LET'S BEGIN WITH A HIGH VIEW - STANLEY - PART 1 (THE NUT) (5 - 11 FEBRUARY 2018)

Is it 143 metres high or does it rise 152 metres out of the surrounding sea? I found it extraordinary that this question even arises, given the prominence and popularity of this iconic Stanley landmark. The consensus is 143 (or 142) metres, but one plaque to be found on the way into Stanley still insists that the flat top of the Nut is 152 metres high.

And then there are the two names. Well, that is easy to explain. In 1798, whilst circumnavigating Van Diemen's Land (and proving once and for all that it was an island) Bass and Flinders sighted this geological phenomenon and, in my view quite logically, named it 'Circular Head'. 

But with human nature being what it is, with its penchant for nicknames, as the population of the area grew, the good folk of Stanley took to calling this landmark 'the Nut' and the name has stuck. But why 'Nut'?

An information board I found on said rock told the tale.

And the story doesn't end there. In what must be considered one of the oddest quirks of language, the name which the local Aboriginal folk gave this geological phenomenon is Moo-Nut-Re-Ker. On reading this I was reminded of that TV show of yesteryear 'Fact is Stranger Than Fiction'!

Despite the almost universal use of the title 'Nut', the local government authority insists on retaining the original name.....The Circular Head Council (as we have seen on all the town signs), a name which is indisputably more officially dignified than its alternative!

This extraordinary rock is a 'volcanic plug', all that now remains of an ancient volcano which erupted here between 25 and 70 million years ago. What we see today was once a lava flow which solidified in the centre lake of the volcanic cone. All the softer rocks which surrounded it have weathered away leaving this hard core. 

With all that out of the way, it is time to do what all but a very few tourists do in Stanley.....climb it. Well, not quite. 

The walking track to the flat top of the Nut is described thus on all the local signage. I'm not so sure about the 'short' bit, but there is no doubt that it is steep.

Out of consideration for your scribe's creaking knees, we opted for the chair lift to make our ascent and sensibly awaited a reasonably calm day for this venture. The Stanley winds often swirl sufficiently violently around the Nut to force the closure of the lift. Having said that, however, we did see it operating on days when, to us novices, the gondolas seemed to sway alarmingly but remained in use notwithstanding the conditions.




Although we did not take on the steep walk, we nevertheless had to complete a short stroll from the caravan park 















up to the chair lift station cafe















and the nearby 'departure lounge'.

Things were already swinging (come on, it has been a while!). The large car park was well occupied by those who had chosen to drive up to the station.











This achieved 'sign of the day' status' from yours truly! We dutifully followed the arrow












and once inside were relieved to find that the charge for our lift to the top and back was as we had been told.....$16 per person for the two way trip.

With our dues paid we lined up in the very functional looking departure station where we were instructed to face uphill and prepared to drop our bums into the seat of the next arriving gondola. This is a continuously moving operation which operates very much like a ski lift or 'T' bar where those who cannot judge things properly come to grief rapidly and with a distinct lack of grace.

Despite the almost inevitable rising heart rate as our designated chair approached, we both boarded like veterans, obeyed the instructions to lower the safety bar in front of us, and were away, climbing up towards the sun,












well above the tangles of creeper












and scrubby small trees which covered the lower slope.

Our aerial vantage point gave us ample views of those slogging up and down

the walking track we had shunned. Sections like this confirmed the wisdom of our (well, my) decision. Actually the climb up would have been OK, but the downhill run would have been dynamite on my knees.









I had taken a few photos earlier during one of my roams around town which do give another perspective 













of the walking track as it zig zags up the slope (I would love to claim that the inclusion in this one of my favourite flowering local tree was deliberate....nope...sheer fluke!)















I have to admit that prior to looking at this shot, I had no idea of the odd angle of some of the chair lift cable poles. This was something I'd never seen before.

Our ride to the top station was relatively mundane from a scenic perspective (compared in particular with what was in store for us on the return journey)

and within less than ten minutes were were again asked to be agile.....this time leaping out of our gondola onto the arrival platform as our chair moved across it. I could make much of this, but to be honest, it was a doddle,

and we soon found ourselves peering at an excellent diagram which showed us where we were   

and what was in front of us by way of lookouts and other features. Our caravan park, by the way, was located just to the left of the Dump Point near Tatlows Beach.

This trackside sign at the beginning of our roam around the Nut included a cautionary instruction to "keep to the track....birds nesting".

And indeed they were, as we soon discovered.

Mutton birds nest and breed here in their thousands tucked away in a myriad of burrows dug beneath the tussocks of dry grass which cover this section of the rock.

I was more than impressed by the manner in which the surface of the trail for the majority of its distance had been constructed to provide a good footing in all weather conditions. 




And it was remarkably simple. Sections of sturdy plastic mesh were laid and interlocked before a layer of gravel filled the gaps in the mesh. This results in a flat, stable surface, with the slightly raised edges of the mesh providing good grip in the wet. Very clever.








For much of the trail we tramped past the low brown grass which covered a fair percentage of the top of the Nut.

In addition to the more than adequate signage, another feature of the trail was the many strategically located resting points. I did wonder if the powers that be had earlier dispatched a group of physically challenged folk and noted their 'puffed out points' before making the decision as to where to place the benches!





We had not need of such respite, and pushed on steadily towards the marker which designated the highest point of the Nut (it barely shows on this shot....look carefully for a small black dot just above the hillside a smidgen to the left of the clump of small trees mid left of the photo....if you can really be bothered!)

The standard style trig point marker told us we had reached the top of the rock and here it was made plain that this was 143 metres....no alternatives....no arguments.









It was just beyond this that we came to our first formal lookout point indicated by a short branch off the main trail and a protective fence.














From this north-eastern point on the trail, the heart-stopping sight of the drop to the sea below showed just how necessary the protective fence was.

This vantage point also provided us with a splendid view of the white walled buildings of historic Highfield House in the distance to the north-west.

After a reasonable 'oogle pause', we descended from the flat rocky plate on which this lookout as situated,

and pushed on, now walking in a southerly direction around the eastern end of the Nut,

where an increasing number of low trees were beginning to break up the expanses of spiky grass.

It was along this section that we were afforded our first views across the southern end of Tatlows Beach and beyond and across the isthmus to the sweep of Perkins Bay to the west.













It was also at this point that we were confronted by the first set of stairs on the trail










which took us down to the second of the designated lookout sites, aptly named Fisherman's Wharf lookout. This is what lay below us when we peered over the edge of the fence (we'll visit this area at ground level later).






What captivating vistas unfold at every lookout point around the top of the Nut. Just to the west of the main commercial docks, a protective marina pen provided safe haven for the many commercial fishing vessels which ply their trade out of Stanley, beyond which the waters of the Eastern Inlet were in plain view.




From this vantage point we could see far to the south-east across Sawyer Bay for our first (annoyingly hazy) sighting of the long bulk carrier loading wharf which jutted far out to sea from the shore at Port Latta. You may recall this is the port from which the Savage River iron ore is shipped.







And it was from here too that the we had our first good look at the site of the free camp ground beside the Stanley showgrounds to the west of our park.

Beyond this lookout, the flora changed dramatically. Quite tall timber took over from the grassy plains, 

and in no time we found ourselves tramping through leafy glades

and past more dense clumps of creeper.

Park benches and tables under the shade of this thicket provided an ideal picnic point in an area of the top of the Nut which could not have been more different from the majority of the topography.

The trail continued for probably a few hundred metres through this vegetation

before the thickets of trees petered out and the protective plastic around the short stakes provided evidence of a significant flora regeneration programme.

After this arboreal respite, it was back to the grassy plains. 

Our last lookout loomed,

again located on a flat rock plate right on the edge of the sheer side of the Nut.













In a shot 'I prepared earlier' this shows where we were now standing, as seen from below.

The views here were 'classic Stanley', over the boat ramp and slips at the end of Tatlows Beach with the waters of both the East and West Inlets in the distance,

the vast expanses of the flat wet sands of Tatlows Beach on a falling tide,

and the township of Stanley itself, or at least most of it. And as this shot demonstrates so clearly, here the sea is never far away, in any direction.

What a panorama this lookout provided.

And by now we had all but completed our two and a bit kilometre circumnavigation of the top of the Nut.

The chairlift station was again in sight and our ramble was almost at an end.

Before boarding the chairlift for our descent, I scooted off down the upper section of the summit walkway to snap the chairlift station from another angle











before wandering back to prepare to take up our position on the launching platform and await the next chair.

Uneventfully re-embarked, again we sailed serenely over groups on the track as we gently drifted down to the base station, cafe and car park below.













And it was during this glide back to earth that we were afforded this marvellous view out along Godfreys Beach, the second of the two stretches of Stanley sand, with Highfield House away in the distance (and more of the walking path below!)



What a wonderful way this was to see Stanley, and, as all the tourist brochures, travel agents and park companions we met who have been here before, scream long and loud...."you must do the Nut". We had, and we loved it. This is undoubtedly one of Tasmania's scenic highlights.

A SHORT RUN - SMITHTON TO STANLEY AND THE STANLEY CARAVAN PARK (5 - 11 FEBRUARY 2018)

At last! We had been hanging out to stay in Stanley, this beautiful fishing and farming town which nestles beneath the 'Nut'.  And it was about to happen. Why were we so keen? That seems a fair question.

"Stanley is a truly remarkable town. Not only is it steeped in the early history of Tasmania (for it was from here that the mighty Van Diemen's Land company operated) but it is also a town full of beautifully preserved historic buildings. 

Not surprisingly it is a classified town. As a bonus it has one of the most remarkable landforms anywhere in Australia: the Nut, the stump of an old volcano, towers over the town. Although the Nut can be bitterly cold when the winds are blowing it is a magnet for everyone who wants to get a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside."

So there you have it, dare I say, in a nutshell!  Once again 'Aussie Towns' has summed it up perfectly.

Well, almost perfectly. The phrase "when the winds are blowing", included in the above, is a little misleading. It should be restructured somehow to read along the lines of 'when the winds are not blowing in Stanley'. Situated where it is, on a headland which protrudes well out into Bass Strait, and on the side of Tasmania which is buffeted by the Roaring Forties, this is one windy town, and I have to comment that this can restrict activities and options. 

But we were savvy to this and made plans accordingly, which included making a quick trip from Smithton to the Stanley caravan park to do a recce and reserve a site which would offer us room and some protection.

After what had been a somewhat surprisingly entertaining stay by Duck River in Smithton we were on the move again, but not far!

Even on this very short hop we still shared the road with large and seemingly precariously loaded timber trucks to challenge us (we were nowhere near as close to this one as the photo suggests)

and, of course, the ubiquitous herds of cattle.

In less than fifteen minutes we were easing back on the throttle and made the left turn off the Bass Highway to complete the run into Stanley.

And, strangely enough, here under the shadow of the Nut, we had the passing company of more contented cows!

The road out along the peninsula took us over a quite narrow isthmus bordered on each side by large 'inlet' bays both of which are complemented by long and good beaches. In fact, in addition to all its other attractions, Stanley could well be described as a 'town of beaches'.

Another feature of this historic town, which I learnt to our detriment, is that it does not quite face the direction I first thought it did. A cursory glance at the map suggests that it looks out to the east. Not so. The slopes of the Nut on which much of the old town was built actually face southwards. This, and my initial misjudgement of actual directions, became a factor of our stay as I shall explain shortly.

As we made our way along the rather blandly named Main Road, we had our first taste of what was to come by way of Stanely scenery as some of the old homes at the base of the Nut came into view.

We followed the curve of the road as it morphed into Wharf Street














and soon found ourselves at the entrance to the Stanley Cabin and Tourist Park at 23a. Here we were confronted by one of the most impressive park offices we had ever come across.











The interior matched the external appearance. Lounges, paintings and various artifacts were everywhere, 









including these two carved wooden dolphins. We had been told that the park owner could be a bit of a battleaxe, but we found her to be both charming and obliging (or was it that she could recognise perfect guests when she saw them!). Having said that, it was obvious that this was a park with rules which were to be obeyed, a concept we applaud.

From the office we drove down one of the very well paved park roadways












past a group of vans on this somewhat crowded grass area, 














and made our way to our allotted patch, one we had booked in advance during our previous recce. It was something of a shame that the lawn was little more than crunchy brown stalks, but at least we had ground cover and we did understand why the grass was in this state.



We had chosen a large drive-thru site bordered on one side by a roadway and on the other, a park cabin with its thick hedge. And herein lies the tale of my mistake. I had been a bit blase in determining the relevant directions, and had thought that here we would be well protected from most of the inevitable Stanley winds. There was only one thing wrong with my calculations.....the protection we were afforded here by both the cabin hedge and further afield, the bulk of the Nut, applied only if the winds were northerly, a rare event indeed.

As it was, my miscalculation of about 45 degrees meant that we were donged by any blasts which had an element of south or west in them. Yep, that's where they all came from, and on a couple of occasions, with considerable gusto! Ah, well, you know what they say about the best laid plans!

 Aside from having to hunker down on a few occasions, and the lack of green grass, our site was otherwise first class. 



The end of the roadway alongside us took us directly to a path alongside the small green park facilities building which gave us immediate access to Sawyer Bay (more of this later).













Directly across that same road was the excellent camp kitchen with the main park ablution block immediately behind it. No access problems here.







Like all things about this park, the facilities provided in the camp kitchen were first class, including good BBQs, (importantly) sheltered from the winds,















a very well equipped kitchen area,












and a large indoor dining area which opened out onto an al fresco area for those who were included to commune more closely with nature (winds permitting!).









The ablutions were more than fit for purpose as was the park laundry. And all this within no more than thirty metres of our patch.











Recreational fishing is one of the attractions of Stanley, and the park wisely catered for the needs of those who had success from either the local jetties or the more versatile platform of a boat, by providing a good fish cleaning table near the waterfront.








As expected, there were rows and rows of cabins, 
















of varying styles and sizes,













including something we had not come across previously, a couple of large houses, where families or groups could settle in in style. 










We were not in the slightest surprised to find plenty of permanents,














some of whom were quite unabashed about their reasons for coming to Stanley, 











but a couple of the park homes were simply out of the box. This one, which we suspected belonged to relatives of the park owner, was as far removed from a 'beach shack' as was possible, and it came with all the toys to match!










Visitors with tents were not overlooked. This grassed area alongside the beachfront roadway was one of several camping sites in this large park.









One of the great advantages of the Stanley topography is that the Nut provided a great vantage point for various views, including this which shows the caravan park stretching out right on the beachfront.








And there we were, with the park facilities right next door and the beach on our doorstep.













We were even fortunately enough to inherit a couple of neighbours (who had come up from Hobart in their little pop top) with whom we struck up a very good relationship. Apart from several entertaining happy hours (wind permitting), I went fishing with John, and we later caught up with he and his wife Gill in Swansea, where they provided us with a wonderful surprise....no, you'll just have to be patient!

All in all we were more than relaxed about our choice of sites despite the odd blast or two, which we soon learnt was part and parcel of life in Stanley. 



We were even treated to a couple of marvellous sunsets, one of which painted the sands of the beach at low tide with reflected colour

















and brought an old homestead on a nearby hill into stark relief.














The second over the waters of a full tide in Sawyer Bay was far less fiery, but displayed an equally impressive pastel pallette.






As well as taking in all that Stanley had to offer, we had planned to make this place a bit of a rest stop, and Liz took full advantage of one 'lay day' by making herself busy in the galley. Our larder was soon graced with a couple of fine carrot cakes, and my challenge then became to resist more than one small slice at a time!




We really did enjoy our stay here. Stanley's charm, history and scenery lived up to all our preconceived ideas of what we would find here beneath the Nut, and we even splashed out on some of its much touted seafood. In fact we later both agreed that this was one of our real highlight stays in Tasmania. Stay tuned!






Post Script: 

In case anyone is wondering just how Max settled in at Stanley, I'll let the picture tell the tale!