FRIDAY 11 FEBRUARY     DOVER

After last night’s rain it was a really humid day.

After discussing it all, last night, today we drove back to Nicholls Rivulet, to Pav’s mill, in order to put in a firm order for the silver wattle timber for the kitchen. We will need a fair quantity, so the lead in time will allow him to find us really good wood.

I suspect that, when Pav saw us coming, he was worried that we’d come to cancel yesterday’s sassafras purchase and demand our money back! After all, how many retirees wander in and buy a ruddy great log, on impulse?

We gave him the silver wattle order and paid a $100 deposit. Again, this will not be needed for at least a couple of years yet.

Back at Dover, found the brake part parcel had finally arrived at the Post Office. John was pleased that it had finally come, as he really wanted to fix the brake before we moved again.

The pleasant outlook from our van at Dover Caravan Park

Tea was fish and fries.

FRIDAY 28 JANUARY   HOBART TO DOVER   101kms

After almost six weeks, we were finally leaving Hobart! The duration of this stay rivalled that of Atherton, in 1998 – another prolonged stay caused by waiting for a family visit.

John drove to Claremont for the paper and to refuel – 78cpl.

We did an unhurried pack up on a day that verged on rain, much of the time.

Our friend from up the top came down for a final chat. I gave him a 4WD magazine I’d bought because it had a review of the latest Defender in it.

We had a careful run through Hobart – there was really no way to avoid the centre of town!

Then it was south, to the small town of Dover. The route was familiar as far as Geeveston. After that, the road was quite hilly, winding, and narrow in parts.

The left hand brake on the van is still getting too hot. We really need to get it right before the next move.

We booked into the Dover Caravan Park for $14 a night, with the seventh night free. It is a pleasant park with good sized, grassy sites, though the grass is battling a bit with the drought. It is run by a father and teenage son. It is very neat and clean – and is for sale.

Across the road from the caravan park is a narrow reserve, and then the sea. Dover is located on an inlet off the D’Entrecasteux Channel, called Port Esperance. Settlement here began in the 1840’s with a convict establishment. The town was maintained as a timber milling centre, then a farming town and most recently, a fisheries centre.

We chose Dover as a base stay because much of the far south can be accessed from here, and it is really the last settlement of any size down this way. It really is central to a lot that attracts us.

After setting up and having lunch, we went for a walk around the shoreline and as far as the hotel and its jetty. As we then walked back through the town, stopped at the General Store and ordered the papers be kept for us.

The town seems pleasant. There are a lot of older cottages, and some holiday homes. As seems usual in Tasmania, there are numerous properties for sale.

John found the TV reception is only moderate. He came up with the idea of using string to bring the cable from the aerial inside, through the scupper vent on the roof. This allowed the cable to be hooked directly into the back of the TV and did improve the picture somewhat.

Through the afternoon, the caravan park filled up with what we assume is the weekend crowd, as used to happen at White Beach. There appear to be about a dozen permanent weekender vans in the park.

Tea was salmon and a jacket potato.

There is a good feeling about this place and I think we will enjoy it here.