The Edge of the World

   “I cast my pebble onto the shore of eternity
     To be washed by the ocean of time
    It has shape, form and substance.
It is me…
One day I will be no more
   But my pebble will remain here
On the shore of eternity
  Mute witness for the aeons
   That today I came and stood
    At the Edge of the World.”	

The fires on the west coast had closed some key routes south, so we hastily re-charted our course toThe Edge of the World. Leaving the vans in Stanley, we headed west through Smithton, Montagu, and Woolnorth, as far as the road would go. In the distance, clusters of wind turbines lined the coast, cleaving the Roaring Forties with their swirling blades. Backtracking to the intersection we swung right and headed to another dot on the map- Marrawah.

A lot of these names on the map were nothing more than that. The ‘driver’ was started to complain about the absence of a coffee cart, but I assured him that we’d find something ‘eventually’. Marrawah turned out to be that ’something’. Sure, just a general store, come take-away in the middle of nowhere, but there was a method to this madness, and we were about to find out.

Down the hill about a kilometre is the world famous surfing hot-spot of Green Point. We passed a convoy of board laden 4WD’s having just missed the morning’s competition. The free camp is just two caravan spots, and for a second, we regretted not having the vans in tow. Clearly, timing is everything (when we left 30 minutes later, both were taken). Fifty metres and you’re on the beach or looking for starfish on the rocky ledges of the bay. Away in the distance, the wind turbines made an encore appearance. Tasmania is small. After travelling hundreds of kilometres between towns in outback Australia, destinations are only 40-60klms apart.

Local cemeteries are always a good wake-up call to the perils of settler life. The isolation of these west coast villages from medical care, parents losing several children, tragic accidents, all a stark reminder of what we take for granted today.

The Edge of the World is a real place, and we were keen to find out the clues as to why the name. Folklore has it that early sheep herders could not send their sheep down the steep slop to the plain below so that cliff top became colloquially as The Edge of the World. Fifty kilometres later and an old single lane timber bridge across the Arthur River, we were there. We found our first clue in the hundreds of driftwood logs washed down the Arthur River, piled up around the headland and along the beach. The wide river was black with tannin, rushing headlong into a relentless ocean that stretch from horizon to horizon. Truly, a desolate part of the world.

Fortuitously, another general store and eatery back across the bridge. Lunch was ‘back-to-the future’, a throwback to my feckless youth. It had been many years since this particular combo was on my menu and it tasted just as good as I (vaguely) remembered.

The recent whale stranding at Sundown Point was only a short drive away. The access track to the beach had been blocked off, but to my amazement, Ken ignored this ‘directive from an authorized body’, and drove around the barrier(to his friends and family, I swear this is true). It was a ten minute 4wd bump and grind to the beach and at the far end, in the distance, death had congregated. I’d never seen a whale stranding before. It would have been far more tragic to watch them flounder helplessly in the shallows.

The scene was made more gruesome after Parks & Wildlife had done their forensics. Several whales had been either decapitated or disembowelled-and for good reasons. Determining the age of a whale is very similar to determining the age of a tree. The otilids (rings) that determine their age are located within the inner ear. They were also looking for intestinal parasites as a possible cause for the stranding behavior. I wonder if it’s just that whales are smart enough to make mistakes but unable to correct them.

After that sobering little episode we decided to call it a day. Tomorrow was our big push south. Unfortunately, Ken’s fortune was about to take a turn for the worse – literally.