So we managed to leave the house at about lunchtime on Friday (what's the rush?) and headed south to Kettering, joining the queue for the 1.45pm ferry.
The wind was high and cold, funnelling up D'Entrecasteaux Channel and blustering down the inlets (all at the same time!). The captain amply demonstrated his skill getting the beast lined up with the jetty at Roberts Point.
First stop was the Bruny Island SmokeHouse (BISH) which we managed to find open for the first time in several visits to Bruny, hurrah! It looks like a very nice spot for a snack and a drink. We picked up some Sardines with Chili, some smoked wallaby, and some interesting looking Pomegranate Syrup. Then we pulled into Get Shucked for fresh oysters. The shop was being enlarged to offer sit down meals and drinks, and it should be great when it's finished. But today sales were being made from a caravan, and the blustery conditions were making life difficult for the staff. There was a group of cycle tourists enjoying the oysters - it looked like they were on a gourmet bike crawl, because we then ran into them again just down the road at the Bruny Island Cheese Factory. There we bought some excellent Tom and Saint cheeses, and beautiful sourdough white bread.
We found a good spot for lunch, the camping ground on the Neck. This looks like a quiet and pretty place to camp.
The driveway into the caravan park should have been a warning. It was sandy and rutted, and when we got to the park's office, it appeared to be someone's bush shack. There were no directional signs on the driveways, and cheerful Philip came out into the rain to say hello and tell us we just needed to back up to the other drive and head down towards the beach on the other side of his house. We asked if there was any risk of our getting bogged, and Philip reassured us that we would be fine. And anyhow if we did get stuck, he had a 4 wheel drive and a tractor to haul us out. When we got to the site, it was a sandy pad, which he assured us was well compacted and quite safe.
The rain continued on and off, so we settled in with a little champagne, causing some envy I think amongst our neighbours, looking a bit bedraggled in their tents and huddling around campfires. We did wonder how Philip was getting away with charging $60 pn! When the showers eased a little, we walked down to Inlet Beach,a pristine jewel on Cloudy Bay, ringed by national park.
Dinner was a yummy vegie curry, followed by green tea and Christmas cake (these days we're drizzling rum into the Legacy fruitcakes as soon as they appear in the shops). The high wind continued all night, blowing the cold showers through regularly. We were parked right next to untouched bush, with good birdlife, so the view from Wanda was great. Next morning we made a slow start, waiting for the showers to clear. Our camping neighbours decided early that the weather was not going to improve, and went home. Then Robert had an incident with the furniture, hitting his head very hard against the underhang on the overhead cupboards. We sat quietly for a while waiting for the bleeding to stop, but then decided it was quite time to go.
And you can guess what happened then. The back wheels spun in the sand, and Wanda didn't move. Cheerful Philip was fetched, with shovel and timber pads, and trusty 4WD. The shovel and timber idea didn't work, so the 4WD was then tried. Phew! Wanda eased out onto terra firma, and we headed up to his house, where he gave us back our second night's fee (!) and we set off towards the main road. And got bogged again. After another tow by the 4WD we really did manage to leave, with lessons learnt all round.
The unsealed road to the south was in pretty bad condition, with corrugations and millions of potholes. It was with some relief that we pulled into the carpark for Cape Bruny Lighthouse. Here the wind was magnified ten times, especially when we climbed the hill to the old lighthouse. This building was built in 1836, and the light commenced operation in 1838. It has now been replaced by an automatic light, located nearby. The weather was extreme, with bitterly cold winds arriving from the snow clad mountains to the west, and intermittent showers being driven across the headland.
The lighthouse Museum was open, containing fascinating insights into how the original lights worked and the lives of the keepers. For example, each lamp used 600mL of sperm whale oil per hour, and needed to be continually replenished. There were some eight lamps burning all the time!
Back in what now felt reassuringly like civilisation at Alonnah, we had a Bruny Island gourmet picnic lunch in Wanda, parked at Sunset Bay, with winds battering the van and great views across the choppy channel.
Driving around to the other side of the southern part of the island, sticking to the sealed road, we reached Adventure Bay, where we planned to stay Saturday night. At the far end of the beach, we checked out the start of tomorrow's walk to Fluted Cape, and visited the monument to Captain Cook, who landed here in 1777. The private caravan park located here (Adventure Bay Park) was closed, which was unfortunate because it looked like a prime location.
So we returned to Captain Cook Caravan Park, and obtained a nice grassed plot, with power and water, for only $30 pn. What a bargain! After a yummy dinner, we slept soundly, unworried about the odd shower.
After another lovely cooked breakfast from Robert - scrambled eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast - we packed up and proceeded to the carpark at the start of the Fluted Cape walk to wait for our walking companions. We had decent weather compared with the last couple of days. The winds were lighter - Bruny Island adventure tours were loading up a boatload of seal watchers, whereas yesterday all voyages had been cancelled . Showers were still predicted but likely to be fairly light. This was lucky, as Robert had forgotten to pack a raincoat - what!?
Lyn, Sophie and Brett arrived about 10.40 to join us for the Fluted Cape Walk, and you can read all about that in Di's Walk-a-month blog.
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