Travelling Around Australia: Tasmania cont.

Feb 21^st to Feb 25^th

We left Bruny Island today, 25^th Feb, after 4 nights camping on the South Island. We were blessed again to have some great neighbours camp beside us. The first 2 nights we had Belinda and Luke and their gorgeous 18^th month old daughter Lily. Belinda and Luke are from Swan Hill in Victoria. They are on a short holiday in Tasmania and were trying to cram as much as possible into their trip. They saw all the snow that fell in Mt Field National Park on the previous Saturday and showed us some wonderful pictures. It’s hard to believe that much snow can fall in February. We shared a meal with Belinda and Luke at the Hotel Bruny at Alonnah, which is currently the southernmost pub in Australia.

The second 2 nights our neighbours were Col and Jan from Port Macquarie in NSW. They are travelling extensively throughout Tassie and have travelled throughout Australia and shared some wonderful stories with us. Because of their extensive travel they also told us of some must sees. It is really great when people share their experiences with us and give us ideas of where to go and what to see. Jan is an artist and showed us some of the beautiful pastels she has created of the magnificent Tasmanian scenery.

Bruny Island is accessed by the vehicular ferry Mirambeena from Kettering. The trip only takes about 15 mins. Most visitors come for a few nights camping or for a day trip. North and South Bruny are separated by a narrow isthmus call ‘The Neck’. There is a viewing platform on ‘The Neck’ which provides a breathtaking view of the isthmus and surrounding coastline. The penguin rookery is also at this site.

Bruny Island is about the same size as Singapore, but only has about 620 permanent residents. The highlights of our stay on Bruny were visiting the Cape Bruny Lighthouse with its spectacular views over the Southern Ocean and the Bruny coastline. Bruny Island has a really dramatic coastline and some very beautiful beaches, which can be either wild or very tranquil. The Jetty Beach camping area in the National Park is a very peaceful and tranquil camping area and offers a lot of shelter from the wind. The campsite where we camped is on the Neck at the southern end of the beach, and while we didn’t have a view from the campsite, it was only a short walk to the beach, which is of course very beautiful.

Alonnah is on the west coast of South Bruny and this is where the southernmost pub is. However the owner told us it will lose that title soon as the pub in Southport; southwest across the D’entrecasteaux Channel is now licensed and can now claim to be southernmost pub in Australia. The bakery at Alonnah also makes the most delicious Scallop pies.

Adventure Bay is one of the most historic sites in Tasmania. The Captain Cook monument is here and we visited the site of his landing. Mable Bay lookout, just before the entrance to the national park again offers some spectacular views of the coastline over Cloudy Bay and the Southern Ocean. Cloudy Bay beach is really beautiful and the 3 km drive along the beach to get to the camping site at Cosy Corner was a lot of fun. This is the spot where we really wanted to camp, but were told it was too windy and wet at the time, as well as we should only attempt it at low tide. We then found out we could have done it at any time with care. Never mind, we made the trip anyway and it would have been a great spot to camp. It is very remote, secluded and serene, with a great view to the beach. All in all Bruny Island was a great place to explore and you could probably do it all in a day, but to miss out on the camping opportunity would be a shame.

Next we are heading inland a bit to meet up with our friends from Mayfield Bay, Martine and Sean, at their camping spot at Meadowbank, which is a lake formed on the Derwent River, about an hour or so West of Hobart. They have graciously and very generously asked us to stay with them at their very private camping area for a few days and we are looking forward to seeing them again. Cheers til next time.