Cape Bruny

Today we drove over to Cape Bruny, about 30klm from Adventure Bay.

Like much of Bruny the trip is over unmade gravel roads of reasonable quality and well sign posted.

On the way there are several lookouts that bring home the natural beauty of this place.

Blessed with great weather, finally, the blue green sea looked magnificent with a gentle swell breaking onto white sandy beaches. Much of the coastline is quite rugged and rocky but it seemed like at every turn there was a new little bay more picturesque than the last.

I had read the 4 wheel drives could travel on the beaches but we have not found anywhere this has been allowed other than to launch a boat.

Camping, fishing and just relaxing seem to be the great attractions to this place and certainly if thats what you are looking for Bruny delivers.

Bruny Island Charters

Yesterday we joined Bruny Island Charters on a trip around the southern end of Bruny.
The company is located at Adventure Bay and its meeting point is a short walk from the camp site.

They have clearly got a business model that works as there are 4 high powered boats each taking around 40 passengers and it looked like it was full.

The whole thing is well managed around every one having a good time, from big smiled staff, to jokes, so bad there funny, and a professional tour. While the three hour tour is well worth doing, I felt it really turned something of mild interest into a business.

The scenery is interesting and there are some wonderfully eroded formations, geological views, caves, a "blow back cave"

and a herd of seals. Certainly the boats are able to get "right up close". Perhaps the weather discouraged dolphins and some sea birds the could easily have become a highlight of the tour. The high powered boats could have added a new dimension of "thrill" also, but I guess like everything else regulations limit the operator.

At $100 per person I felt after the trip it was a little on the high side for what we got. I also noted that older folk seemed to enjoy the trip a great deal so perhaps its just me.
Interestingly at the end of the trip the crew asked us to remember that it was Bruny Island Charters (BIC) we had traveled with as a new competitor had started up near by.

Every one I spoke to on the trip and back in the camp said that the "yellow boat tour " (BIC) was the trip to go on.

Bruny Island

We had an uneventful week in Hobart, a fine city with spectacular views from near by Mt Wellington. Unfortunately the weather was miserable.

Harrison flew back to Melbourne for the Labour Day weekend. We booked on line with Tiger Air and arrived at Hobart Airport were he boarded the plane and left for Melbourne. He was to return, on the same ticket on Tuesday Morning but I received a frantic call from him," dad they won't let me on the plane"!......at first I thought he had lost his ticket but this was not the problem.

The reception person at Melbourne would not talk to me, refusing to touch his phone..............................Harrison was not getting on the plane because I hadn't signed a form of Indemnity. He told them no one had asked us to sight when he took off from Hobart .................correct.

Finally I had to drive to the Hobart Airport, negotiate with them and then fax an Indemnity form. It was all a bit stressful.

In any case we got back together and decided to stay in Hobart until his school documents arrived before we left for Bruny Island.

"Bruny" is a large island about a half hour drive and half hour ferry trip south of Hobart.
The ferry takes all kinds of vehicle, buses, caravans etc. and I had read that the islands had some of the best beach camping in Tasmania. In any case we arrived to more rain and a strong wind.

We camped at Captain Cook Adventure Bay Caravan Park, opposite the beach, a well maintained clean park. The bay is quiet beautiful with towering gums edging to white sand, rocky edges and clear blue-green water.

The owners of the park, Chris and Jenny also run a fishing charter so the next morning we took off at 8am with a couple of other people to watch fish throw them selves onto our hooks.

It was ridiculous. I dropped a line and as it was going down the 40 metres to the bottom Chris said I think you've got a fish. "No" I said I'm still letting out line. Sure enough I pulled it in with not one but two large cod hooked. And so for the next hour it was like that. Harrison caught THREE FISH on two hooks ...........a smaller fish being swallowed by a larger cod.

We caught cod, sea perch, mullet and the occasional squid plus others that I cant remember the name of. We them moved close into the bay and caught flathead. I've never cooked squid before but it was not too bad.

In the afternoon we drove to the "capital" of Bruny, Alonnah and on to Lunawanna, a loop of roads and tracks.

In 1773 Tobias Furneaux discovered and named Adventure Bay; four years before Captain Cook stayed in the bay for two days. The island itself however is named after the French explorer Bruni d'Entrecasteaux who explored the Channel region in 1792. It was known as Bruni Island until 1918, when the spelling was changed to Bruny. The island has a population of about 600 permanent residents.

The aboriginal name for the island was Lunawanna-Alonnah.

Alonnah was a small village with a general store (closed), pub (the only on on the island) and a couple of state Gov offices. It was a disappointment so on to Lunawanna, the big difference being no offices or pub but the small general store was open...................It looks like the attractions of adventure Bay are out stripping the less aesthetic side of the island.

We grabbed a burger at the general store and set of aided by the GPS to Cloudy Bay then back towards Adventure Bay.

The GPS said turn right up Conley Road which quickly went from a graded dirt road to a rough loggers track and after about 15 minutes we arrived at what appeared to be the end of the road, a deserted logging camp.

Main Road Adventure Bay

The GPS insisted that we continue straight through the camp of stacked logs and a bulldozer but we could not find the track save for a cutting in a verge.

We got out and walked the cutting for about 100 metre and found the track again with water, ruts and mud, but by now we were committed.
It was a very rough track full of old ruts from the logging trucks, rocky and narrow but the GPS said keep going.

After about 10 minutes in low gear 4x4 we stoped and looked at a wide water filled trench very muddy and impassable with out getting wet. We could not go back so on we went.

Half way through the land rover was at 45 degrees leaning into the water and we were bogged.........the water was slowly seeping under the door frame on Harrison's side. We climbed out the drivers side and sure enough we were bogged up half way to the passenger side door with water and no grip on the driver side wheels. A few sware words and laughing followed.

After trying to rock the car backwards and forwards we could see it was just getting worse.

THANK GOD for a bull bar and winch. We hooked the winch to tree one and moved forward a little then tree two. finally we got close enough to a large gum and working as a team, Harrison on the winch and me driving we pulled to land rover out onto a small clearing. We were wet, muddy and excited, it was great fun.

Port Arthur

We had a pleasant drive to picturesque Port Arthur and set up at the beautiful Port Arthur caravan and cabin park, an excellent park. The sites for larger vans are drive though, paved and well set up. Amenities are clean and well maintained so certainly the best at only $23 per night.

I guess I don't need to say a lot about Port Arthur, its well know past and more recent violent history as there won't be many Australian who don't know about it.

Hass and I went on a guided tour including a walk around "The Island of the dead" (got to have been named for the tourists).

It was very emotional at the memorial established after 1996.

It is hard to imagine such a picturesque place has such a long an exteremly violent past.

I did'nt think I needed much more than images to talk about this place

Maria Island

We made a move further down the coast to Triabunna, a small fishing village some 80 Ks from Coles Bay.

We took advice from a couple at Coles Bay and gave the Triabunna Caravan and Cabin Park a miss in favour of the East Coast resort just 4 klm out of town and on the way to Orford.

The resort is surrounded by what looks like a defunct golf coarse development, while the resort buildings are a little tired themselves

The big attraction to the area is Maria Island (pronounced MAR-RAY-UH) located about 12klm off Tribunna.

Maria Island was a prison in the times of convicts being sent to Australia from England. Unlike Port Arthur the penitentiary doest seem to have had as violent and cruel past although I'm sure life was very though.

We traveled to the Island via ferry leaving Triabunna, its about a half hour trip.
We took a small tent for a night camp, our mountain bikes and all provisions, as there is no store or supplies on the island. We only found out on arrival that you can hire bikes at $15.00 while bringing a bike on the ferry is $10. So if you plan more than a days riding its worth the effort to take a bike. The ferry cost $50.00 round trip for and adult.

We had arranged for a second night, via Parks and Wildlife to sleep in one of the penitentiary cells.

The Island is beautiful and on first arrival I thought how lucky its inmates must have been, but this view changed quickly as I registered the total isolation.

Its a bush walkers paradise even if a little chillily.

We set up camp and despite wanting to look around we both slept for a couple of hours, a combination of lack of sleep the previous night and sea air.

The wild life was fearless even in some cases indignant at our being there. Wallabies, small kangaroos and wombats were in great numbers as were the attractive Cape Barren geese and noisy Bush hens. We were raided by possums during the night. They just looked up at us when we opened the tent and in a Bart Simpson voice said "We did'nt do it!" (pictures prove otherwise)

Its was a rough night.

Harrison had warned me that the sleeping matt was no good and I had bought him an air bed (weighs a ton in the pack). I should have taken his advice about the matt. The ground was rock hard from drought, so of course it rained all night.

The next morning was glorious, a warm sun dried our tent and got us invigorated for the day.
In the morning we explored the "Darlington" village, built around the penitentiary. Many of the outer building were ruins but the main inner town, part of the penitentiary and support building still remain.

A lavish building called the Coffee Palace

has been beautifully restored and included an audio of life on the Island in the early to mid 1900s. There are some wonderful pieces of furniture, books, photographs and other memorabilia.




During the 1900's till the 60's the Island was inhabited by a varied group of families, entrepreneur's and the elderly refusing to leave their much loved Island.

In the afternoon we walked to Fossil Beach. One of the easy walks. Neither of us is fit enough yet to master anything but the easy walking.

That evening we spent in the prison cell, more like a bunk house, altered to be a little more comfortable for us tourists. Contained in one room were 3 bunks (sleeping six) a table and fixed bench stools, and wood heater. There was no running water and lighting was by candle if you did'nt bring your own lamp.
Reading the various notes around the penitentiary this room would once have held 33 men!...... Very tough.
Sitting on the veranda, watching night fall it was easy to think back to those times how tough it must have been for those doomed to this place so far from home.

Coles Bay and Sky Diving

We have now been here a few days and settled into the relaxed atmosphere of the area.

Harrison went sky diving this morning at Mayfield Beach, which is about 15klm south of Swansea. The people who ran the jump (Skydive Tasmania) were a mixture of types and ages but all very professional with a touch of good quality humor. There was a group of older (read 50 something's) pro jumpers who turned out to be Victorian and thrill junkies who traveled to different sites to jump both in Australia and I gathered overseas.

They were an impressive lot full of life talking about their jumps, rock climbing, Kayaking etc. Some had been in the Murry River challenge, all of this talked about without boast but with a simple of cause this is what everyone our age does while one of there group was out in the bay on his Kayak, as we spoke, fishing while waiting for a time to parachute. Amazing.



So the weather cleared and it was Harrison's time, Instructions where minimal as he was tandem with a guy, Heath, and other Victorian who came to live in Hobart 6 months earlier.


Great confidence builder on rear of harness

DANGER

PELIGRO GEFAHR

Parachute systems sometimes fail to operate correctly
even when properly manufactured assembled. packed
and operated. You Risk serious injury and even death each
time you use this system. read, understand and comply
with all manufacturers manuals, recomendations
procedures placards and limitations before use.


Its hard to tell if Harrison was nervous but he certainly was looking forward to this.

So up they went to ten thousand feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I just could not spot them at first but one of the pro's said the plane'll throttle back in a second and on que we hear the engine cut acceleration and in a patch of blue sky I saw the plane, then a tiny speck then after 30 seconds a bright yellow explosion of the shoot opening. they slowly floated to earth and Harrison landed with the biggest smile I've seen in a long time. He loved it and even while driving back to camp I caught a small smile on his face as he thought about it. he was also ravenously hungry, a good sign of the adrenaline.

We will get a DVD from the company so I will post a copy on site in the future.

Yesterday was a beautiful day so we walked out to the Wine Glass Bay lookout






which in the warm weather was a great stroll. The Bay is regarded a one of the "Best Ten Beaches in the World" but I'm not sure by who. It certainly must be as it was stunningly beautifully and so perfect we did'nt want to walk on it, though others did. I also think this must be one of the most photographed Bays in the world as there were people of all nationalities, families, backpacker's and couples walking the trail.

There are quite a few Americans and Germans here which is great.




On Friday we 4x4 to Friendly Beach via a little used track. As there was a gentle rain the drive was pleasant and dust free. The beach is within the Freycinet national Park. The windy beach was deserted save for us.

Arrived Coles Bay

Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th

Arrived at Coles Bay at around 3pm Wed.

Wow what a beautiful spot. Three rocky hills fall to the shore line, "The Hazards" on one side while the hamlet of Coles Bay is on the other.
Freycinet National Park and Wine Glass bay form a part of this area. Wine Glass Bay is noted as one of the ten top beaches in the world.

The shore line on this side is lined with Gums and groves of Sheoak together with the commercial hub, the "Coles Bay Trading Company", a cafe and a small pub, Importantly the pub overlooks a small shoal, part of Great Oysters Bay, with white a sandy beach and magnificent sunsets. Its very inviting.

The drive from Ulverstone was Ok but with little site seeing. We booked into the Big4, "Iluka" and have a good site with glimpses of the beach from a hill that overlooks the roof of the pub and beach below.
Many places in the town are prefaced "lluka" but there seems little available about this name other than a brief reference to "by the bay".
The towns origins come from whaling, tin mining and some farming.
We drove into Swansea today to top up supplies and check out Harrison's SKY DIVING which is booked, finally, for Sunday. (More to come)
I learned a bit about the car and towing, keeping to around 2000RPM at between 80-90Klm seems to be about right but often I need to let off the accelerator in order to get it to drop in to D. Diff light has come on but reading says this relates to a fuse rather than a problem. In all the LA ran well.
Harrison is still becoming accustom to a new life but I think is slowly getting into it. I think it takes a while to understand that life do not end just because you are away. The internet and phones work OK (Next G) only and we networked between the new computer and this clunker. (How come I get the dog?).
One thing we have noticed is lots of road kill, no foxes and beautiful bird life. We will do some walking tomorrow.

First Day Tassie

Arrived at 6.30 am

Good trip with little sleep

HB read first time in a long time then about 2 put his book down said Im going to sleep and did just that in about 2 secs how do kids do it ?

We arrived at the Apex caravan park Ulverstone which looked like a dump from the street but its right on the beach and we where given a great site just beyond the trees on shore.
$16 per night its better than I expected.

Slept at first then HB and I when for a short drive to Burnie. Did not think much of it but the coastal drive is beautifull. Penguin is a small coastal town about 8k from our camp and is a pretty little town but certainly arriving at this very relaxed spot Ulverstone is a highlight.
Our camp is now setup and we are sitting outside for the first time.