5th March 2008

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5th March 2008
This morning we made a very early start to get down to the Bruny Island Ferry at 9.00 clock. We met Roger and travelled over to North Bruny where Roger lead us along the unsealed track to Dennes Point where he and Peter have their holiday home “Auchmithie”. They have very kindly allowed us to stay there while we explore the island. Roger showed us where everything is kept and the little idiosyncrocies of the place, including where Quentin the quoll lives behind the wall. And maybe Percy possum in the shed! We did appreciate him taking time off to take us down and show us round.
After Roger and the dogs had left to catch the ferry we set off to explore the island and go to Adventure Bay on South Island to book our trip for tomorrow on the Bruny Charters boat trip. This trip is aboard a large Zodiac boat with a guide to point out the coastline features and to visit the seal colony at the very tip of South Island in the Southern Ocean.
After crossing the tiny neck of land that links the north part of the island with the south par of the island we booked our trip in the office at Adventure bay and bought some provisions from the only shop on the island. Then we drove over the highest mountain on the island Mt Mangana 571 metres and saw the sight of the old logging camp which is gradually reverting to bush since the logging industy declined.
We decide to have tea and then return to the penguin rookery to try and see the adult penguins returning from sea to feed their chicks. We knew they wait for darkness before coming ashore but by 10.30 we were so tired we gave up but did see the chicks sitting outside their burrows waiting and calling for their supper. Some of them were scared of us and would run back down their burrows whilst others would take no notice and just stand still outside their burrows. There are hundreds of these burrows, a lot of them very high up the banks above the beach. They are fairy, or Southern Blue pengiuns, the smallest of the penguins and the only resident Australian penguin. They usually nest in rookeries with hundreds of pairs making nests in burrows.
We had to drive slowly home in the dark because of the amount of wildlife on the road. There were lots of wallabies jumping across the road, possums waddling slowly straight up the middle of the road and a couple of quolls beavering away at the side of the road. One possum waddled along in front of us looking over his shoulder from time to time as if to say “stop hassling me I'll take my own time!”
Finally went to bed looking forward to waking up to the amazing view from the bedroom over the sea and the beach.

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Comments

[Lucy]

Glad you are back
Couldn't cope without the daily fix, welcome back! Looks like you are making the most of every minute.

[Neal]

Glad you're still alive
I was getting worried that you had lost the computer or that Tasmania had not discovered the Internet yet! Carine wants to know whether you have seen any Tasmanian Devils yet?