The next morning the smoke had cleared, which was good because we wanted to go to Stanley, but were a bit worried as it is further west and closer to the fires. Checked out the Wynyard market, and picked up some very elegant steak knives for a song.

Then we pushed on to Stanley and arrived just before ten, beating the Tourist Info lady by a few minutes. Picked up a map to find our way around town, as we had missed the town centre last time. This time, knowing there was a town centre, and with a map in tow, we still almost missed it. To get there you need to make a very sharp turn into a tiny little street with no signs whatsoever. No wonder we had missed it the first time, and gone straight on to the wharf.

Another beautiful historic town with old cottages, boutiques, galleries, and cafés. Then we made our way to the Nut - the huge imposing hill / mountain / rock feature that dominated the skyline. There was a chair lift up to the top, but George decided we would walk, up a path that zig zagged its way up the sheer incline in three long steep sections. It was hard work - stopping to pant and catch our breath several times up each path. The total length of the path was 450 metres, but the height of the Nut was 150 metres. Considering in most buildings one floor is about three metres, this makes the total height the equivalent of a forty to fifty storey building. I am glad we did not do the calculations until after.

But once we were up, the views were magnificent. It was a good thing the smoke had lifted. The people who had made this climb yesterday would have been sorely disappointed. Up the top it was fairly flat, and there was a two kilometer circular walking track around the outer edge. Making our way down again was no easy feat, as you had to put all your effort into slowing down and not slipping or running straight to the bottom.

After a great work out, we headed to the wharf for lunch. With scallops being so iconic to Tasmania, and although we had tried scallop pies in so many places, we had never had scallops on their own. So we went for the scallop pack - fifteen large juicy scallops and chips for $19. More than enough for the two of us. And our order number was 42 - the answer to life, the universe, and everything. A perfect way to round up the day.

Drove back to Cooee Point, the free-camping spot just outside of Burnie. This would give us a good head start to get to Launceston tomorrow. The beach was lovely, and we were tempted to have a dip, but it was late, and it had been a long and full day.