Two Nuts?!

What do you see in this photo - one Nut or maybe two?!

After a great sleep and breakfast, I checked out and had a short walk in Stanley, getting a chance to look at the old colonial buildings in daylight! Then headed up out of the town, via this viewpoint, to visit “Highfield’s Historic House”.

Unfortunately the outside isn’t looking its best, being covered in scaffolding ~ well it is the low season, and time to replace the roof! But great backdrop… back to just one Nut!

The house was built in 1835 for the chief agent of the Van Diemen’s Land Company, who oversaw the mining and development of this part of Tasmania (then called Van Diemen’s Land). It was interesting to see one of the earliest homesteads, and learn a little of life for these first settlers, their convict workers, and also how they treated the local indigenous people… 

It was also interesting to chat with the curator and the British legacy. He also pointed out that Tasmania has a land area about half that of England; yet the population of England is about 60 million, whereas the population of Tasmania is about 1/2 million… no wonder I don’t see many cars on the road!

I headed off, beginning my journey east along the north coast, with stunning scenery and interesting road names like, “Murdering Gully Lane”! I do like the way Australia’s say things so clearly… for example, when I was on the boat trip a few days ago, the captain was going through safety details as we left and it included the institution that children must not run or jump, because “that would just be stupid”! And at Highfield House in the kitchen on the butter churn were instructions for making butter which began with, “1. Find the cow; 2. Milk the cow”… love it!

Anyway, in need of coffee, I pulled off the main road and down to a small cove settlement called Boat Harbour Beach, which also had a cafe ~ perfect!

After a welcome and stunning pit stop, I headed on for about an hour or so until I reached the town of Ulverstone ~ not somewhere most tourists seek out, but when you’re travelling and find somewhere with one of these…

…it’s an important find! I popped out to a Lonely Planet recommended cafe and brought my takeaway back here to babysit the machines!

Laundry complete and non-tumbling items spread out on the back seat of the car, I headed on, going slightly inland. This area is again stunning, but different ~ it’s land that has been cleared for farming, so rolling hills, pastoral scenes with farms, long straight roads, cows, sheep, alpacas(!)… again it reminds me of New England or Canada. But there was also the backdrop of mountains, in this photo, Mount Roland.

I popped into “The House of Anvers” in Latrobe, a famous chocolate factory, alas no chocolate-making to be seen today, but lots of chocolate!

My next proper stop was to visit Sheffield ~ so many places with English names, I passed through Somerset earlier too! This Sheffield is small, but locals have put it on the map with the painting of large murals on many walls around the town, images from the history of the town and area. There are apparently over 80 of them… I didn’t see them all! It was fun to stop for half an hour and have a wander.

With the light beginning to fade, and the strong advice not to drive from dusk onwards because of the nocturnal wildlife, I headed on to my destination for tonight, Tasmania’s second city, Launceston. Named for someone’s home in Cornwall I guess, but interestingly pronounced with 3 syllables: Laun-ces-ton!

Sweet dreams wherever you reside tonight.