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This morning, we woke up to strong winds and chilly weather. The door to our hotel room was shaking hard with the wind but we managed to hack it so it would stop shaking. It also rained throughout the morning, but the weather finally cleared up in the afternoon, and the wind did die down eventually.
Unfortunately, both Jess and Alex felt sick with a sore throat and stayed in their room to rest.
Jim and I had breakfast at Marleys @ Sticks and Stones Shells and Bones (talk about a long name for a business…), a nice little eatery in the center of the town. And, yes, they did sell all kinds of stones, shells, and bones. Their breakfast was really good. We ordered some food for both Jess and Alex to take back to their room.
After breakfast, we went to the pharmacy to get Covid-19 antigen test kits. Jess’s test was not conclusive but it is more than likely that she did get Covid. We went back to the pharmacy to get some over-the-counter medicine. Alex decided not to take the test yet. The two of them stayed in their room all day, trying to get better.
Jim and I decided to follow our original itinerary, which was to visit the Allendale Gardens at Smithton and Cape Grim.
Unfortunately, as we were driving, we saw a sign indicating that the Gardens are closed permanently now due to the owners retiring – and the lack of funds. We drove through Smithton and quickly found out that it is a dying town with many empty stores. Due to Covid? Or other economic reasons? Probably a combination of both, but for sure there is nothing to do or see in Smithton.
Cape Grim… NO ENTRANCE ALLOWED!
We drove to Cape Grim only to find out that the end of the road was on private land and FORBIDDEN to the public unless you booked a conducted tour with the Woolnorth Wind Farm. It was not indicated in the guide books we had. Of course, we had no intention to pay for a tour.
So much for going to Cape Grim!!
A bit of history about the Van Diemen’s Land Company, which owns these lands. Van Diemen’s Land Company is the original name of the southeastern Australian island colony that became the commonwealth state of Tasmania. The island was named for Anthony van Diemen, governor general of the Dutch East Indies in the 1640’s. There is a lot of dark history associated to this era due to the near extermination of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people during the Black War (1804-1830).
On the way back, we took some photos of the green lands in the area well known for its cattle. On the last photo (right) of the photo gallery, you can see the “wind” hedges I mentioned in the previous blog. You can see them throughout the land to protect people, houses, and crops from the very strong gales common to the region.
After our mini road trip, we drove back to Stanley and had a quiet rest of the day. In the meantime, Jess tested positive for Covid. Chilling in our room, we had a couple of snacks in the room to hold us until dinner.
For dinner, we ordered take-away food from Hursey Seafoods Restaurant, the restaurant we ate at yesterday. Downstairs, the restaurant offers take-away meals. We ate in our room watching a great Christmas movie (yes, it is a Christmas movie!): Die Hard… they don’t make action movies like they used to anymore and Die Hard is still an action movie classic!
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 201 miles (323 km)
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES WALKED = 1.36 miles (2.2 km)
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2 thoughts on “DAY 19 – December 28, 2022 – Stanley”
It is, vraiment, disappointing that Cape Grim was not accessible to you.. as a Tasmanian I am irritated that such things happen for some rather arbitrary reason ..more likely to happen in a totalitarian country !
Yes, we were very disappointed too… and many others!!