• cradle-mountain
  • golf1
  • table-cape
  • tollymore
  • tulips
  • wineglass-bay
  • winery-tasmania

THE WILD WEST COAST


wild-west-coast

Stanley, settled in 1826 as a deep sea port for Van Dieman’s Land,  has great colonial heritage value and is well worth a visit, particularly because of The Nut.   Like Table Cape, The Nut is a remnant basalt monolith and to take it all in we recommend a walk to the top or take the chairlift.  Tourist operators also  offer seal cruises and penguin viewing.  Visit the Stanley Visitor Information Centre at 45 Main Road (1300138229) to assess the most desirable activity.

Cape Grim, on the far north-west tip of Tasmania is about 120 minutes drive from The Winged House and can only be accessed by prior bookings (1300360441   www.hydro.com.au) .  There are 37 99-metre tall wind turbines harnessing the Roaring Forties, which arrive unhindered from the great southern ocean all the way from South Africa.    Cape Grim is said to have about the cleanest air in the world and, knowing this fact, entrepreneurs (www.tasmanianrain.com) have established rain-catching businesses nearby to market Tasmanian rain to discerning consumers world wide .  The water so produced is said to have 17 parts per million of total dissolved solids and is claimed to be more naturally pure than any water bottled from underground sources. Clever eh?

The Wild West Coast is a surfing paradise for the wet suited best seen by a trip to Marrawah.  Surfers say the best thing about the big  waves here is the environment, with  just the  relentless sea, sometimes whipped to a frenzy by the roaring forties and that wild natural coastline unblemished by roads or buildings.