In any case regardless of how far south we managed to get it was only around two hours back to Hobart, so there was no need to hurry in the morning. It was a day, in other words, for leisurely sightseeing.
A slice or two of toast and a second cup of coffee were enough to get me going, and to be quite honest I wasn’t feeling particularly inclined towards a substantial lunch when we set off. Madam had taken another walk along the waterfront prior to departure as Hughesy made another attempt to catch up the backlog. If that hadn’t been the case, I might have been tempted to do a bit of online research into the background of this little fishing port, which claims to be the second southernmost town in Australia.
Dover sits at the head of Esperance Bay, originally named Port Esperance by the French explorer, Bruni D’Entrecasteaux in 1792. The village overlooks the quaintly named islands of Faith, Hope and Charity which seem to take their names from association with a convict probation station established in 1845.
To the west, the rugged peaks and dense rainforest in the Hartz Mountains National Park and the forest reserves of the South West Wilderness provide the basis for the timber industry that kicked in after the end of the convict era as the town developed into a working port, shipping Huon pine to the world.