Stanley

As  per our previous post we arrived at Stanley Tourist Park late on Tuesday February 27th after our quick trip to Launceston re the Jeep. As stated the park is crowded with small one way lane ways and was difficult to get the caravan onto the sites. There are two amenity blocks that are both dated but kept very clean. 4 Stars! It is in a great location though; right along the beach and the base of "The Nut". Would probably not stay again based on the tightness of the roads. There is a very nice low-cost campground just down the road near the Golf Club.

We enjoyed drinks with Rob/Carol Hussey & Tom/Chris Weatherby from Harrington upon arrival. They were staying in the Hotel but walked down for drinks. Sandra and I were pretty tired after our day and had an early night.

Wednesday was raining and windy again. Our Harrington friends decided to do a drive around the Tarkine and we decided to put off our walk to "The Nut" for another day. Sandra had a lot of laundry to catch up on and we struggled a bit to get everything dry because of the weather. We had a nice walk in the evening around Stanley and the fisherman's wharf area near the base of "The Nut". Also walked down the main street which is beautiful with lots of unique shops and cafes. A really pretty little town.

Thursday the sun was out again and we set off to climb "The Nut". We met our Harrington friends at the bottom and a few decided to take the chair lift to the top. The rest of us climbed the steep but paved trail. It only took about 10 minutes and we arrived about the same time as those on the chairlift. We may have been breathing a bit harder though! We all set out to complete the 2KM circuit walk around the top of "The Nut". A bit funny as some of us showed up in shorts and others in full winter garb. Was lovely but the wind was cold so probably part way in between the two extremes. Lovely views of Stanley, the surrounding region, and the coast in 360 degrees. Lots of laughs and some good photos. We saw some Pademelons as well which are a very small marsupial.

We all walked back down to the base where we found a café for morning tea. Some of us enjoyed some fresh scones with our coffee/teas. We had a relaxing walk back through the down town area to the caravan park. The Harrington gang was heading towards Wynyard where they were booked in for the next two nights. Rans and I tried another couple of Scallop pies which we rated higher than our original taste in Sheffield.

That afternoon we went for a drive with the Ransleys to a couple of lookouts along the coast and to the Highfield Historic site. We didn't go through the actual buildings but had a quick look around the grounds. Beautiful location overlooking the hills, Stanley, and the ocean.

We enjoyed a barbecue night at the caravan. After dinner we took a drive to the Western beach to have a walk and try and see some little penguins. No luck with the penguins but we did see another lovely view of "The Nut" and some great beach sunset photos. Was close to a full moon as well. All in all a great couple of days in a beautiful little town. Highly recommended!