Our final port of call on the North-West coast of Tasmania is the town of Stanley which is renowned for its volcanic “plug” known as the ‘Nut’. The town sits on a peninsula that juts out into Bass Strait but it’s the Nut that dominates the landscape. It’s pretty imposing as it stands 143 metres above the township and can be seen for miles along the coastline.

We set the caravan down and head into town for a walk and to get more of an understanding of the layout. Our walk takes us down to the wharf area where all sorts of sea born goodies arrive. Its a working port but also remains committed to keeping its old world charm with the local buildings, either of an era long past or newly built, maintaining the traditional architectural style. Either way the town is very much celebrating its past while looking to its future.

Our walk takes us up and down the main street where we while away some time in the shops and galleries where local artisans sell their wares. We meet up with a local professional photographer named David Murphy at his Cow N Calf Art Gallery and spend a bit of time talking to him about his photos of the area. Have a look at his website as his photos certainly inspire me.

Further along the street we find a Providore with some very tasty items in stock. Our pantry is now full again with life’s essentials of cheese, wine, salami and local chocolate. Our next stop is into a whisky and wine tasting bar where we try a glass of wine each, a red and a white from the Freycinet area, all in the name of research of course. Very nice indeed so we can’t wait to make it to the area in the next few weeks.

We strike up a conversation with the owner about the best places to visit in the area. He points us towards Marrawah and Arthur River which are at the top North-West corner of Tasmania. On their day they are supposed to be very pretty with Arthur River having a lookout area named “Edge of the World” that seems interesting. We thank him for his time and knowledge and head back to our camp for the night.

In the morning we head out to Marrawah and Nettley Bay but the weather is against us as its overcast and dull. Still, we’ve come this far so we make the best of the conditions and walk the beach at Periwinkle then head to Rusty Rock at Nettley Bay.

From Marrawah we head to Arthur River where the weather is no better but we find a coffee van that serves a great brew so all is good in the world again. I have to be content with just a few photos as its blowing a gale and literally shaking the camera and me making it difficult to keep focus. So arty-farty photos it is for this stop. It seems stone stacking and driftwood are getting great coverage on this trip.

Our loop back to Stanley sees us drive around the back of the ‘NUT’ into an area named Highfield where there is a historic site with building ruins from early settlers to the area. The site is serene and has the ‘NUT’ and Bass Strait as its background so is gorgeous. Again the weather is ordinary so we make a second trip back the next day to get a couple of clear and bright shots. You can understand why they picked the location to build their accommodation as its stunning.

Our last full day in Stanley sees us head off to Rocky Cape and then onto Table Cape which both sit between Stanley and Wynyard on the Northern coastline. The views from both lookouts and light houses are remarkable. The contrast between the blue sky, dark blue sea and the golden wheat fields is breathtaking. But the beauty of the jagged rocks below Rocky Cape is incredible as there is the added red and greys that just sparkle.

We continue our loop back to Stanley but decide to turn off and visit Dip Falls and the Big Tree. With the dry summer in the area we are not expecting too much at the falls but we are pleasantly surprised to see water flowing over an incredible rock formation. It looks like hundreds of columns of rocks have been laid on the diagonal pointing back up the falls. The view is overwhelming as everywhere you look you see more and more detail.

The Big Tree is exactly what you expect as its an enormous browntop stringybark eucalypt that soars into the air from a rainforest setting. Its estimated to be over 400 years old and at its prime would have been around 90 metres tall. Its slowly shrinking though, as we all do with age, so stands about 60 metres at this time.

We return to Stanley where I set myself the challenge to walk up the Nut. As I wrote previously, its imposing and 143 metres tall but its a challenge I’m looking to take. I walk through town and up the road that leads to the chairlift that scales the incline. There is a sign that announces that the walk is 430 metres with three zig-zag sections involved. Okay, turn up the music on the iPhone and get on with it.

The first section is steep but reasonably short so I arrive at the first turn feeling pretty good about myself. That feeling is short lived as the next section is steeper and about twice as long. I huffed and puffed up to the second turn and stop to take a photo and a number of very deep breaths.

The third and final leg is thankfully shorter but just as steep. It drains the last of your reserves quickly, but the rewards at the top are worthwhile. The view in every direction is more breathtaking than the climb up the Nut. The panorama below shows the view from the lookout back across Stanley and the peninsula.

If the trip up is daunting, the trip down is harder than you would expect. It’s difficult to walk down the slope as you need to almost side step down the decline as it’s too steep to step down in a forward manner. Your knees are very aware of the workout. A cold beer in the pub in town after the decent is greatly enjoyed. Stacey joins me for the drink but declined to join me for the climb.

What a incredible area the North-West of Tasmania has turned out to be. We have covered a lot of the region and really enjoyed our visit. As always, you could spend a lot more time here as there is plenty to see but we are now heading south down the west coast with a few days in Waratah and then the Australia Day long weekend in Strahan. Stay tuned.