It felt like such a mammoth effort to pack up the van again, after being settled in for 7 nights. Which is crazy, seeing as this was the longest we’d been settled in one place in 5 weeks. It goes to show how quickly you adjust to new routines and places.
Alas, we packed up and headed across to the north west of Tasmania, staying at River Breeze in Smithton, on the Duck River.
True to its’ name, there were ducks in the river.
Arriving at Smithton, we headed straight to the nearest food and caffeine place we could find and were lucky enough to settle in at Hugo’s Brew and Chew, which was scrumptious, and super accommodating for kids, and glutards (a person who cannot tolerate gluten)!
Our first day in Smithton, the weather turned from sunshine to rain and pelting winds, putting our plans to see ‘The Nut’ at Stanley to rest. No chair lifts operating in 60 km/h winds. So, we were forced to have a down day – which I was very happy about! The boys enjoyed some gaming time. While I enjoyed finishing the last few chapters of my book, Iron Flame (the 2nd book of the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros). Holy Moly!
We enjoyed a bit of fishing in this spot, but caught nothing except for a teeny tiny salmon. It was windy, rainy and cold, and we were committed to trying to catch something! But nope. Geez, we were grateful for hot showers and warm pajamas that night!
The next day, the weather was still crappy, but we’d planned to do some sightseeing of the area, meaning a lot of the time in the car, so it didn’t matter much. We drove to see The Edge of the World.
It was wild! It was windy! It was the exact conditions you’d imagine the weather to be at the ‘The Edge of the World!’ The icy cold rain came pelting in at us sideways, but we stayed long enough to go for a little explore, and to get a few photos.
We explored some incredible beaches in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area, seeing some of the hugest kelp plants washed up on the beaches, and watching the waves crashing up onto jagged rocks. Driving home we travelled through the forestry, seeing the Sumac Lookout and a Sinkhole along the drive.
Our last day in the area, we really wanted to get up to Stanley, the wind was still blowing a gale, but the sun was out intermittently. No chair lift again, due to high winds. So, off we trekked up the steep-as-fuck hill to The Nut, and took in the awesome views from the top. It took about 40 mins to walk around the top, and well worth the hike up there and the freezing cold winds. We warmed up with hot chocolates and coffees when we were done.
Then we headed off to see Trowutta Arch, which we had accidentally missed the day before. It was well and truly worth the drive out again. The hike was absolutely magical, and the natural arch formation was was truly breathtaking. Such a spectacular and unique place. We loved it! There was sooo much fungi. We thought we were onto some ghost mushrooms (the bioluminescent kind), so we came back again that night. Nothing glowing at all! Still worth the night-time hike. It was just as magical in the dark. Hubby even managed to get all the way there and back without hitting a single pademelon, which is nuts, as there were about 6 million on and around the roads.
Our last little bit of touring the North West, was seeing the Duck River Meadows Dairy. This was an experience recommended to us by another couple of Queenslanders finishing their 3 months in Tassie. We booked in for the afternoon tour of their robotic dairy and cheese-tasting. It was really cool to see the robotic milking machines doing their thing, and the happy cows coming and going on their own schedule. Plus, we got to see the gorgeous Friesian and Jersey calves up close! The cheese-tasting was hilarious, as Big Boy has an affinity for different cheeses now. He rated all of them, except for the coffee dusted cheese, as a 10/10. We had a brilliant time in the North West!
Off to see the Supercars in Launceston, and staying at Deloraine next! Get in touch and tell us what else you want to see or know about our travels.
Much Love,
MumOf3WRs