We tootled along the smaller roads hugging the very edge of the coastline. In general the drive was a pretty one with beaches, small and large headlands and views up and down the coast. The day was a change from the past few days with blue skies and hardly any wind. Heading west as we are though, we don't expect this to be the norm.

A side trip to Boast Harbour Beach was a delight. Here was the epitome of a beautiful beach, fine white sand arcing into a perfect crescent with the clearest turquoise water imaginable and the rocks of the headland covered in the striking orange lichen that seems to characterise this coastline. Stunning! The next door Sisters Beach was bigger and more exposed but its centrepiece was a creek running fast to the ocean across the sand. Where it met the salt water was a swirling mass of wave and foam, but more striking was the colour. The water in the creek was clear but stained by vegetation to the most alarming blood red. The meeting of the clear salt and the red creek water was an incredible mingling.

The drive became a little more mundane from here until we reached Stanley. This small town out at the end of a peninsula is famous for being situated by "The Nut", a huge rounded remnant of a volcanic core. It looms over the town sheltering the inhabitants and the small port for the most part. But here we were in a fishing port and we relished the thought of buying some fresh lobster for dinner. Unfortunately lobster season starts in two weeks and the lobsters available to buy would need a mortgage to buy. But we settled on fresh local Tasmanian scallops and prawns and enjoyed every mouthful.

Stanley also meant staying in a caravan park, not something we do often or enjoy. But the local council here has No Camping signs at every turn, and anyway we were really dying for a hot shower and a place to get some clothes washing done. And the wind started back up again for the evening - we knew it couldn't last.