Leaving Mackintosh dam was not easy and with hindsight we should have stayed longer. But we didn’t. Slowly we packed up and moved down hill closer to the west coast.
Along the road we stopped at various falls, one nicer than the other.
We also passed a Magnetite mine. Magnetite is the most magnetic of all the naturally occurring minerals on Earth. Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, and this was how ancient people first noticed the property of magnetism.
Apparently this mine opened recently and has tight environmental restrictions. They will be fined $50,000 if within a period of 12 months more than one Tasmanian Devil is killed as a result. These and other restrictions seem required as in the past Tasmanian miners heavily polluted some of the pristine waterways.
We stop for lunch and a drink.
Then we see the west coast.
Suddenly we find out that Tasmania is indeed just a mini Australia, including a mini desert.
Nossi was suffering from dehydration and the unrelenting sun.
Then he suddenly tried to attract my attention.
He searched left and right.
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before and finally Nossi succeeded.
It worked out to be just a massive dune and we returned safely to Marjo and Dotti.
From there we drove to Strahan on the West Coast. We read about a nice bush camping and after 11 km of teeth shattering dirt road we made it into the campsite. The whole of country bumpkin west Tasmania must be here (behind every corner I expect to see a two headed specimen) as its Friday afternoon. There are quite a few campers and everyone has brought their dune buggy, cross bike, quad bike and 4WD to speed along the beach and across the dunes. That and the howling wind (Dotti squinting) plus starting rain keeps us close to the bus.
An interesting day.
Posted from Port Huon, Tasmania, Australia.
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