WEDNESDAY 15 MARCH     STANLEY

Woke to another cloudy day. It is beginning to feel like summer has really ended.

Got chatting to our neighbours, who are full time travellers. They are into walking in the wilderness too. She was a governess in the Kimberley in the 50’s and 60’s. She told us that the old man who holds the Mt Barnett community together – which we were impressed with in ’93 – is very ill. It made me wonder what we would find there, later this year.

Set off for another drive. However, John could not resist calling in to Cockatoo Timbers, on the road out of Stanley, on the way past. He bought some more turning blanks. It was getting to the point where it was hard to fit all this wood in the Truck!

Drove south on the Mengha road , then on back roads that soon became gravel, to the Black River picnic area, where we ate lunch, by a pretty stream with lovely reflections.

After lunch and wandering around there a bit, continued on over the river ford and wound our way to the Dip Falls. We walked for a couple of km there and did the steep climb down to the base of the falls, which were quite special – probably the best we’ve seen in Tasmania. They were unusual in that the rock was columnar basalt and it had formed block patterns – like well laid paving stones.

 

Just on from the falls were the Big Trees – impressive girth. Our park neighbours turned up there, too.

Took the Mawbanna road back to the highway and so to camp. Apart from the river and falls, the drive was excellent, through pleasantly varied forest and farm lands. We did 110kms.

Tea was soup, sausages and salad.

Cousin K phoned – he wants to meet up with us here at the weekend, and also invited us to visit them in Wynyard for a BBQ. It will be exciting to meet another family member – he is about my age, too.