Now that we were settled in at Great Bay, it was time to undertake the first segment of our Bruny Island exploration....North Bruny. We like to get off the beaten track if possible (not with the van behind us of course) when we often stumble across interesting and picturesque spots which don't rate a mention in the tourist blurb.
Our plans for BI included just such a ramble around the dirt roads on North Bruny. As this revisited look at the map shows, the main North Bruny highway (from the ferry terminal south) is sealed, but the remainder of the roads around the many bays and inlets of the north coast are dirt, good dirt as it turned out. Our plan for today was to venture up to Dennes Point and make our way back around the loop which would take us to Barnes Bay and all points in between.
Once that was under our belts, a quick trip down to the Neck and back was on the agenda and included in all this was to be our first two 'foodie' visits (I'll explain this later).
So off we went, beyond the black-top and onto the first section of 'gravel' road which we found typical of most of the north island.
BI, like most of Tasmania, is anything but flat. As we were to discover much later in our visit to the Apple Isle, the hilly roads can become a little trying at times, particularly when towing, but the upside is that they invariable offer grand views.
Today was no exception as our vantage point on the 'high road' allowed us to gaze down on this North Bruny coastal farm and grazing property with its old homestead beautifully positioned to look out over Storm Bay and the seaward approaches into Hobart.
Rolling hills, timbered slopes, patches of button grass on the cleared grazing land and the constant views of the water lapping curved coves and quiet inlets.....this is BI!
And every so often there was a reminder of past, when humble homes such as this evoked images of constant toil, a never ending battle with the elements, the land and the isolation in the quest for self sufficiency.
North Bruny is much drier than its southern counterpart. Its topography has been described as consisting mainly of open pastures and light bushland. As we cruised about the north this description evoked no argument from me.
Another feature of island roads we were soon to discover is that whilst many of them may be unsealed, the approach to most of the small island villages was heralded by a return to a bitumen surface as was the case here en route into the most northern hamlet on BI, Dennes Point.
The road down to the water brought us to a small parking area
The road down to the water brought us to a small parking area
at the head of the 'town jetty', a short but well maintained structure which protruded out into the northernmost section of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.
A quick stroll out to its end, and a glance down, left no doubt that this platform had provided a launching spot for many a squid jag, with obviously good results as the sprays of ink showed.
It was also a grand venue for views across the channel towards the tip of the short peninsula which separates North West Bay and The Channel area from Storm Bay and the Derwent Estuary.
We had ventured down there whilst staying at Margate some weeks before, during which time we had marvelled at the beauty of the tiny enclave of Tinderbox from which we had looked out towards Dennes Point.
Now we could see across in the other direction. The sloping vineyards and delightful old homes of this oddly named district had lost none of their charm.
From this vantage point I could also look back along the shoreline beach north of the jetty
and the capture the rocky headland to the south.
Farming obviously now plays an important role in the BI economy and engages many of the island's six hundred or so permanent residents, but this was not always the case. As with so much of southern Tasmania, timber felling was the industry which brought many of the earliest settlers to BI. Now tourism accounts for much of island's income and has provided significant local employment. And apart from those who call this place home, the beautiful bays of BI have encouraged many to build holiday and retirement homes overlooking the water.
Some of these were evident on the road leading out of Dennes Point,
where we came across one of the island's best holiday beaches, Nebraska Beach, where the long sweep of clean white sand was lapped by the calm and crystal clear waters of the channel.
As we climbed yet another hill on this north island road, we were able to look back along Nebraska Beach to Dennes Point and across the water to Tinderbox and beyond.
As we pushed on further south towards Barnes Bay, the sight of small inlets and coves such as this became almost commonplace. I have oft before commented on the twists and turns of the Tassie coast line we were finding everywhere. BI presented no exception.
By now we had edged on past the small hamlet of Killora and began the ascent of Lowes Hill past a row of impressive and unusual (for BI) large pines.
The crest presented us with views across the D'Entrecasteaux Channel through the annoying morning haze to Kettering, our point of departure on the 'other island'.
From here we could also look back along the road we had just travelled to admire yet another charming old farmhouse nestled amongst the surrounding trees overlooking the channel. This is just typical North Bruny.
This vantage point provided us with another reminder of the scale and significance of the farmed salmon industry here in Tasmania as we looked down over a row of pens along this spur of land and across through the haze to the Tassal factory on the far shore.
Another bend in the road and another idyllic BI country scene.
As we nosed our way around Shelter Bay we then came across a scene which was far from idyllic and provided another quite stark reminder of the harsh realities of early life on BI.
If it were not for this nearby plaque we would have driven straight past the nondescript looking plot with its far from cherished grave sites.
But as we were able to read, this ground contained the remains of the convicts Anthony Cox and his wife Jane Daly who had worked on the BI quarantine station from 1856 to 1902. All others interred here in the private cemetery were somehow related to this convict couple, and many were of tender age.
Just beyond this strangest of burial grounds, we came across yet another of the oddities of BI......massed letter boxes.
We soon realised that whilst a mail delivery is part of the public service rendered to those who call North Bruny home (either permanently or from time to time), the local postman (oops, politically incorrect.....the local postal delivery person!) has drawn the line at meandering hither and yon down the small dirt lanes which lead to the various waterside nooks and crannies where these folk have taken up residence.
So in what I considered to be an excellent compromise, all who wish to receive snail mail mount a letter box at the nearest most conveniently accessible road junction and the good old postie does the rest.
And with spots like this on offer, why would one not love living here even if it does mean a daily run up the track to see if anyone has written recently (or are deliveries now only every two or three days?)
A wander into Quarantine Bay demonstrated that some have obviously been on the island for a deal of time
whilst others were clearly far more recent arrivals.
Again I have to ask the question......
why not?
Ingenuity has always been something I have admired. Hats off to the owner of this small moored craft who has decided that a dummy skipper at the helm should fool even the most persistent seabird seeking a roost (with the inevitable calling card left as evidence of the visit!) I wondered just how long it would take for the resident gulls to wise up.
By now we had we reached the seaside settlement of Barnes Bay and pulled up at the local picnic area,
before I walked down the sealed road which took me to
the short local jetty,
from the end of which I could look back at the boat ramp which dropped off into the waters of Simmonds Bay (an inlet of Barnes Bay)
where a number of yachts and other craft bobbed peacefully at their sheltered moorings.
It was a similar scene of serenity looking south along this long, narrow cove which was home to more than folks and boats.
The waters of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel have produced some of Tassie's finest scallops for years (sadly over fishing has now seen their numbers decline steeply) and this environment is also ideal for oysters, such as we had seen already in the commercial leases in Great Bay.
Here at Simmonds Bay these shellfish covered the rocky shoreline in abundance, but not so just below the high water mark where we could see where they had once clung to the rocks.
The white blotches provided ample evidence of the spots where oysters had been prised from their homes,
and as I looked closely through the beautifully clear waters beyond the tide mark I could see many more just waiting to be snaffled.
What a bonanza for those with the will and skill to shuck a shell or two and down the salty grey morsels of mollusc therein. We are not numbered amongst them. Whilst Liz and I will both hop into oysters Kilpatrick, these shellfish have nothing to fear from us in their natural state.
What did amaze me was the fact that so many had been plucked from this spot despite this prominently displayed sign which warned of potential dire and drastic health outcomes for any who consumed wild shellfish taken from marinas and other places such as the very spot where I was standing. What some folk will do to get something for nothing!
And whilst on the subject of notices, this which stood at the front of one of the Simmonds Bay holiday homes highlighted two interesting aspects of Tasmanian tourism.
We had already noted with some dismay that very few of the public BBQ and picnic areas, particular here on north Bruny, were equipped with a public loo. This struck us as a real failure by the local authorities, one which had obviously created some grief for this home owner in the past.
The second very telling feature of this warning sign was the fact that its message was delivered in both English and Chinese. Tassie swarms with touring Chinese and in our experience, which as I write is now extensive, the vast majority of them with whom we have had contact are socially loud and insular and display scant regard for what we would regard as reasonable social norms of courtesy and consideration.....but that's another story.
With one last departing glance over the waters of Simmonds Bay it was time to head off to the first port of call on the BI 'foodies trail'.
This demands some explanation. Apart from its scenery and history, BI is lauded as a gastronome's paradise. In addition to the oysters at Great Bay, which I have already mentioned, BI is home to producers of cheese, craft beer, honey, chocolate, berries and wine. The outlets for these different taste treats are scattered far and wide across both North and South Bruny.
And to top all this off, the island boasts the Bruny Island House of Whisky, described by no less a critic than one of Tasmania's whisky producing doyens Bill Lark as ".....by far the best representation of the Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky Industry I have ever seen anywhere." I must say that when I first read that comment I did immediately suspect it was laced with a liberal dose of self-interest, but I can now say that this was a harsh call, as I am about to demonstrate.
By now were were back on the black-top. The BI House of Whisky is to be found on the main island road only a few kilometres from the ferry terminal at Roberts Point.
From the point of arrival visitors to this quaint little stone and paling building are greeted with somewhat eclectic art works,
included amongst which was this incredible old polished stump. I almost walked past it without noticing the tiny carving on this side
and these workings on the other. What an extraordinary piece this was and something which really set the tone.
From the front verandah with its plush armchairs
one can gaze out across the Sykes Cove inlet of Barnes Bay, but grand as this may have been it was not why we were here.
In we went, to be greeted by the most amazing array of the distilled product of malted barley I had ever seen,
a veritable Aladdin's Cave of Tassie whiskies liqueursand gins,
hosted by the most amiable and knowledgeable young chap I had come across for ages.
This corner of the premises was set aside for those with a penchant for gin
whilst at the end of the main bar area, we were invited to indulge in a tasting of the offerings from the Trappers Hut label. My surge of excitement was short lived. Notwithstanding the fact that this was a limited release of only 280 bottles and exclusive to the BI House of Whisky, the starting price of (a mere) $365 per bottle evoked a sharply raised eyebrow from The Treasurer. I was left to dream!
And dream was all I did throughout our visit. Much as I love a fine single malt I had already learnt from our visit to Sullivan's Cove that Tasmanian whiskies all come at a cost.....a significant cost, and to be blunt, those I had tasted were, in my view, excessively expensive and played extensively on the fact that the Sullivan's Cove drop had jagged a first at the New York show some years ago. The coat tails were trailing, and there were many hanging on! But having said that, the whisky industry is very much alive and well on the Apple Isle, and doing much for the economy.
But there was more to the BI House of Whisky than whisky. It also presented a fine range of alpaca products including shawls, scarves, wraps and pashminas. Liz's eyes lit up....this was just the thing she had been seeking as a Xmas gift for her sister.
She was soon enthusiastically head down and bum up.....and successfully so. These were all beautiful examples of the woven wool of the island alpacas, and, to our collective surprise, quite reasonably priced. So we did emerge from this incredible stop with something material to show for it after all!
After all this it was time to return to island scenery. We had decided to complete our touring day with a dash down to the Neck, the highlight of the many scenic views on BI and the one for which the island is probably best known.
This spot had also been the subject of a recent bitter scrap between the authorities and the 'greenies'.......all over a car park....this one at the base of the somewhat daunting staircase which we were soon to climb. I'll explain this shortly.
We duly parked and began the ascent. The first section of the stairway took us up from the car park
to a platform from which another set of steps branched off to the long and magnificent beach which faced the open ocean at the northern end of Adventure Bay.
For us today, it was onwards and upwards. Fortunately I already knew that the view was well worth the effort.
A small cairn and plaque at the top honours the life of Truganini, purportedly the last of the aboriginal Tasmanians
and it was from here that we could see away to the north over Adventure Bay on the right and Isthmus Bay to the left. This was spectacular enough,
but this is the scene which features in all the brochures and which all climb this massive sandhill to see, looking out south along the isthmus, where the ocean rollers wash onto the fine sands of the curving beach on one side,
and the calm protected waters lap across the tidal flats on the other. And from here the car park is quite obvious, as is the fact that the road across the isthmus from North to South Bruny is (necessarily) narrow to say the least.
Not only is it narrow, on the Isthmus Bay side there is absolutely nowhere to go in the event of a vehicular contretemps....the water slops right against the edge of the bitumen. In the past folk wishing to take in the sights from the crest had to park where ever they could find a space, and given what we had seen to date of the driving habits of many of our overseas visitors, I could but imagine what this parking area was like from time to time.
Indeed during our visit an almond eyed tour bus driver blithely careered into the car park from the wrong end, in contravention of all the painted directional arrows and then proceeded to occupy two marked parking spaces (because he was on the wrong angle).
But I digress. Let me try to show you what all the fuss was about. This shot, thanks to 'tripadvisor' shows what things used to be like at the base of the climb where a small informal car park right on the edge of the road catered for all comers.
If you look back to the large picture I took from the summit you can see what was developed to formalise parking here and reduce the dangers. Hardly intrusive I would have said, but believe it or not this development evoked howls of outrage. Letters to the editor streamed in, politicians weighed in and the local greenies became even more feral than usual.
I suspect that the fact this was just 'done', with little, if any, consultation, may have prompted some of the ire, but let's face it, if this had not been the manner in which it was achieved I strongly suspect its development would have been delayed interminably. As for having utterly destroyed the nature of the view and its scenic appeal....what claptrap!
We certainly enjoyed what we saw and lamented the fact that our schedule precluded a long romp along the ocean beach, but we had other fish to fry, or cheese and beer to sample at least.
Between the Neck and our digs at Great Bay the Bruny Island Cheese company shares premises with the Bruny Island Beer Co., a match made in heaven one could argue.
There was no argument from us as we hove to in the car park on what was to our last stop on this longish day and made our way past these clever 'packing case' tasting tables in the bush
and on to where it all happened.
In my efforts to avoid including any of the visiting punters in this shot of the cheese tasting room, I fluffed the photo, but hopefully this fuzzy representation will give you the idea. We did sample a few of the products on offer, but did not find any which were of sufficient appeal to prompt a loosening of the purse strings.
In any event, I had other tasting on my mind and duly queued at the counter in the room beyond that displaying the many rounds of cheese (no, that's not me!),
before I repaired with my prize to the tables in the next room (that's not me either!).
Ah, here we are, with a tasting paddle of four of the Bruny Island Beer Co.'s finest, no less!
For a reasonable $12 I was armed with quite liberal samples of Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay IPA (India Pale Ale), Saison D'Entrecasteaux (a sort of French inspired concoction) and Oxymoron, a dark pale ale (hence the rather clever name). I'll not bore you with the tasting notes, which were extensive.
Apart from the Saison, which had no appeal for me whatsoever, the other three were not bad drops. The standout was the Oxymoron, but frankly it was not so far ahead of a Tooheys Old as to prompt me to shell out the significant sum of shekels required to take some back to the van.
Needless to say the Navigator took the wheel for the short drive back to our camp, and I must say we returned just in time. The storm clouds were rolling in over Great Bay.
There would be no magic sunset this evening as the rain began pelting the distant hills.
Ominous and darkening cloud fronts rolled across the sky
and within minutes we were hunkered down in a van shuddering as each successive squall struck and being lashed by belting rain as the skies lit up and the thunder boomed. What a complete contrast to the previous evening.
And this was not to be the last period of miserable and threatening weather we experienced on BI....but that's a tale for another day (one not too distant!).
and the capture the rocky headland to the south.
Farming obviously now plays an important role in the BI economy and engages many of the island's six hundred or so permanent residents, but this was not always the case. As with so much of southern Tasmania, timber felling was the industry which brought many of the earliest settlers to BI. Now tourism accounts for much of island's income and has provided significant local employment. And apart from those who call this place home, the beautiful bays of BI have encouraged many to build holiday and retirement homes overlooking the water.
Some of these were evident on the road leading out of Dennes Point,
where we came across one of the island's best holiday beaches, Nebraska Beach, where the long sweep of clean white sand was lapped by the calm and crystal clear waters of the channel.
As we climbed yet another hill on this north island road, we were able to look back along Nebraska Beach to Dennes Point and across the water to Tinderbox and beyond.
As we pushed on further south towards Barnes Bay, the sight of small inlets and coves such as this became almost commonplace. I have oft before commented on the twists and turns of the Tassie coast line we were finding everywhere. BI presented no exception.
By now we had edged on past the small hamlet of Killora and began the ascent of Lowes Hill past a row of impressive and unusual (for BI) large pines.
The crest presented us with views across the D'Entrecasteaux Channel through the annoying morning haze to Kettering, our point of departure on the 'other island'.
From here we could also look back along the road we had just travelled to admire yet another charming old farmhouse nestled amongst the surrounding trees overlooking the channel. This is just typical North Bruny.
This vantage point provided us with another reminder of the scale and significance of the farmed salmon industry here in Tasmania as we looked down over a row of pens along this spur of land and across through the haze to the Tassal factory on the far shore.Another bend in the road and another idyllic BI country scene.
As we nosed our way around Shelter Bay we then came across a scene which was far from idyllic and provided another quite stark reminder of the harsh realities of early life on BI.
If it were not for this nearby plaque we would have driven straight past the nondescript looking plot with its far from cherished grave sites.
But as we were able to read, this ground contained the remains of the convicts Anthony Cox and his wife Jane Daly who had worked on the BI quarantine station from 1856 to 1902. All others interred here in the private cemetery were somehow related to this convict couple, and many were of tender age.
Just beyond this strangest of burial grounds, we came across yet another of the oddities of BI......massed letter boxes.
We soon realised that whilst a mail delivery is part of the public service rendered to those who call North Bruny home (either permanently or from time to time), the local postman (oops, politically incorrect.....the local postal delivery person!) has drawn the line at meandering hither and yon down the small dirt lanes which lead to the various waterside nooks and crannies where these folk have taken up residence.
So in what I considered to be an excellent compromise, all who wish to receive snail mail mount a letter box at the nearest most conveniently accessible road junction and the good old postie does the rest.
And with spots like this on offer, why would one not love living here even if it does mean a daily run up the track to see if anyone has written recently (or are deliveries now only every two or three days?)
A wander into Quarantine Bay demonstrated that some have obviously been on the island for a deal of time
whilst others were clearly far more recent arrivals.
Again I have to ask the question......
why not?
Ingenuity has always been something I have admired. Hats off to the owner of this small moored craft who has decided that a dummy skipper at the helm should fool even the most persistent seabird seeking a roost (with the inevitable calling card left as evidence of the visit!) I wondered just how long it would take for the resident gulls to wise up.
By now we had we reached the seaside settlement of Barnes Bay and pulled up at the local picnic area,
before I walked down the sealed road which took me to
the short local jetty,
from the end of which I could look back at the boat ramp which dropped off into the waters of Simmonds Bay (an inlet of Barnes Bay)
where a number of yachts and other craft bobbed peacefully at their sheltered moorings.
It was a similar scene of serenity looking south along this long, narrow cove which was home to more than folks and boats.
The waters of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel have produced some of Tassie's finest scallops for years (sadly over fishing has now seen their numbers decline steeply) and this environment is also ideal for oysters, such as we had seen already in the commercial leases in Great Bay.
Here at Simmonds Bay these shellfish covered the rocky shoreline in abundance, but not so just below the high water mark where we could see where they had once clung to the rocks.
The white blotches provided ample evidence of the spots where oysters had been prised from their homes,
and as I looked closely through the beautifully clear waters beyond the tide mark I could see many more just waiting to be snaffled.
What a bonanza for those with the will and skill to shuck a shell or two and down the salty grey morsels of mollusc therein. We are not numbered amongst them. Whilst Liz and I will both hop into oysters Kilpatrick, these shellfish have nothing to fear from us in their natural state.
What did amaze me was the fact that so many had been plucked from this spot despite this prominently displayed sign which warned of potential dire and drastic health outcomes for any who consumed wild shellfish taken from marinas and other places such as the very spot where I was standing. What some folk will do to get something for nothing!
And whilst on the subject of notices, this which stood at the front of one of the Simmonds Bay holiday homes highlighted two interesting aspects of Tasmanian tourism.
We had already noted with some dismay that very few of the public BBQ and picnic areas, particular here on north Bruny, were equipped with a public loo. This struck us as a real failure by the local authorities, one which had obviously created some grief for this home owner in the past.
The second very telling feature of this warning sign was the fact that its message was delivered in both English and Chinese. Tassie swarms with touring Chinese and in our experience, which as I write is now extensive, the vast majority of them with whom we have had contact are socially loud and insular and display scant regard for what we would regard as reasonable social norms of courtesy and consideration.....but that's another story.
With one last departing glance over the waters of Simmonds Bay it was time to head off to the first port of call on the BI 'foodies trail'.
This demands some explanation. Apart from its scenery and history, BI is lauded as a gastronome's paradise. In addition to the oysters at Great Bay, which I have already mentioned, BI is home to producers of cheese, craft beer, honey, chocolate, berries and wine. The outlets for these different taste treats are scattered far and wide across both North and South Bruny.
And to top all this off, the island boasts the Bruny Island House of Whisky, described by no less a critic than one of Tasmania's whisky producing doyens Bill Lark as ".....by far the best representation of the Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky Industry I have ever seen anywhere." I must say that when I first read that comment I did immediately suspect it was laced with a liberal dose of self-interest, but I can now say that this was a harsh call, as I am about to demonstrate.
By now were were back on the black-top. The BI House of Whisky is to be found on the main island road only a few kilometres from the ferry terminal at Roberts Point.
From the point of arrival visitors to this quaint little stone and paling building are greeted with somewhat eclectic art works,
included amongst which was this incredible old polished stump. I almost walked past it without noticing the tiny carving on this side
and these workings on the other. What an extraordinary piece this was and something which really set the tone.
From the front verandah with its plush armchairs
one can gaze out across the Sykes Cove inlet of Barnes Bay, but grand as this may have been it was not why we were here.
In we went, to be greeted by the most amazing array of the distilled product of malted barley I had ever seen,
a veritable Aladdin's Cave of Tassie whiskies liqueursand gins,
hosted by the most amiable and knowledgeable young chap I had come across for ages.
This corner of the premises was set aside for those with a penchant for gin
whilst at the end of the main bar area, we were invited to indulge in a tasting of the offerings from the Trappers Hut label. My surge of excitement was short lived. Notwithstanding the fact that this was a limited release of only 280 bottles and exclusive to the BI House of Whisky, the starting price of (a mere) $365 per bottle evoked a sharply raised eyebrow from The Treasurer. I was left to dream!
And dream was all I did throughout our visit. Much as I love a fine single malt I had already learnt from our visit to Sullivan's Cove that Tasmanian whiskies all come at a cost.....a significant cost, and to be blunt, those I had tasted were, in my view, excessively expensive and played extensively on the fact that the Sullivan's Cove drop had jagged a first at the New York show some years ago. The coat tails were trailing, and there were many hanging on! But having said that, the whisky industry is very much alive and well on the Apple Isle, and doing much for the economy.
But there was more to the BI House of Whisky than whisky. It also presented a fine range of alpaca products including shawls, scarves, wraps and pashminas. Liz's eyes lit up....this was just the thing she had been seeking as a Xmas gift for her sister.
She was soon enthusiastically head down and bum up.....and successfully so. These were all beautiful examples of the woven wool of the island alpacas, and, to our collective surprise, quite reasonably priced. So we did emerge from this incredible stop with something material to show for it after all!
After all this it was time to return to island scenery. We had decided to complete our touring day with a dash down to the Neck, the highlight of the many scenic views on BI and the one for which the island is probably best known.
This spot had also been the subject of a recent bitter scrap between the authorities and the 'greenies'.......all over a car park....this one at the base of the somewhat daunting staircase which we were soon to climb. I'll explain this shortly.
We duly parked and began the ascent. The first section of the stairway took us up from the car park
to a platform from which another set of steps branched off to the long and magnificent beach which faced the open ocean at the northern end of Adventure Bay.
For us today, it was onwards and upwards. Fortunately I already knew that the view was well worth the effort.
A small cairn and plaque at the top honours the life of Truganini, purportedly the last of the aboriginal Tasmanians
and it was from here that we could see away to the north over Adventure Bay on the right and Isthmus Bay to the left. This was spectacular enough,
but this is the scene which features in all the brochures and which all climb this massive sandhill to see, looking out south along the isthmus, where the ocean rollers wash onto the fine sands of the curving beach on one side,
and the calm protected waters lap across the tidal flats on the other. And from here the car park is quite obvious, as is the fact that the road across the isthmus from North to South Bruny is (necessarily) narrow to say the least.
Not only is it narrow, on the Isthmus Bay side there is absolutely nowhere to go in the event of a vehicular contretemps....the water slops right against the edge of the bitumen. In the past folk wishing to take in the sights from the crest had to park where ever they could find a space, and given what we had seen to date of the driving habits of many of our overseas visitors, I could but imagine what this parking area was like from time to time.
Indeed during our visit an almond eyed tour bus driver blithely careered into the car park from the wrong end, in contravention of all the painted directional arrows and then proceeded to occupy two marked parking spaces (because he was on the wrong angle).
But I digress. Let me try to show you what all the fuss was about. This shot, thanks to 'tripadvisor' shows what things used to be like at the base of the climb where a small informal car park right on the edge of the road catered for all comers.
If you look back to the large picture I took from the summit you can see what was developed to formalise parking here and reduce the dangers. Hardly intrusive I would have said, but believe it or not this development evoked howls of outrage. Letters to the editor streamed in, politicians weighed in and the local greenies became even more feral than usual.
I suspect that the fact this was just 'done', with little, if any, consultation, may have prompted some of the ire, but let's face it, if this had not been the manner in which it was achieved I strongly suspect its development would have been delayed interminably. As for having utterly destroyed the nature of the view and its scenic appeal....what claptrap!
We certainly enjoyed what we saw and lamented the fact that our schedule precluded a long romp along the ocean beach, but we had other fish to fry, or cheese and beer to sample at least.
Between the Neck and our digs at Great Bay the Bruny Island Cheese company shares premises with the Bruny Island Beer Co., a match made in heaven one could argue.
There was no argument from us as we hove to in the car park on what was to our last stop on this longish day and made our way past these clever 'packing case' tasting tables in the bush
and on to where it all happened.
In my efforts to avoid including any of the visiting punters in this shot of the cheese tasting room, I fluffed the photo, but hopefully this fuzzy representation will give you the idea. We did sample a few of the products on offer, but did not find any which were of sufficient appeal to prompt a loosening of the purse strings.
In any event, I had other tasting on my mind and duly queued at the counter in the room beyond that displaying the many rounds of cheese (no, that's not me!),
before I repaired with my prize to the tables in the next room (that's not me either!).
Ah, here we are, with a tasting paddle of four of the Bruny Island Beer Co.'s finest, no less!
For a reasonable $12 I was armed with quite liberal samples of Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay IPA (India Pale Ale), Saison D'Entrecasteaux (a sort of French inspired concoction) and Oxymoron, a dark pale ale (hence the rather clever name). I'll not bore you with the tasting notes, which were extensive.
Apart from the Saison, which had no appeal for me whatsoever, the other three were not bad drops. The standout was the Oxymoron, but frankly it was not so far ahead of a Tooheys Old as to prompt me to shell out the significant sum of shekels required to take some back to the van.
Needless to say the Navigator took the wheel for the short drive back to our camp, and I must say we returned just in time. The storm clouds were rolling in over Great Bay.
There would be no magic sunset this evening as the rain began pelting the distant hills.
Ominous and darkening cloud fronts rolled across the sky
and within minutes we were hunkered down in a van shuddering as each successive squall struck and being lashed by belting rain as the skies lit up and the thunder boomed. What a complete contrast to the previous evening.
And this was not to be the last period of miserable and threatening weather we experienced on BI....but that's a tale for another day (one not too distant!).
great read , and very well written , look forward to more
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