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Hellyer Gorge

Came home last night from The Nut (near Stanley on the north coast) along the Hellyer Gorge & saw numerous (about 30 or so) hoppy fellows (wallabies? too small & soft-edged to be ’roos) plus some possums & a genuine Spotted Quoll.

All of this while Certain Others were constantly freaking out about the curved road & stunning speed (about 30-40km/hr in a 100km zone), & paying no attention to the masses of pretty ferns, majestic trees & stuff.

Hadn’t noticed the speed last time through, but it definitely added time to the trip, which together with the freaking-out puts definite limits to this as a travel choice. That’s a pity, bevause it’s very pretty along there.

There was also Young’s Vegetable Shed to the West of Burnie (in Somerset, practically) which had bulk veggies at good prices, including odd specialties like Ginger Honey. Yum!

At The Nut, I saw another unusual thing: the Western beach had a variety of slopes, steeper further from the water, and there was seawater running out at the base of those steeper parts, leaving little trackways in the sand. Micro geology lesson. (-:

The Nut itself is a whacking great hill stuck on the shoreline at the end of a promontory. It has a chair-lift, & some thoughtful soul put not only fences but steel-mesh fences on the upwind side, so you could see off, get an instant motorcyclist’s haircut, & not not fall off, all at the same time. It really stands out against the horizon for tens of km in any direction.

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