It’s gusting 50 kilometres per hour at Cape Grim on the very north-western extremity of Tasmania, but guide Laura Dabner assures everyone that’s barely a breeze in these parts. Winds of up to 160kph are not unheard of as the Roaring 40s crash into the coastline after blowing westerly between latitudes 40°S and 50°S. They have plenty of time to gain momentum as they’re uninterrupted by land for almost 20,000km across the Southern Ocean from the Patagonian coast of South America.
As Laura wryly observes, this explains why most residents in this neck of the woods have very tidy backyards. It also means it’s a great location for the Woolnorth Wind Farm, with a total of 62 turbines producing 10 per cent of the island state’s power. The turbines Laura is discussing stand between 60 metres tall with blades 32m long, the same size as the wing of a Boeing 747. But these towers are small fry compared with the latest turbines measuring 120m tall with 66m blades. And it’s official: the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, which has been monitoring the air quality since 1976, consistently reports that Cape Grim has the cleanest air on the planet.
Laura runs Woolnorth Tours, which is the sole tour operator providing access to wild and windy Cape Grim and the vast
