ADVENTURES FURTHER SOUTH - BRUNY ISLAND - PART 3 (ADVENTURE BAY) (1 - 5 DECEMBER 2017)

I'm very pleased to report that we survived the shunt which nearly knocked us off our wheels on our second evening at Great Bay without mishap.  Once the line squalls and thunder storms passed on we actually enjoyed a quite peaceful night, and given that today's transfer down to the caravan park at Adventure Bay on South Bruny was to be a massive run of 23 kilometres, we even enjoyed the luxury of a sleep in.

Speaking of island distances, this raises an interesting point. It was whilst on BI that we first came across the phenomenon of road signs which not only instructed the use of the left hand side whilst driving, but expressed the distances between places in times rather than kilometres (as this very hastily snapped example demonstrates). 

Now this is entirely practical, but it was a little unnerving to be so bluntly reminded that we would be sharing the BI roads with overseas tourists in hire cars, some of whom might well forget where they were. Needless to say I took extra care at intersections, junctions and on blind crests. 

We completed our day's run safely, although I did negotiate the narrows of the Neck with due consideration of the fact that we were this time twice as long and twice as heavy.

The junction signs which heralded a left turn down to Adventure Bay loomed in no time.

This is probably an appropriate time to revisit the island geography for some perspective.

Firstly, another look at where BI lies in relation to 'mainland Tasmania' (isn't that an odd term) and the now familiar towns of Kingston (just north of Margate), Huonville, Kettering and Dover. Bull Bay, off the shore near Kingston, is in fact the entrance to the Derwent Estuary and Hobart itself. As I have so oft commented before, this can be a most confusing coast line, but ah, the views!

And with thanks again to our friends from 'TouringTasmania', a more localised view of what we were up to. The small island township of Adventure Bay sits in the bottom curve of the shore of the bay of the same name as you can see. Alonnah, on the western shore, is recognised as the island's 'major' town, although here this is indeed a relative term. But it is home to the pub, the police station, and a  pharmacist so I guess that qualifies it for the title.

Our trip today was on bitumen, but as you can also see there is precious little of it on South Bruny. 

But there were plenty of hills and dales, trees and green pastures through which we drove as we covered the few kilometres into Adventure Bay. 

On the northern approaches into this seaside village, we gained our first view of the calm waters of the bay itself through the large gums

and in no time flat we had passed the town welcome sign

and were making our way through the morning haze 

along the all but deserted main street 

to the entrance of the caravan park which overlooks the bay.

It was a disappointingly greyish day, but worse was to come. For now at least it was dry, and after the normal formalities at the park office, we were directed

to follow the back park roadway 

past the decidedly tired but reasonably functional amenities block

and a row of park cabins 

to our allotted site tucked in between a couple of semi-permanents.

The Captain Cook Holiday Park did not boast a myriad of sites for us transients, and many of these are tucked in between permanent and semi-permanent park structures, such as our was, but this proved to be a real boon indeed. 

As you can see from this rear shot of our position, we were tucked up very cosily. The structures either side and behind us, the cabins opposite, the row of very large gums on the southern boundary of the park, together with the fact that this end of Adventure Bay lay under the lee of a high headland, were all to prove of great benefit.

Now that we were set it was time to check out our new surroundings. Beyond our site and the last of the row of brown cabins, the park opened out into 

the broad expanses of the camping area with its attendant rustic BBQ hut. 

This end of the park was also home to a row of the 'flash' park cabins, all of which looked out over the foreshore roadway to the bay beyond.

A quite large kiddies' playground was situated alongside the front park roadway, a real indicator to me that this park was one which catered for hosts of summer school holiday makers.

In addition to the hut in the camping area, there was another park BBQ facility between us and the office, and here I discovered one of those notices which really make me cross.

'Valued Customers' my foot. Read 'we hope this makes you feel better as we relieve you of dollars each time you wish to use the hot plate'! The managers of some parks really must think we all came down in the last shower!

The camp kitchen, however,  was a different proposition altogether. It was entirely enclosed.....a thumping great shed in fact. For a reason which now completely escapes me, I forgot to photograph it externally, but I did go inside, camera at the ready. Good kitchen facilities which included a pizza oven, lined up side by side 

with large lounges, a pot belly stove, plenty of tables and chairs and the obligatory TV set. This all served to support my initial view that this park hosts long term guests over the summer period, and was set up well to provide cover for them during the inevitable wet and miserable days. We were to discover just how true this was.

Just behind the camp kitchen a large, grassed area and various forms of seating invited an outdoor happy hour for those inclined.

I have already commented on the fact that this park was home to many permanent structures, 

some of which were better than others.

My prize for the best went without a doubt to 'Steve and Rosie's Respite'..quietly colourful, quirkily decorated, very well maintained, and, most important of all, 













the inviting front door plaque...........I remain disappointed to this day that Rosie and Steve did not make an appearance during our stay. I would have put this to the test!

And now, whilst on the subject our our Adventure Bay home, let me share with you the events of a few days after our arrival which may make sense of some of my previous comments.

I spoke of the fact that our site seemed to be well sheltered. This proved to be so, when, as forecast, South Bruny Island was absolutely hammered by a massive cold front which swept across most of southern Tasmania. We remained unsullied by the 70 kph plus gale. The structures which surrounded us did an admirable screening job, as did the gums opposite and the high hills to our south. Normally in this kind of tempest, like a yacht at sea, all canvas would have to come in, but here this was not necessary.




Note I spoke of wind only. We were not immune to the deluge which accompanied the icy (and it was bloody cold) blast. As the heavens opened and the rain teemed for many hours, our little camp became a river.









I had surveyed our site on arrival and thought that if the predicted weather did wreak havoc, a small patch of higher ground at our doorstep would give us a dry spot of comfort as we stepped out. I was right, but only just.

I did briefly brave the elements at one stage to quickly discover we were not alone in our plight. The road to our front was sodden,











whilst the area around the camp site BBQ hut














and the front roadway could best be described as a lake.











Even the roadside along the town main street was bordering on attaining creek status.






In had been many moons since we spent the entire day indoors, but this was not even the weather for ducks. Our late afternoon storm at Great Bay had been a good introduction to the vagaries of BI weather.

But fortunately this was by far the worst of it. Although a couple of other days were not warm and inviting, we did manage to get out and about, even if well rugged up, unlike others who were stripped down to running gear.....seriously!