So I awoke Monday morning in the backpackers at Devonport after the luxury of a small sleep in. Knowing that I had booked 2 nights at this backpackers, I was aware that today did not have to be a mad dash in order to try to see everything, unlike other days have been.
The backpackers I’m in, Molly Malones, is about the only backpackers at the moment open in Devonport. To be honest, whilst I have enjoyed travelling in Tasmania in the winter, it has been a bit of a drag to try and do this on a budget, as many of the backpackers have closed for the season. Nonetheless, I’ve still managed somewhat. Anyway, Molly Malones is a backpackers above the Irish bar, Molly Malones. To be fair, its been probably the best backpackers I’ve been in this whole trip. Whilst the carpet is a bit psychedelic, the rooms are quite spacious, and even have their own vanity. Plus, despite the comments online about the hostel being cold, I’ve found that (ok, you had to hire your own doona) the rooms had a little portable heater in it which did the job quite well. The only downer has been the fact that I am the only female staying here, and there are about 5 or 6 boys here too – and their version of cleanliness, especially when it comes to the kitchen, is at the very least, questionable. So I’ve needed to wash the dishes before I actually use them.
Anyway, I digress. The good thing about Molly Malones is that I have been able to wash my clothes here – without having to pay for laundry detergent, too! And the dryer actually worked as well!
But back to the story at hand. Having determined that it would be best to stay 2 nights in Devonport – so I could see the North West but then be within striking distance the next day of Cradle Mountain – I set out at a reasonable hour en route to firstly Ulverstone. There is an interesting town clock there. After this, I went along the scenic old Bass Highway to Penguin, where the bins are shaped like penguins and there’s a 3m penguin statue on the beach. It was all very cute – and the scenery magnificent! I couldn’t believe that here you could have farms and beach residing together in complete harmony – and then there’s also a railway line right by the highway too! It really was very pretty.
After Penguin I popped in to Burnie, where unfortunately the lovely café with a view was closed, as recently has the paper mill which made Burnie so famous. Also I saw there though the milk processing plant for Cadbury’s chocolates – complete with sign saying they have no sales of chocolates there!
After Burnie I did a quick (since when is anything quick in Tasmania?) detour out to Fernglade. Apparently at this riverside walk they have a lot of platypus sightings – unfortunately today though, I devoted an hour of my time to this, and didn’t get rewarding with any platypus visuals. But the scenery was pleasant enough.
Alas, as has been the flavour of this trip, the time was fast getting away from me, and I was still quite a way from my goal – specifically, Stanley, and the rock there called “The Nut”. So it was back on the highway en route to Stanley – with a quick (hehehe) detour to Wynyard. At Wynyard I did a side trip out to the lighthouse and went past some of the tulip farms – but didn’t stop, as really, in winter, what is the point?
But after this there was no more dilly-dallying – Stanely was the goal, specifically the Nut, and there would be no more deviation. I arrived there about 1.30pm which gave me good time to climb the nut. The unfortunate thing was , I wasn’t really equipped for the steepness of the climb. I was wearing jeans, and not my hiking pants. Not a good look when climbing a mountain! I could have taken the chairlift but hey, you know me , I like the challenge. So I thought I’d climb up it, and get the chairlift back down. Once I got to the top, hyperventilating all the way, the views were magnificent. Its surprisingly big, the Nut – took about an hour to walk all around it, with views out to the Bass strait and along the cliffs. Spectacular. Also astonishing was the fact that there were little gullys and valleys within the Nut – lined with rather tall trees – quite beautiful.
When I returned to the start of the circuit I was quite ready to take the chair lift down, only I had forgotten my purse, having left it in the car – or so I thought. In reality I had it but didn’t know this at the time. Also, I couldn’t see anyone at the start of the chairlift and I didn’t want to get to the bottom and have to pay a fine or something – so I walked back down. It wasn’t so bad – except for the fact it was so terribly steep!
With there still being some daylight hours, I decided to put them to good use, by heading out to Highfield Point for a better view of the Nut. I did a bit of a drive around here, and then decided to head back – but detoured out to Mawbanna to go to the Blue Hills Honey farm. There I met a very lovely, very informative farmers wife who explained all the different honeys to me in great detail, and gave me a tasting of each. They were yummy! She also suggested a drive out to Dip Falls and the Big Tree, where there is a tree that is about 400 years old. It was all very interesting, but by now it was starting to get quite dark by this point, and unfortunately I still had quite a way to go to get back to Devonport.
Some 2 hours later I was back, and began to cook my tea when one of the boys started to talk to me. Turns out he was a backpacker from Germany who had been travelling around Australia for 8 months. He was a sweet young boy. We had quite a nice chat.
Again, it had been a lovely day, but boy I was bushed! I literally fell into bed, exhausted…
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