Carol in Oz - Stanley

The lady from the timber mill shop spied us as we walked down the street Thursday evening and called out.  They've found 3 large Huon Pine boards that might be suitable for our kitchen island.  We arranged to meet up with her in the morning.  We spent a pleasant half hour chatting the following morning.  She had some very interesting stories to tell about where and how the timber came to be in their shop.  We are going to have a think about it over the next few days and she will hold the boards until next week.  We would love to have them as our kitchen island top but it's expensive!

We collected Carol and headed on our way again.  We drove through some very sorry looking mining towns.  At Zeehan we got fuel from what used to be a functioning petrol station but now just has a couple of fuel pumps with an automated payment system.  Chatting to a fellow in the next car he said just 7 or 8 years ago it was a busy little town.  With the decline in mining jobs, the workers left for Western Australia.  Now it looks all but deserted.

Eventually the rain forest type landscape changed to the eucalypts that we are used to seeing.  We had lunch in a cafe in Burnie and then turned West to Stanley.  It was incredibly windy when we arrived.  Carol went up The Nut on the chairlift and we went for a walk to check out the wharf.  The Stanley Hotel had a large list of accomodation options, from rooms above the hotel to little studio apartments on the Main Street or complete cottages.  Carol chose a room in the hotel itself and we have a little apartment a few doors down.  It said "ocean views" which is a little ambitious.  We do have a glimpse of the sea between some buildings.

We met up again for dinner in the hotel bistro.  We had lovely meals and the place was full.

No rush on our last morning.  We don't have to be on the ferry in Devonport until 5pm.  Mick went and walked up The Nut while I had a shower (feeling it in his legs now!) and I met up with him for walk around town and a coffee in a cafe.

On our way again we stopped at Boat Harbour, a pretty little seaside spot.  By the time we reached Penguin it was lunchtime so we sat in a cafe for lunch.  We drove to Sheffield, the mural town and had a wander and browse of the shops.  As is the usual thing when we are on holiday, Mick decided he was up to trying on clothes so we bought him a couple of pairs of jeans, some shorts and a polo shirt. Funnily enough we bought him a bag of clothes in the very same clothing store on our last visit to Sheffield. He was down to his last pair of jeans with another one having been relegated to the work clothes pile.  Our final browse was Latrobe where the antique store was now open.  It had been closed Sunday morning when we first arrived.  We found a lovely old watering can and the boot of the car is now full to capacity.

So now we are sitting in the long line of cars waiting to board the ferry for the trip home tonight.