4/4/06
Stanley, Tasmania

After arriving in Tasmania, we drove west along the northern shore to Stanley. This town is built around the base of what is left of an extinct volcano. After millions of years of erosion wore away the soft earth surrounding the volcano, the hard plug that was the molten center of the mountain was left behind.

This rock formation stands on the tip of a peninsula, so when the weather turned nasty, we were lashed with strong winds and rain all night long. We definitely felt the coming of Fall when we arrived in Tassie!

Up on a cliff overlooking Stanley are the remains of the penal quarters that were built early in the history of the town. Much of early Australia was built from the toil of prisoners sent from England, and Tasmania was no different.

Not too far from Stanley down a long and winding logging road was Dip Falls. It’s geology was also volcanic.

These vertical pieces of rock are Basalt, and have been worn way and exposed by the falling water.

A view from above shows how these rocks formed octagonal shapes as it cooled.

We’ve seen several elevated forest walks constructed all about Australia, and Tasmania has the “Dismal Swamp.” The twist to this one however is the alternative route one can take to the floor of the forest, a slide! Unfortunately we arrived too late in the afternoon to take it down, but I felt it was worth mentioning to anyone who wants to give it a try!

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