Burnie

New-to-us-Port #12.

A smooth overnight sailing across the Bass Strait brought us to Tasmania, an island state of Australia. Our port of call today … Burnie, on the north coast of the island.

Though downtown Burnie is walking distance to where Regatta docked, walking inside the commercial port is prohibited. So, we hopped on the shuttle provided by the Port Authority to get into the town center.

There isn’t much to see and do in Burnie. Add the fact that it was Sunday and … well, you get the idea … the town was pretty much dead. No matter. We made the best of the situation.

With a walking map to guide us, we headed off for a stroll on the foreshore path, then walked up through Burnie Park to Oldaker Falls. I’d seen some impressive photos of the falls, but today they were just a mere trickle. I guess the best time to see them is after a good rain.

The volunteer with whom we spoke at the shuttle drop off had recommended the Secret Buddha for a coffee break … a short ways up from the falls. The place was hopping, and all of the outdoor tables were reserved. But once we promised that we’d be done and gone by 11:00a, we were given our pick of the available tables on the patio. A pot of Earl Grey tea and a scone with jam and cream for me; a double-shot latte and pancakes served with ice cream for Mui. His was definitely the better choice as the scone was more like a bread roll than a scone … which, as I now understand it, is called a rock cake in Australia. Nonetheless, it was a nice break.

Google wanted to route us uphill to get back to town to visit the Burnie Regional Museum. Having already climbed up from the foreshore to the falls, we nixed that idea and routed ourselves down through Burnie Park, choosing the path on the opposite side this time. Once we were back on the foreshore, it was just a matter of retracing our steps to find the museum on Little Alexander Street.

The museum is set up to represent Federation Street as it would have looked around the beginning of the 20th century. The volunteer who greeted us explained “… the street is dark because it’s after 6:00p and the shopkeepers and the townspeople are all at home.” We laughed and said not much had obviously changed in the time since.

The museum was opened in 1971 by a Peter Mercer who carefully researched and planned everything. The details and objects are all authentic to the Federation period … the buildings are constructed in the architectural styles common in Burnie in the late 19th century. Even the paint colours and sign-writing styles are those that would have been used during that period. It was a fun place to while away a bit of time.

From the museum, we set off to find Princes Street … recommended by the volunteer at the museum as a place to see Federation-period houses. A lovely walk in a neighborhood with well-maintained, beautiful homes.

Our sightseeing completed, we checked out a few logistics for when we return here at the end of our two-week driving trip in Tasmania. Namely, we were looking for the Ikon Hotel … where we will be staying … and wanted to find the post office most convenient to the hotel as we expect to ship a box or two back home before we leave Tasmania for the Australian mainland. Check and check.

A quiet afternoon on the ship after our recent run of ports of calls was the perfect way to wrap up our day in Burnie.

We set sail at 4:00p to Captain Giulio’s warning that he expects strong winds and six-foot swells once we turn the corner around the east end of Tasmania and begin heading south.

Indeed, it’s getting on towards midnight now and there is a noticeable rolling to the ship’s motion on the ocean. We’ll be rocked to sleep tonight!Read more