Wilmot-Valley of Views

      The distance from Cradle Mountain back to Devonport and the ferry is about 80 kms, with only two towns marked on the map: Moina and Wilmot. Moina is not noticeable: gone before you realize you are there. Wilmot holds itself out as something of a tourist attraction—the guide book mentions the famous Cole Brothers General Store (in the family for generations), the Museum and, intriguingly, “a self-guiding tour of unusual mail boxes.” And it also the self-proclaimed heart of 'The Valley of the Views.'

         All this seems to be something of the norm in small Tasmanian and mainland towns—anything to get the passing cars to stop. Railton calls itself ‘The Topiary Capital of Tasmania’ and Sheffield has its murals. And all these small towns have their museums for which they charge you to view a few old artifacts, faded brown photos of local dignitaries, pictures of the floods (and bush fires) of the past, an old plough or road signs, and a press cutting reporting the visit of some obscure member of the royal family—those sorts of thing. A friendly elderly lady is usually in charge.

         Wilmot delivered on its promises. There were super views along the rolling and meandering road.

  







And the Cole Brothers Store was there, with the added bonus of a mural depicting some of the quirky mail boxes.

 It had the typical small town museum, which promised "a comprehensive range of war memorabilia, local history, antiques, tools, and other interesting artifacts."

And it had its mail boxes, spread out along the main road for miles --except for the first, which was made by the elderly man who filled our car with petrol at Coles Brothers--they did petrol too. “Go up there,” he said, “and see the one I made.”

And as we drove along the main (only) road, they kept appearing:

We arrived in Devonport. It was my birthday. Strange that I was born on the edge of Devonport in England, and here I was in a Devonport on the other side of the world.
One interesting poster caught our eye. An advertisement for an Australia Day (January 26) attraction in the nearby town of Latrobe.

"Fun, food, ferrets and fitness"-- sorry we had to miss that one!  Apparently ferret racing is very popular, and on a news program we also saw cockroach racing.

  


There she was, ready for the trip back across the Bass Strait. We slept soundly through it and emerged into St. Kilda, Melbourne, on a miserable rainy day.

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