Stanley is a historic coastal town full of beautifully preserved
buildings. As you approach Stanley you can't miss The Nut rising
above the bay.
The first European to see 'The Nut' was Matthew Flinders who in
1798 recorded that he had seen a 'cliffy round lump resembling a
Christmas cake'. The indigenous Aboriginal people called it
Moo-Nut-Re-Ker. By 1851 other sailors knew it as The Nut, and the
name has stuck. In 1892, 5,000 pounds of dynamite was exploded on
the side of The Nut in an attempt to create a breakwater below, but
incredibly nothing happened. One local commented that "it was a
hard nut to crack"; however, 12 years later the fractures caused by
the blast finally gave way and 200,000 tons of rock suddenly
crashed to the ground. Fortunately no one was injured.
There is a plaque at the lookout on the southern side of Sawyer
Bay which reads:
'The Nut, discovered by Bass and Flinders in 1798, rises
abruptly 143m from the sea to a flattish top. The geological survey
of Tasmania has confirmed that The Nut is the stump of an old
volcano. The original core was built of fragments mainly volcanic
rock ejected by explosive eruptions. Molten basaltic lava welled up
the feeder pipe and in places intruded into these fragmental rocks
and formed a lava lake in the crater where it solidified. As it
cooled the basalt became weakly magnetised in the direction of the
local magnetic field of that time. The direction and dip of this
fossil magnetisation is quite different from the present magnetic
field and suggests that the volcano was active during some period
between 25 and 70 million years ago. Weathering and erosion since
has removed all the weak rocks which built the cone so that the
hard basalt of the lava pool now stands up as a conspicuous
landmark. If you modelled a cone and crater in sand and half filled
the crater with molten iron through a pipe from below then jetted
the sand away with a hose you would get the picture.'
Your task to claim this EarthCache is to take the challenge and
walk around The Nut and answer the questions below. A pencil &
paper will come in handy, and don't forget your camera. There is a
well marked and safe trail that circles The Nut. The total walk is
almost exactly 3km return from the car park. If you take the
chairlift you will eliminate less than 500m, but the elevation
change is almost 100m and the path is very steep. It took me 50
minutes to walk the entire 3km, but that was my 2nd visit primarily
to get the waypoints for this cache - I suggest you take a more
leisurely pace to fully enjoy the experience.
Along the way you will stop at four lookouts with interpretive
signs. I suggest you go in a clockwise direction, then you will be
able to answer the following questions in order. There is also a
final general observation question for you to answer. You will not
need your GPS to complete this cache, but I recommend you take it
so that you can also find the Pine Nut cache (GC52EF) between the
2nd & 3rd lookouts.
1. S40 45.760 E145 18.362
What birds make their home here in summer?
2. S40 45.967 E145 18.298
The jetty for which industrial site is visible from here?
3. S40 45.826 E145 17.977
Which 2 bays sandwich the Isthmus?
4. S40 45.780 E145 17.940
Sum the distances (in miles) of all of the places shown on the
bronze plaque (excluding Melbourne - 195miles) - there are 8 other
locations shown.
5. The soil you see on top of The Nut is of basaltic origin and,
although not particularly fertile, is ideal for cultivation and
pasture production. Compare the colour of the soil to the colour of
the exposed basalt rock – how does it differ?
Please send me an email with your answers to the above questions
- do not include them in your log. I am happy for you to log your
visit in anticipation of my confirmation; however, if I do not
receive your email with the correct answers I will be obliged to
delete your log.
Your log should include the following:
- A photo of something interesting you discovered along the way -
preferably with you in the picture.
- The number of people in your party.
- A weather description.
(On the two occasions I went up The Nut it was blowing a gale &
the day was overcast, so visibility was reduced. I hope you
experience better conditions, but I expect that it is usually
pretty windy!)