Christmas Day! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and an enjoyable festive season. We arrived in Hobart yesterday from Bruny Island and are staying at an apartment hotel (The Old Woolstore) where Kerena is currently cooking Christmas lunch/dinner. But a lot has happened since my last post ….
In my Day 11 post, I said I was off to have my shoulder seen to. The consultant that treated me was excellent, giving me dry needles, massage and all sorts of stretching and bending to try to release a couple of my vertebrae. He worked wonders, but didn’t quite manage to totally solve the main problem and, as a result, I am left with some residual pain that seems to come and go, but generally improving day by day. I think I need to have it properly seen to on my return to Victoria.
Days 12 & 13
Back to our travels! The weather forecast for Day 12 in New Norfolk was for rain from 09:00, however it rained overnight. As a result, the tent was wet when we had to pack up, but we were out of bed by 07:00 and on our way before the rain started.
After stopping off at the supermarket in Kingston, we were on the 09:00 ferry from Kettering to Bruny Island for a two night stay. Before heading south to our campsite, we drove round the top of the island and stopped at the Neck for the view. We had decided to tackle the Fluted Cape walk so we headed for Adventure Bay and a quick lunch before setting off. This walk goes to the top of the headland, 272m above sea level and, in a clockwise direction, took us up a very steep climb. The descent down was more gradual except it started to rain – this turned out to be sign of what was to come! This walk took us just under three hours to complete.
On finding our campsite we managed to pitch the tent in between showers of rain and, when it finally stopped, we unpacked. The campsite, Bruny Island Camping, is a private campsite set on an isthmus into Cloudy Bay, but is very secluded and divided into small sections. On the following day, we visited the Bruny Island Lighthouse and walked the Luggaboine Track. This track started at the Jetty Beach Campground – a very comfortable small site.
On returning to our tent, we lit a fire, courtesy of the wood delivery by Phil, the guy who owns the site and after dinner went for a walk along the beach. By the time we returned it was almost dark, ie bed time. The sky looked a bit threatening and, sure enough, the rain started at about midnight and didn’t stop until about 07:00. Bearing in mind that we had to pack up, this was not a good outcome. Not only was the tent soaking, but the base on which we had camped was sandy – not a great mix.
Day 14
So, with wet tent, ground sheets and chairs packed in to the car we set off for the ferry back to the mainland and Hobart. We stopped for morning tea at the Neck Campground and, since the sun decided to come out, we took the opportunity to dry our gear. The drive into Hobart was uneventful, except the mystery tour round the centre of Kingston trying to find a Woolworth to stock up for Christmas dinner. We ate out at The Mures – yummy fish and chips at the harbour.
Day 15
That’s about it for now, dinner is still cooking.
We are planning a visit to Salamanca market tomorrow before heading to the Tasman Peninsula for our next two nights camping.
Since you have missed out on some photographs, please visit this gallery for some more images and commentary: https://www.martinleitchphotography.com/Galleries/TAS2020-Day-15-Gallery/
