MONDAY 14 FEBRUARY     DOVER

Valentine’s Day again, and a warm one.

We had a leisurely morning. I read for a while.

The Sydney lady came over for a talk before leaving. We exchanged names and contact details. She said her husband was interested in finding out more about the share market, so I gave her details of a book that I’d found useful.

After lunch we went driving. Drove north again, along the coast road, then on to Huonville. Then followed the Huon River valley to Glen Huon and on towards the Snowy Range, on unsealed tracks, kind of following the river. Then we found ourselves amongst forestry operations, and where they are any resemblance of tracks to what is on the maps, ceases! So we decided that was enough track exploring in that direction, and took the 4WD Link Track to Lonnavale and then came back along the northern side of the Huon River, to Huonville – a pleasant circuit. We could see where the recent fire had burnt.

We drove 164kms today.

This part of the coast seems to be becoming a focus for fish farming – in this case, salmon. As we have driven along the coast road through Surveyors Bay and Police Point, have seen the distinctive round cages out in the channel that is the Huon estuary. Interesting. Logic would suggest that intensive fish farming has to be more sustainable than increased wild fishing, though I don’t know how many species lend themselves to this.

Back at Dover, collected the mail. Had letters from our Hawker friends and from the WA sisters we’d met at Atherton, in ’98; they sent us a book on free camps in WA, which was really lovely of them.

Tea was soup and a chicken stir fry.