Bruny Island Tasmania. 11.2. 2014.

Interestingly, Bruny Island has the same sized land mass as Singapore, but only about 650 permanent residents compared with Singapore's six million.

Our first stop was lunch at 'Get Shucked' ... the oyster place where we had a dozen natural oysters each...fresh and beautiful with lemon juice. They had an interesting veggie garden made from pallets and corrugated iron. There were different levels in the garden for smaller herbs.

We stayed overnight in a free camp on The Neck which is a narrow strip of sand which joins north and south Bruny. There was water on both sides of us and we went to bed with the sound of the ocean, just like home.

Next day we took the boat trip with the island's multi award winning Bruny Island Cruises, which left from Adventure Bay. It took three hours exploring the rugged coastline right down to Friar's Rocks where we saw hundreds of Australian fur seals. At different places the captain took us speeding through narrow inlets and into caves where we could see the giant kelp at the base of towering cliffs. It was a great experience and we were thankful for the full length waterproof macs we had to wear as they kept us dry and warm. The very relaxed commentary was informative and very funny and kept everyone amused.

Breathing rock which works like a blowhole.

Adventure Bay is small community with a caravan park, pub and a number of houses with magic views of the ocean. The boat trip brings in a lot of tourists as you can imagine, even from Hobart on day trips. We free camped on beach just north of Adventure Bay with five other vans and interesting people. We went squidding from the wharf with two Queensland couples who gave us some tips and contributed to our catch so we ended up with 12 squid in the freezer. They are a bit tricky to skin we discovered. We also collected lots of lush, ripe blackberries which were growing beside the van.

At the Berry Farm the next day, we ate pepper berry and strawberry ice creams. Loved the pepper berry but neither of us can really describe the taste, and the strawberry was creamy and delicious.

Adventure Bay from the berry farm.

We drove to Cape Lookout and wandered through one of the cottages which housed the lighthouse keeper and his family of 11 children, and read details of their lives. The isolation must have been difficult, especially rearing such a large family on a cliff edge!! The views were stunning and panoramic.

From there retreated to the shelter of a NP campsite by the water, cleaned the squid and chilled out for the afternoon, reading and preparing the fire for dinner. Around the campfire we had drinks with a couple from Armidale and a Japanese woman travelling alone. A cheeky possum had a chew on my finger .. They are not a bit shy of people it seems on Bruny Is. And are much darker in colour and bushier in tails than our local residents.

Damper Glenn cooked in the camp oven with butter and leather honey. Delicious! ..sorry it's sideways!

After we left our campsite we parked and walked down to Cloudy Bay to get oysters. The Queenslanders from the night before told us about the particular spot and huge oysters were there for the taking. We opened some for dinner tonight and kept some in a hessian bag for later. A couple of Dutch tourists were there with a guide so we shared some opened ones with them.

We had a delicious lunch at the Smokehouse in front of the fire. It was cosy as the day had turned chilly and damp. The platter we shared had smoked chicken, halibut and Atlantic salmon, smoked sausage, three dips and pickles and a very tasty Moroccan peach chutney. We washed it down with excellent Bruney Island Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay.

Almost everything I've written about Bruny Island is related to food it seems. That's because there is food everywhere you look.. Fruit on trees, berries by the roadside, oysters on the rocks, fish in the ocean and lakes, and wallabies in the campgrounds..(we had Wallaby and pomegranate pâté today at the Smokehouse for lunch) and farm animals and cheeses as well! It's all about fresh produce. The island is beautiful as well as serene, with a lot of wildlife to be seen.

Then the 15 minute trip back on the ferry to pretty Kettering which has a lovely marina.

 

TASMANIA. 2.2.14

This post is out of chronological order as I somehow missed publishing it when it was finished!!

 

Glenn is a happy man tonight. He won at cards and it is the first time in the last 46 games that he is leading the game score which is 60 to 59! All I can say is 'enjoy it while it lasts babe!'

We started our day with a swim in Lake King William and then packed up and went to Lake St Clair. It is the southern end of the Cradle Mountain - Lake St. Clair NP and we walked the figure eight which encompassed the Larmairrener Tabelti Aboriginal Cultural walk Platypus Bay, then Fergys Paddock and onto the lake edge. It was a varied walk which finished with an Echidna searching for ants, so totally oblivious of our presence that we were able to have a really close look at him and video his activities.

At the Visitors Centre at Lake St. Clare there was a large number of people just finishing the Overland Trail, all smiling and well pleased with their adventure, although tired and a bit on the grubby side !! Glenn and I were pleased with ourselves too as we'd done the beginning and the end, just not the 'little' bit in the middle!

We love the fact that our search for a camping place each night takes us down a lot of minor roads and off the beaten track and we end up in some interesting places. Yesterday afternoon was one where we turned left instead of right off the main road and went to Bronte Park, a motley collection of fishing shacks, with caravans under awnings and huge piles of wood for the winter fires. We retraced our steps and turned right and found a grassy spot on the edge of Bronte Lagoon where we swam again after a hot day. We are surprised that the lake water is so comfortable. We thought it would be colder.

From Bronte Lagoon the road threaded its way through forests and then opened out to undulating country as we made our way through the Highland Lake District. The area is picturesque farmland with sheep and cows in the mix and at one stage we came up behind a huge mob of sheep being driven along the road. The farmer at the rear of the mob ( with yapping cattle dogs in the cage on the truck), waved us through and from then it was the parting of the mob as the sheep moved out of the way to let our car and van pass and then closed in behind us. It was an interesting event, more so because it is rare to see a mob being moved along a public road these days.

We arrived at Hamilton, planning to do a big shop and stock up on basics, only to find that it is a tiny town, despite being so historic. Instead we had scallop pies for lunch, which are a must in Tassie apparently. I won't rush back for another one but Glenn enjoyed his.

Onward to Bothwell, a well-loved town of strong Scottish heritage (each street sign has a different tartan), with a very informative lady in the tourist office. She could tell us the history of the golf course and its owners and all about its place in history. It is the oldest, continually operational golf course in the world outside of Scotland. Of course Glenn wanted to play it and so we did. The greens have been fenced until very recently to keep the sheep off them but the club members have complained about the mess left by the sheep which have been now been removed.... as have the fences.. Between us we lost too many balls in the long grasses lining the fairways but we did enjoy the game, despite our first experience of Tasmania's changing weather which started sunny, deteriorated to cloudy and grey and ended freezing with light rain! Thankfully, Glenn now has one of his famous curries on the hob as we snuggle inside our cosy van somewhere along the highway.

Unfortunately, I have to report that Glenn has improved his position and the card game score is now 61 to 59 in his favour. I still say 'enjoy it while it lasts babe'!