arrived.  This area of Tasmania receives rain on at least 186 days of the year, no wonder those paddocks are lush.  The wind farm has recently been developed to utilise the strong winds that blow almost constantly from the ocean.

windfarm north of Marrawah

Although there was much twisting and turning along the road the scenery was fabulous and so pleasing to the eye.  Just a great day.

Today we left Burnie and drove back to Devonport to be close for catching the ferry early in the morning. 

During this drive we drove the old highway which called into Penguin and of course had a stroll along the street after our cuppa beside the foreshore.  Needless to say there was a reason for photos.

the Penguin at Penguin

 After settling into the park at Devonport we went for a drive around the local area and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.  Laundry and the last cooking is done making ready for an easy evening tomorrow evening after we arrive back to Victoria and our next adventure by turning left!

Our time down here has been magic and there is still much we didn’t do however, there is always next time.

the Spirit at Devonport wharf