We began the week by joining the reluctant Monday morning workers with a commute into Hobart. We had a few chores to do, the first to move my phone plan from Vodafone to the Optus network. Outside the major metropolitan areas of Launceston & Hobart I have had virtually no coverage here & as we will soon be going outback, figured now is as good as time as any to upgrade my service. It's always difficult trying to find a park in an unfamiliar city but eventually we found a multi-story parking station. The ceiling had a 2m clearance but it felt like we were only just squeezing under. It was quite claustrophobic for me & Tomoko advised there was little point in ducking while I drove. We liked the CBD though. Everything you would expect to see in a capital CBD minus the bustling crowds. Tomoko found a Japanese grocery store to stock up on supplies while I caught a movie. I saw 'The Avengers - Age of Ultron' & the movie theatre was cosy warm, lulling me into drowsiness. So much so, I spent much of it in a light slumber, opening my heavy eyelids on occasion to catch up on the plot (luckily there wasn't much of one). I roused myself for the standard climactic ending & left the movie theatre somewhat refreshed.
As nightfall crept nearer we had just enough time to visit Mount Wellington, a 30 minute journey from the heart of Hobart. As we neared the summit, we noticed passing cars had snow on their windscreens & gradually pockets of snow began to appear. By the time we arrived at the lookout car park the ground was blanketed with it. We were under prepared in the clothing department though & the bitterly cold breeze was going straight through us the second we exited the car. The three of us went for a walk in the snow, Tomoko & Shaka quickly doing an abrupt about face & returning to the warmth of the vehicle. I braved on to the lookout, with awesome views overlooking the city but jeez it was cold. My hands we suffering the early stages of frostbite & they ached as I massaged them in front of the car heater. Still...it was the first Shaka had seen snow - another milestone for the old bloke in his twilight years.
Mid week we left early in the morning for nearby Bruny Island. It had been a cold night & as we left Snug, patches of snow littered the surrounding hills. The ferry leaves from Kettering, a convenient 15 minutes away. We boarded the first level of the two tiered ferry & there was some delay while we waited for an incoming ambulance. After a brief 15 minute voyage we disembarked onto North Bruny Island. Our destination was South Bruny though & we spent the next 40 minutes driving through farmland before arriving at the pub in Alonnah. They have a paddock out the back where we can unhitch the van for $5 a night. We planned to stay for two & being low season, the publican kindly gave us a two-for-one deal, only needing to hand over a fiver.
The weather gods weren't as welcoming though. It was very, very windy with squalls of rain to boot. We drove to Adventure Bay, the main tourist strip of the island & where Captain Cook first landed in Tassie. It's a pretty spot with long white beaches. I could imagine on a bright summers day it would be quite spectacular and inviting but on this cold, winter-like afternoon we were happy to view from the comfort of the Navara. On the way we visited the Bruny Island Cheese Factory for a cuppa & Tomoko bought a block of fancy cheese.
The strong wind continued to buffet our van overnight with gusts over 60km/h & we were greeted with another wet & wild scene the following morning. We hopped in the car to check out the lighthouse at the southern end of the island, stopping short before venturing too far into the national park. In the afternoon I drove myself to North Bruny, buying a dozen fresh oysters from the interestingly titled 'Get Shucked' oyster farm. The weather cleared enough to climb the stairs at The Neck for the iconic Bruny Island view & post-sunset I returned to the adjacent penguin rookery, where I saw 8 fairy penguins make their way hesitantly to shore.
The weather cleared the next day...just in time for our departure. We arrived at the ferry terminal to find a waiting convoy of fully laden logging trucks. It was a tight fit but they managed to squeeze us all on. We returned to the van park at Snug, even getting our old spot. Late afternoon the wind backed off, the water turned to glass & we all went squid fishing. Tomoko was doing some eye-catchingly erratic casting (even managing to find the water on occasion) while Shaka viewed the jetty as an all-you-can-eat buffet of seagull poo. Amid the activity I managed to get in a few casts but this time left empty handed.
Saturday was blessed with a beautiful clear & sunny day. We drove into Hobart where Tomoko was to meet her work colleague, Kalinya & her family at the famous Salamanca Markets. It's a market much like many around Oz - fresh fruit & veggies, buskers, food stalls & local arts & crafts (notably wood products crafted from Huon Pine & woollen scarves,beanies & the like). It was the first time Tomoko had met Kalinya in person so they had a good old gossip while an entertaining 3 piece band kept the rest of the punters entertained.
On Sunday morning we took off south, bound for Recherche Bay. It was an another early start & I was surprised to find the windscreen obscured by a layer of ice. This led to some concern about towing a van on icy, unfamiliar & winding roads & I vowed to drive with extra caution. The 2 hour journey had us passing through Huonville before tracing the banks of the Huon River & journeying through apple orchards & quaint fishing ports. As forest began to dominate the landscape we reached the start of a 20km dirt road to Cockle Creek, the southern most road in Australia. We crossed over several creeks & came to a small hamlet called Moss Glen. Another caravan approached & I thought I would do the right thing by pulling over to a grassy spot that had fortuitously opened up on the edge of the road. Suddenly the left side of the car dropped, the wheels began to spin & we became stationary....we were bogged. The bright green grass that looked so inviting was in fact a deceptively soft, mossy quagmire & we were stuck. Luckily my 4X4 training slipped into gear. I dropped the tyre pressure, put some support under the offending tyre & reversed safely back onto the road.
Tragedy averted, we continued on, soon arriving at the end of the road & the entry point for the world heritage listed, Southwest National Park. I parked the rig & did a recon of the adjacent camping ground on foot. It was bush camping at it's best but didn't look terribly inviting for our 16 foot van. The maze of narrow tracks were lumpy as a cluster of stubborn haemorrhoids & coupled with the presence of some dubious looking characters we decided it wasn't for us & disappointingly retreated from where we came. All was not lost however, as just a few kms down the road we came across an open, grassy campground opposite a secluded beach that perfectly suited our needs. We were single-mindedly focused on reaching Cockle Creek on the way in that Finns Campground didn't even register on our radar.
As the afternoon light began to fall across the bay we returned to Cockle Creek. In search of a flathead or two for dinner I flicked a soft plastic in the clear shallows of the creek, at the mouth of the creek & amongst an outcrop of rocks just down from the creek, all without a single strike. I was so sure I was going to get a feed too. As night fell we got a campfire happening in our own bit of paradise. Warming ourselves in front of the flames I flashed the torch behind us, startled to find two stumpy looking wallabies stalking us in the darkness. A google search later revealed they were Tasmanian Pademelon's. One particularly inquisitive one showed little fear, hopping right up to us & merticulously sniffing our gear, no doubt in search of food.
And so ended our third week in Tasmania. The weather had been poor at times but with the short term forecast of light winds & sunny skies we are looking forward to our final two weeks here. Until then...adios amigos.