12 November 2013 - Big4 Ulverstone Holiday Park, Ulverstone, Tasmania

We could have stayed yet another day and headed out to the most north-western point of the island, out to Tasmanian’s largest single holding farm of 22,000 hectares at Woolnorth, home to Cape Grim where "the cleanest air in the world can be breathed", according to the promotional literature. Woolnorth is also home to one of Australia’s largest wind farms with a total of sixty two wind towers, producing approximately 12% of Tasmania’s total residential energy needs. But there is a charge for all this, which you would expect since it is all on private land, and you should know by now, we are cautious about spending our hard earned money. So we did not.

There is another reason too, one Chris pointed out to me as I suggested plans here and there across our map for the last week of our time here in Tasmania; we should not travel roads and ways just for the sake of putting lines on the map; point taken.

And so with that, after lingering over breakfast and the ABC24 News channel’s update regarding the opening of Australia’s 44^th government, we packed up and headed east, back along familiar roads.

That immediately east of Burnie was new but did nothing to charm us. Burnie’s life over the past half century and more has been all about industry and even as it struggles in its death throes, it remains a fairly unattractive place except for those who live high on the hills that run along the coastline, and who can sit in their lounges and look out onto the Bass Strait, over and beyond any views that may not please the eye.

The Bass Highway continues eastwards hugging the coastline and then sweeps a little inland over the hills away from the railway line and the seaside settlements. We chose to remain on the minor coast road and continued along to Penguin where we had thought we might stay. Penguin is quite a charming spot, tight against the rocky shore and railway line, bright floral gardens camouflaging the rail line from the cottages across the road but a place that today did not offer much in the way of a pull off place for lunch, or at least for rigs such as ours. Nor did the tall plaster penguin cause us to stay; we continued on, thinking of lunch, as the digital clock flicked on closer to midday.

Soon we found ourselves at Ulverstone where we did find a level spot, by Legion Park, on the western bank of the Leven River which emerges here from the hinterland. We dined on yummy sough dough rolls we had picked up as we passed through Wynyard, and watched a man and his two little dogs chasing seagulls on a beach beyond the river mouth in the distance.

Happy and calm having received sustenance, we decided to check out the Big4 Holiday Park here, not having found the Apex Park en route particularly appealing. So here we are, parked up for a few days, with the television on again, listening and watching as the Governor General reads the Prime Ministers’ plan for the next few years, to both Senators and Members; a rather strange affair when you consider this: she is the mother-in-law of the Leader of the Opposition who will be squirming in his seat hearing all these obnoxious promises. I wonder what they will talk about over dinner tonight?