Well we didn’t see any wombats last night. Saw some new scats today, but not their owners.

We left early in the tinnie to visit Deny King’s settlement at Melaleuca, and what a visit. Cathy had been there 20 years ago with Mayer Page and Bill Gilbert, so a revisit for her. The front came through last night so temps were down, few clouds and a little rain which kept most people at bay. We had the run of the place. Very well done. We started with a walk showing how the Needwunnee people lived here for 35,000 years before us. It is very clever with a camp site set up, huts and their canoes made of paperbark. Then up to the walker’s huts and a talk with the volunteer ranger who gave us some background. Then we found Deny’s home and what a treat. This guy was very talented and he made some fancy things out of very little. To see the pictures of when he built it with no trees nor any growth except scrub, to now with a Huon Pine, Myrtle, pencil pine, leatherwood and many fruit trees. Although he was isolated, it was very homely. We walked across the airstrip to his tin mine which is almost rusted away. Further on past all the Do Not Enter signs is the home of the Wilsons who bought the mining lease from Deny’s sister Win. Now it has volunteer twitchers staying there who monitor the endangered orange-bellied parrots. They showed us round the Wilson’s mine and smelter. Wilson was a Southern African mining engineer who with his wife,Barbara, started mining in 1970. He was on a bigger scale than Deny and actually turned the concentrate into tin ingots. He died 18 months ago and the mine has been left to rot away, but the house is still used. We spent a long time just looking around and trying to imagine how tough these guys were. Great to be reading Deny’s biography at the moment as well.

Back at Claytons Corner, I still had a little energy left so climbed up Mt Beattie solo while Cathy & Caro read books. Great view down the channel and south down to the sea. Watched two planes leave and one land so a busy afternoon down on the airstrip.