Hobart to Hobart via Bruny Island

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An early start on Monday morning saw us competing with the peak hour traffic on the way through Hobart on the way to Kettering, lining up for the 9.30 am ferry to Bruny Island. Where else would you try driving your caravan through the CBD in peak hour…? It is a very short journey, and soon we were putting rubber to the road again albeit the last in the queue.



There is a North Bruny and a South Bruny, bit it is only one island as such, joined by a 700 mtr long ‘neck’ which separates the ocean (Storm Bay) from the sea (D’Entrecasteaux Channel) We had planned to stay at a free camp just onto South ‘island’ and headed straight for that, arriving mid morning. After sinking the levelling ramps into the rain softened sand, we found a spot on firmer ground. Monday is obviously the day the nomads migrate as many more arrived during the day. Geoff decided that it would be good to have a camp fire here (after being very abstemious through the previous 2 weeks) and so we set off to explore and collect some firewood. Adventure Bay beckoned first, and after a visit to the local shop/fuel station/post-office/everything else where Marg spotted an oyster shucking knife, a cut lunch was taken on the foreshore of this pretty bay. We had noticed a sign to the Bruny Lighthouse and took that to the other side of the island. The ‘road’ became interesting at a fork where one arm said “Trucks Only”, and the other “Not suitable for caravans or large vehicles”. We took the latter and ended up at the lighthouse and the Southern Ocean. Back at camp with our firewood and pine cones (natures briquettes), we were joined by 2 other couples who were travelling together. Small world, one couple were from Dandenong North, and their daughter lives about 400 mts from us!

Next day saw us head back to North B.I for a good look around. We went straight to the northern tip and stopped for a cuppa. The view across the water was made all the better by the masses of oysters covering the rocks in the foreground. We grabbed a bucket screw-driver and steel tent peg and set about harvesting a few; now these are fish Geoff can catch! What we did not consider greatly in the beginning was that there was a public toilet on the foreshore just where we were gathering our oysters. As we moved further around the coast, we realised that there were oysters everywhere and the more we saw, the more the ones we had collected smelt… Decision made we liberated the first lot and started again in pristine water. Oh yeah, they were gooood!



Back on the ‘big island’ on Wednesday and we headed south towards a place called Cockle Creek. We had been advised that the road into Cockle creek was not suitable for our van so decided to stop at Ida Bay – end of the bitumen. Ida Bay has moved over the years and is no longer near Ida Bay (the inlet), but it does still have a little railway that runs on the tracks put in for moving the limestone mines just inland to the water for transport northward. Geoff took the rail tour which travels 7 kms to a place called Deep Hole and takes 45 mins each way. Definitely one for the train buffs. We drove down to Cockle Creek which had some great camp spots, but decided that the van really did not need that sort of punishment.





After 2 ½ weeks Geoff has finally unravelled the process used in Tassie for constructing their roads. Fundamentally it involves a very large group of experts in the field, and they start with what is usually a fairly acceptable gravel road. From this base they bring in the construction gang and the usual order (per kilometre) is: a semi load of mixed pot-holes and bumps, a large tipper of ‘wallows’ (def: depression large enough for a car to go into), another semi load of corrugations and finally a ute full of bitumen to cover the end product. I understand that the engineers in charge of construction spend years at road school to determine precisely where to place the wallows in the best place to throw the unwary motorist off the road into the trees that abut the road. Years of refinement has found that the outside of a reverse camber corner is the absolute ideal location, but they can be placed anywhere at the engineers whim. Pot-holes and bumps, and indeed corrugations, are scattered liberally (as they can be sourced very cheaply) and they assist with keeping the suspension industry in business. Bitumen is used sparingly (i.e. the roads are kept to the absolute minimum width) to give the impression that the Commonwealth is not spending enough on the island. Geoff is sure that by the time we get back he will be able to drive a spitting camel through the eye of a needle with room to spare! Who wrote that?





Back in Hobart now and this time we are in a caravan park – right on the runway to the new Hobart (international) airport. It is a new park with a new Travelodge adjacent, and obviously all built at the same time. It is so new, our GPS (maps are 4yrs old) shows the airport on the other side of the Tasman Hwy.!



Tomorrow we are off into the Franklin – Gordon Wild Rivers National Park where we do not expect to have coverage (Internet or phone) which will be a first, but we still have the satellite dish for TV if we need it!

We are having a great time and although everyone says it is beautiful, it really is fantastic.

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Photos

Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Next stop...Antartica

North Bruny Island
Just another little bay...

Bruny Is Cruise
Male Fur Seals taking it easy in their 'Seally posturpedic' beds

Ida Bay Railway
End of the line at Deep Hole

Hastings Caves
This is an enormous cave - vertically and horizontally.

Museum of Old & New Art (MONA)
Couldn't resist a photo of the photographer. At the entrance to MONA.

Comments

[Ron and Judy]

Map of Tasmania
We see that you have not got lost recently. Did Marg bring along her impressive map of Tasmania?