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Southern Island Hopping in Australia
(A Bruny Experience from The Tree House)
We had left the
big island of Australia for the smaller island State of Tasmania
and then left its shores for the littlest island of Bruny.
Hardly little though, for Bruny is made up of two islands
stretching over 100 kilometres north to south and joined by a
narrow ‘neck’ of land no more than 100 meters wide. The island
is reached by car ferry.
Sorties
around Bruny
Once we
disembarked, it was a winding 30-kilometer drive to our
temporary and very habitable abode - The Tree House - at
Alonnah on the NW side of South Bruny Island. The Tree House
is a pole house that sits under the brow of a hill surrounded by
ragged, twisted eucalypts and the house commands a view to the
South West straight across the historic D’ Entrecasteaux Channel
that separates Bruny from mainland Tasmania. In the distance,
across the channel, stands the impressive 1200-meter jagged spine
of the Hartz Range on the mainland, resplendent in late September
snow.
From the Tree house, we set out each day on sorties into the
various realms of Bruny. Our first sortie was to Adventure
Bay, on the NE leeward side of the South island, a perfect
ear-shaped, wide bay with an inner sheltered cove. It gave
refuge to many seafarers in the past and still does today. Capt
Cook, two centuries ago, weighed anchor here before setting off
on his fateful journey to Hawaii, where he was bludgeoned to
death.
The Tree House has a generosity of spirit about it. The owners
Rob and Jolanda give you a free run of the condiments and every
known utensil is at hand. There is a modern kitchen, cozy lounge
with sound system and TV with great reception and two double
beds- with one upstairs via the unique internal wooden ' poop
deck' ladder. The ‘Coonarra’ wood stove gives steady warmth on
brisk evenings and is well supported by ample provisions of cut
wood close to hand.
Chris, the owner at the Alonnah General Store, warned us of the
strong winds that can whip up around the Cape Bruny Lighthouse,
but he should not have feared - we were blessed with a perfect
sunny and calm day at this outpost of humanity on the island,
built in 1836 by convict labour. We met an echidna (spiny
anteater) on the ledge, snuffling in the grass, its spikes
echoing the ragged spiky basalt stacks of the precipitous point.
Sweeping
vistas and relentless surf
Taking advantage
of the calm weather, we trekked the short circuit (2 to 3 hours)
of the nearby Labillardiere Peninsula, named by
D’Entrecasteaux in honour of the great French traveller-naturalist
on board his ship during his voyage to Tasmania in search of the
lost expedition of La Perouse. The peninsula offers sweeping
vistas of the D’E Channel across the tops of casuarinas trees,
the male trees at the time in full flourish of their long rusty-coloured
flowers.
A drive to Cloudy Bay was a dramatic contrast, for here
on this semi-circular bay, some kilometres wide, the sea pounds
in uninhibited from Antarctica, and the forest of Giant kelp
that lies off-shore is stripped from its deep anchorages and
churned by the relentless surf, so that the water of the bay is
stained a deep wine -red color.
Bruny Island is as much about wending one’s way through the
landscape as actually arriving at a specific place. On a visit
to the North island, we crossed the Neck and collected two-dozen
fresh oysters for AUD 6 a dozen from 'Get Shucked' at Great Bay.
We got a flat tyre on the road to Bull Bay - no problem. We
also discover the tyre lever has other functions and used it at
Barnes Bay to bash off the fringes of the oyster shells so a
trusty blade could open them up to reveal their plump bodies for
adding to lemon juice shooters.
At Bull Bay, we get the best view across to the South Arm
of the Derwent and the Tasman Peninsula further east. This is
the stunning view that observers of the Sydney — Hobart yacht
race’s final stages get from Bruny. On late afternoon, after
cruising through the little coves and towns of North Bruny, we
return across the Neck in hope of sightings the fairy penguins - but we are too early, for we see none of the little tuxedo-dressed birds.
We climb what seemed like several hundred steps and look across
both sides of the narrow strip of land, the inner calm waters of
Isthmus Bay in dramatic contrast with the pounding surf of
Adventure Bay. It is more about the unexpected in travel that
lures one on - no penguins were seen, but rather we get a sunset
to rival any other as the sun appeared to struggle to get down
through heavy clouds to the West. The light across the neck was
that deep amber-yellow light of Spring, where greens and reds
glow intensely and the whole of Bruny to the south was bathed
in an almost Dali-like surrealistic light. It was a symbolic
moment, for our time on Bruny had almost come to an end and it
turned out to be a farewell of magical proportions.
We are content that we had absorbed some of the soul of Bruny,
but we are determined next time in a summer season to take the
new eco-boat trip (starts late October) from Adventure Bay,
around Fluted Cape to the giant kelp forests off Mangana
Bluff, and go as far south along the east coast to the
Friars to view the seal colonies.
Bruny has more for us to discover on our next visit its shores
in anticipation of a mixture of both blissful solitude and
unique visual stimulation.
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For more
information, call +61 3 52 555 147 or go to
www.thetreehouse.com.au |
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