It was now coming to an end...our BI adventure that is, and Adventure Bay which we were leaving with some regret. Apart from the weather we had a marvellous time there, and at least when the storms struck we were as well protected as we could have been anywhere, if not better.
But now it was time to head off to tick the second box on our Tassie Pub stays list, parked up on the grass behind the Bruny Hotel in Alonnah. With all of 15 kms to cover, we had no need to arise at 'sparrow's' as is usually the case on a travelling day.
Nevertheless I was quite keen to ensure that we had the pick of the spots (mistakenly thinking that power and water were available in one area) and we did arrive well before the pub was open for business.
Somewhat to my surprise, we had the place to ourselves. I set up near what I thought was an operating water tap and we busied ourselves inside until I detected staff movement in the pub.
A nominal fee of $5 is levied for those wishing to prop here for the night, and with that duly paid the bad new was that the tap was not connected and the power source, some distance away in an old BBQ shed, was iffy at best. I tried a connection.....not iffy folks, as dead as the proverbial dodo, and of highly a questionable state of repair.
Nil desperandum....we had water in our tanks and today had dawned comparatively brightly...we would let our solar panels and our power inverter do the rest. So we stayed put where we were.
With the pub doors no more than fifty metres away, the waters of Sunset Bay on our front doorstep, oodles of grass and no immediate neighbours on our doorstep, we were more than content.
And just look at the weather. At last! Whilst the skies did thicken with cloud later, at least we had a snatch of sunshine early in the day.
When paying our site fee I had also booked in for dinner that evening. We had heard and read glowing reports about the pub's signature dish, a $60 seafood platter for two. "Yes sir, that is still on the menu." "Excellent, please reserve a table for two for 1800 hours."
I had budgeted for this treat for some time (obviously the meal would be only part of the cost) and had wisely allayed any concerns 'The Treasurer' may have had by smartly informing her that this was "my shout". Now we were both really looking forward to it!
With all the necessary business done, the small township of Alonnah now lay awaiting exploration. We had driven through before, but there is nothing like a walking tour to see everything. My only major problem still remains....too many photos and too little editing....I'll try to do better this time!
Alonnah is a town of two parts. The hotel and the town 'general store' lay opposite each other at the southern end of the foreshore highway.
We did pop over the road to see what was available at the store, which also doubles as a cafe/take-away spot, and realised almost instantly that the good folk of Alonnah must either shop at Adventure Bay of hop on the ferry every so often and grace Woollies at Kingston. Even taking the modest ferry fee into account, that would be the far better option.
With that less than profound discovery under our belts, we headed off north along the seafront, crossed a small bridge over a local rivulet (to borrow that ubiquitous Tassie term)
and hoofed on the remaining half a kilometre or so to the 'major Alonnah CBD'
where the first of the business premises we came to was the surprisingly well stocked local pharmacy.
We had need of a couple of items and in the course of our chat with the most obliging chemist we soon came to the conclusion that he had set up shop in Alonnah as a lifestyle decision as much as anything. He not only offered a counter service but also made home deliveries each afternoon. How good was that, we thought.
At this point I hopped across the road to take my first shots south along the shoreline of Sunset Bay, with the southern end of Satellite Island sneaking into the frame,
and in the opposite direction, where the bottom of The Channel peninsula dominated the skyline. And, as you can also see, the skies were darkening again, but fortunately there was no real nonsense coming our way.
Next to the pharmacy (with its little delivery car tucked up near the entrance) stood the BI Post Office
with the island's home to the Girls and Boys in Blue right next door.
At the rear of a short ally between the Post Office and the pharmacy, the BI Mens' Shed greets its patrons with this colourful facade.
And that, as they say folks, was it.....the Alonnah CBD. But there was a bit more to come.
The main road into town curved off to the right beyond the small central commercial area,
and it was here that we could look out over the rather strange looking local marina with its odd breakwater, one which curved upward slightly at its far end. What could this be all about?
Well, it turned out to be another small snippet of modern Tasmanian history. The breakwater here at Alonnah is the only remaining piece of the old Hobart floating bridge which crossed the Derwent between 1943 and 1964, a bridge which consisted of twenty-four buoyant concrete sections such as that we were looking at. It was installed here in 1972, but only after the Warden of Bruny, J Maurice Dillon, took out an injunction against the Government which had planned to sink it along with all the others. What a handy community asset a practical man with determination is!
To get down to the small marina we had to pass this obviously brand new public toilet facility, which in itself was nothing remarkable...........but.....
this was the first time we had ever come across a public loo with Xmas decorations. The good folk of Alonnah must have decided Santa might need a comfort stop as he whizzed around the island. A bit different to the usual milk and biscuits......how bizarre!
On the foreshore we passed a garage building
on which this charming little sign proclaimed the ownership of the BI Boat Club. We were soon to discover that the penguin was a favoured local club symbol.
As we strolled out along the breakwater, it was clear that this had indeed once been a roadway.....wide, flat and still well covered with a bituminous surface. And it certainly provided good shelter for the small fleet tucked up in the marina,
a fleet which included another oddity......a purpose built working boat plastered with 'For Hire' signs. Hauling in very large fish would present no problems for any using this outfit!
So with the Alonnah breakwater inspected and the mystery surrounding its origins solved, we wandered back to shore and past the few holiday and permanent homes on the overlooking hill
before picking up the main road once again.
Here on this bend we could look across through the trees over the grounds of the Alonnah cricket club to the very prominent red roof of the Alonnah Community Hall on the far side of the oval.
We knew the road up the hill would eventually take us back to the main drag, so off we trotted,
past the local primary school,
complete with its very colourful piece of garden art.
At the top of the hill the Alonnah War Memorial had pride of place on the crest in front of the surprisingly large community hall,
behind which the B I cricket club rooms held an equally prominent position.
As I mentioned earlier, penguins were prominent in the local sporting fraternity's club symbols.
What a pleasure it must be to sit on the front deck of this clubhouse
watching the home eleven defending its cricketing honour on this beautifully picturesque ground.
Several signs made it very clear that visitors were more than welcome to make use of the clubhouse facilities and I have to say we were somewhat disappointed that we were not to be here the following Saturday when we would have loved to have mingled with the locals, quaffed a few frothies and watched the contest between bat and ball.
But this was not to be (we would in fact be in New Norfolk by then) and for the moment we pushed on past the quite newly constructed B I Medical Centre which was the last piece of the community infrastructure here at Alonnah.
In the course of our jaunt down the roadway back towards the foreshore, I could not help but chuckle as we walked past this ute parked in the driveway of a small farmhouse. This Vietnam Vet clearly had no time for the Tasmanian Greens Party and was far from shy about publicising the fact.
As you can probably gather, it did not take us too long to complete our circuit of the Alonnah township and make our way back along the main road to the pub in the near distance.
We had been looking forward to a feed of fine fresh fish in the Bruny Hotel dining room for some time, ever since it had been highly recommended to us by folk we had met in Huonville, so after a quiet afternoon relaxing in the van, we actually tarted up a bit for a change
and made our way into the pub at the appointed hour.
After an obligatory aperitif or two, our fish platter appeared, and for once we decided that this was an occasion on which to prevail on our waitress to take a commemorative snap before we tucked in.
This was a plate of seafood to be savoured. Crumbed fish, scallops, prawns and squid, oysters natural and kilpatrick, and chunks of grilled Atlantic salmon all supported by good chips and salad.
There was only one major problem.....much of it was less than hot. The manager was most apologetic but rather than arrange a replacement meal he offered us free coffee (which neither of us drink at that time of the day). I was singularly unimpressed, but at least Liz was able to negotiate a free stubby holder. And to be fair, the meal was not so cold as to be inedible.....we just had to set about eating it rather more quickly than planned.
One thing we did know.....we were enjoying our evening and each other's company more than this couple appeared to be and under the mellowing influence of a very good sav blanc, our 'night out' was a real pleasure.
As we contentedly toddled the few metres back to our nearby van, Sunset Bay lived up to its name and presented us with this pretty pastel palette over the darkening waters of the bay with the silhouetted mountains behind Dover and Southport providing an impressive colour contrast.
This was indeed a magic ending to what had been a very packed week. We were so glad that we had ignored those who suggested we could do justice to BI in a couple of days. Despite the fact that we had no desire to do 'the foodie trail' (which we now believe to be grandly over-rated and over-priced), this island offered so much by way of diverse scenery, some of which was nothing short of spectacular, sites of significant historical importance, some great walks and, of course, one of the pub stays on our crawl list.
Tomorrow will bring a real change of pace....another crossing of the Channel and more water, this time the fresh waters of the Derwent River at New Norfolk.
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