As we had a short time in port today, we decided to forego any organized tours and just do a walkabout of the town. If there had been more time, we would have taken a tour of the UNESCO Cradle Mountain National Park which is a 2-hour drive from Burnie. So, we say, “next time”!

Burnie has a population of 20K and has a very organized port. They provided the nicest gangplank we’ve ever seen, followed by shuttles to take us to town, followed by a short welcome from their mayor. She is an enthusiastic cheerleader and warm ambassador; all rolled into one. That was a first for us! In fact, everyone around town were very friendly.

We found a place to have some breakfast, Banjos Bakery, before a little shopping and strolling. We eventually made our way down to their beautiful beach, where we enjoyed the promenade. We mused why looking at the ocean from a beach is so different from looking at the ocean on a ship? We’ve been on the ship, in the ocean, for 50 days! Why does sitting on a bench, looking and listening to the surf, seem so different?
We were so drawn to it that we found a little restaurant on the promenade that sells fish and chips and enjoyed our lunch there. The Foreshore offers Flake, Trevally, Flathead and Atlantic Salmon, either beer battered, tempura battered, bread crumbed or grilled. We decided on Flake, with the tempura batter, and it was delicious.

Our final stop was the makers market next to the shuttle stop. The mayor told us that they set up this market only on days when a ship is in port, to allow local artisans an opportunity to show their goods. We enjoyed walking through the 20 or so stalls, and made a couple of small purchases.

Back on the ship, we watched the pulp mill pile the pulp, right next to the ship. This pulp will be used to make particle board and paneling; most of it destined for China.

Tomorrow: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia