Wednesday 14th April 10
The weather is still very uncertain but we phoned the Retreat in Corinna as they are at sea level and it was claimed to be fair weather there. On this basis we drove out to Corinna to see the Pieman River, especially as they are currently trying to rescue a beached pod of dolphins in that area. The journey was wet as we travelled over the mountain with our heads in the cloud, but dried out a bit as we reached Savage River mining area, and from there on we were on a narrow dirt road for 20 odd kilometres. The last few kilometres drop down through the rain forest to the Pieman river where it was still damp and overcast. Maybe for them it was a fair weather day. The only way across the Pieman river to progress to Zeehan is via the 'Fatman ' Barge.
The weather is still very uncertain but we phoned the Retreat in Corinna as they are at sea level and it was claimed to be fair weather there. On this basis we drove out to Corinna to see the Pieman River, especially as they are currently trying to rescue a beached pod of dolphins in that area. The journey was wet as we travelled over the mountain with our heads in the cloud, but dried out a bit as we reached Savage River mining area, and from there on we were on a narrow dirt road for 20 odd kilometres. The last few kilometres drop down through the rain forest to the Pieman river where it was still damp and overcast. Maybe for them it was a fair weather day. The only way across the Pieman river to progress to Zeehan is via the 'Fatman ' Barge.
We had to leave Foxy in the car whilst we did the hour and forty minute rainforest walk, during which time it rained for a while. The walk was good but one rainforest is much like another but with variations on the fungi and mosses.
We treated ourselves to lunch in the Tarkine Hotel and then headed homeward and fortunately only met oncoming traffic at the wider places in the road. The weather gradually got worse as we climbed back into the cloud cover and helped us decide to move on tomorrow to get out of the wet with the possibility of a trip to Philosopher’s falls first if the rain has cleared which is what the weather reports keep implying. They haven’t been right yet.Thursday 15th April 10
We are still in the clouds with no improvement in the weather so we moved on to Wynyard on the north coast, and are now forgetting all about Philosopher’s Falls. Other people that we had met had told us that they had left good weather when they left Wynyard and it proved to be correct. We finally gained some sunshine, took our jumpers off and set up the camp again in a site with a bit of room. We are backed up looking out to sea with coastal views and have already enjoyed an evening stroll on the beach with Foxy in her element chasing seagulls. There are a lot of rabbits for her to chase as well. The journey here on a ‘B’ road was very easy compared to the ‘A’ road that we used to go out to Waratah/Strahan as it didn’t take us through mountains and the Hellyer Gorge torturous stretch of road.
Friday 16th April 10
We did a bit of shopping and called into Centrelink in Burnie, then went to an ugly looking block called a visitor centre. We have already decided that we are not over impressed with Burnie as it has every square inch covered with a parking meter, even outside government offices that don’t provide parking for clients. The visitor centre does tours around a small plant within the centre that makes hand made paper because the real paper mill stopped their tours about six months ago and are about to stop production altogether. The timing was wrong for us to do the tour there and then but will return.
We are still in the clouds with no improvement in the weather so we moved on to Wynyard on the north coast, and are now forgetting all about Philosopher’s Falls. Other people that we had met had told us that they had left good weather when they left Wynyard and it proved to be correct. We finally gained some sunshine, took our jumpers off and set up the camp again in a site with a bit of room. We are backed up looking out to sea with coastal views and have already enjoyed an evening stroll on the beach with Foxy in her element chasing seagulls. There are a lot of rabbits for her to chase as well. The journey here on a ‘B’ road was very easy compared to the ‘A’ road that we used to go out to Waratah/Strahan as it didn’t take us through mountains and the Hellyer Gorge torturous stretch of road.
Friday 16th April 10
We did a bit of shopping and called into Centrelink in Burnie, then went to an ugly looking block called a visitor centre. We have already decided that we are not over impressed with Burnie as it has every square inch covered with a parking meter, even outside government offices that don’t provide parking for clients. The visitor centre does tours around a small plant within the centre that makes hand made paper because the real paper mill stopped their tours about six months ago and are about to stop production altogether. The timing was wrong for us to do the tour there and then but will return.
By the time we reached home, it appeared that we had dragged the Waratah clouds northward with us as it was overcast and threatening. To ensure it rained we put some washing out and then walked into town and by the time we reach our furthest destination, the Wynyard visitor centre, it had started to rain. This visitor centre has a vintage car exhibition which we will take a look at in the near future. Very shortly after arriving home it stopped raining but remained overcast.Saturday 17th April 10
The weather was improving so we drove to the small town of Penguin and had a picnic lunch by the beach whilst we watched the Lifesaving Championships in action. This was not the Baywatch type lifesavers but the rubber duckie rescue boats powering out to pick up so called patients.This is not an event that we would normally bother with but Naomi, the granddaughter of our friends Ann and Ashley, was competing for North Cottesloe/Scarborough so let her know her team had some supporters. We watched for about two hours during which time a train passed closely behind the spectators as the track closely follows the coastline, and then went off to explore Penguin, and Ulverstone the next town along the coast, before heading home.
Sunday 18th April 10
We had a small amount of shopping to do and then drove inland out to a small township called Ridgley via a minor road that provided some superb views, and visited Guide Falls.
We had seen the signs to the Falls as we passed through here on our way from Waratah to Wynyard and decided to back track for a look. We initially arrived at a picnic area and car park but only by the stream, not the Falls, so we continued up the hill to another car park.
Sunday 18th April 10
We had a small amount of shopping to do and then drove inland out to a small township called Ridgley via a minor road that provided some superb views, and visited Guide Falls.
We had seen the signs to the Falls as we passed through here on our way from Waratah to Wynyard and decided to back track for a look. We initially arrived at a picnic area and car park but only by the stream, not the Falls, so we continued up the hill to another car park.
From here we had a very short walk to two observation platforms and then walked down the fenced path and steps to the stream where you can then walk back along the stream until you are looking straight into the bottom of the Falls. The Falls have a small upper fall and then a much deeper fall slightly side on into the stream. There are then a succession of smaller falls along the stream. We experienced the same problem that we had at Hogarth Falls with the sunlight in the wrong position, so we will return again when it is overcast or a morning situation. 
On the return journey we did a detour into the Emu Valley Rhododendron Park which covers several acres and includes several small lakes, each with its own pergola styled to suit the country that the rhododendrons are from.
There is also a North American section which, being deciduous, is currently changing colour prior to dropping its leaves. We really need to be here in October when everything is in flower to get the best out of it but even now it is impressive. It is also better to visit during a week day rather than weekend as there are often weddings happening which requires you to avoid certain areas. Naturally we caught on of these in progress, and also needed to start earlier as more time would have been an advantage.
Monday 19th April 10
In the afternoon we drove to Table Cape which is the local headland, but didn’t stay as low cloud was rolling in off the ocean blotting out the view, so we drove through to Stanley to check out the situation on the wharf where we have been told you can free camp so long as you have your own toilet, etc, and are prepared to get water from town. This is not a problem for us, so our next stop will probably here, or by the beach on the other side of town. The wharf campsite has the Nut (the towns very prominent headland) towering above it, which had quite a few people using the cable car to the top which would prove useless for the view, and soak them for their troubles, as the same low cloud covered the top of the Nut. Out of necessity we picked up some diesel in Stanley but like so many Tasmanian towns, could not get any autogas. Gas is mainly only available in the larger towns, although we were surprised by its availability in Strahan, but we couldn’t get it in Queenstown which is a much bigger town.
Tuesday 20th April 10
Rained off
Thursday 21 April 10
.JPG)
The weather at 7.30am was perfect but by 9.00am was becoming overcast which was ideal for another trip to Guide Falls as the sun would not pose a problem.
Monday 19th April 10
In the afternoon we drove to Table Cape which is the local headland, but didn’t stay as low cloud was rolling in off the ocean blotting out the view, so we drove through to Stanley to check out the situation on the wharf where we have been told you can free camp so long as you have your own toilet, etc, and are prepared to get water from town. This is not a problem for us, so our next stop will probably here, or by the beach on the other side of town. The wharf campsite has the Nut (the towns very prominent headland) towering above it, which had quite a few people using the cable car to the top which would prove useless for the view, and soak them for their troubles, as the same low cloud covered the top of the Nut. Out of necessity we picked up some diesel in Stanley but like so many Tasmanian towns, could not get any autogas. Gas is mainly only available in the larger towns, although we were surprised by its availability in Strahan, but we couldn’t get it in Queenstown which is a much bigger town.
Tuesday 20th April 10
Rained off
Thursday 21 April 10
.JPG)
The weather at 7.30am was perfect but by 9.00am was becoming overcast which was ideal for another trip to Guide Falls as the sun would not pose a problem. 
The previous 24 hours of rain also proved to be a bonus as the amount of water had increased quite dramatically. On the way back we stopped off at Fernglade and took the 20 minute walk each way alongside the river am
ongst the fern trees. This was a very pleasant area for the Burnie residents and visitors to enjoy which has to be a bonus for Burnie which has nothing else to offer. It is a typical sprawling port town that happened rather than being planned. We called into the visitors centre and booked a tour of the hand made papermaking plant and had a coffee whilst we waited for the start. Darren showed us the ingredients used for the different types of paper which ranges from plant life through cotton and denim to wombat poo, and then showed the equipment that breaks it all down to a pulp. He then demonstrated scooping the pulp up on a wire mesh tray fitted with a removable template on top of it that divides the pulp into four A4 size sheets. It was then tipped onto a felt base that absorbed the remaining water prior to being peeled off the felt and rolled out against a glass wall to dry flat. When it is dry and removed from the glass, the side that was actually against the glass is very smooth for writing/painting on. We all then had a successful attempt at making a sheet of paper with a watermark in it, which is done with a thin wire shape of the watermark on the wire mesh so that the paper thickness is reduced by the watermark wire. When held up to the light the watermark shows up due to the transparency of the thinner paper. We then headed home with our watermarked little squares of hand made paper.
ongst the fern trees. This was a very pleasant area for the Burnie residents and visitors to enjoy which has to be a bonus for Burnie which has nothing else to offer. It is a typical sprawling port town that happened rather than being planned. We called into the visitors centre and booked a tour of the hand made papermaking plant and had a coffee whilst we waited for the start. Darren showed us the ingredients used for the different types of paper which ranges from plant life through cotton and denim to wombat poo, and then showed the equipment that breaks it all down to a pulp. He then demonstrated scooping the pulp up on a wire mesh tray fitted with a removable template on top of it that divides the pulp into four A4 size sheets. It was then tipped onto a felt base that absorbed the remaining water prior to being peeled off the felt and rolled out against a glass wall to dry flat. When it is dry and removed from the glass, the side that was actually against the glass is very smooth for writing/painting on. We all then had a successful attempt at making a sheet of paper with a watermark in it, which is done with a thin wire shape of the watermark on the wire mesh so that the paper thickness is reduced by the watermark wire. When held up to the light the watermark shows up due to the transparency of the thinner paper. We then headed home with our watermarked little squares of hand made paper.
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