BreadnJamRndTassie 14/1/18 Week 15

Our last night in Franklin, we attended the old Palais Theatre to watch 'The Eagle Huntress' doco

The beautiful historic theatre has balcony seating inside, & a great dance floor.

Old timber boats on the Huon River

Any trip to Tasmania wouldn't be complete, without a visit to Bruny Island,

down in the south east corner of Tasmania, below Hobart.

A popular destination for local, interstate, & international visitors.

Getting there is easy enough, catching the car ferry from Kettering.

The trip only takes 20 minutes, & takes passengers, bikes, cars, caravans & trucks.


Bruny Car Ferry


Parked near the Ferry terminal at Kettering

After arriving there, we weren't sure if we could get anywhere to stay, as it was

still early January. All the camp sites were busy, but we managed to 

get a spot at the local landscape supplies, on their property.

Plenty of room, & only $20 a night for for power, water & toilet.

It's on the north section of the island, but almost central to north & south,

with beautiful Great Bay over the road.





Only 50 metres down the road, is Get Shucked, an oyster bar, which we've
visited on 2 occasions so far.








The Bar at Get Shucked

The Bruny Island Cheese Company, is just South of us.






The Hony Pot a little further down the road.




It's been such a  culinary treat travelling round Tasmania.
The seafood has been fantastic, The fruits sensational!



We've been eating out a little too much!

We know the oysters are fresh, because we watched the guy harvest them
from out of Great Bay across the road.



Took a drive out to the southernmost end of Bruny, out to the lighthouse.



Looking back North from the Lighthouse.



There's a Fairy Penguin rookery on the island, located on the narrow neck
or isthmus which joins North & South Bruny.
A long staircase (212 steps) leads up to the lookout up the top,
which gives a commanding view of the isthmus, with
Adventure Bay on one side, & Great Bay on the other.
The penguins come in from the water just on dark, which is about 9:30pm



Looking to South Bruny from the lookout


Fairy Penguins

We spent a couple of days exploring the many bays around the island.
No matter what wind is blowing, there's usually a calm, protected bay,
with clear water, & white sand to relax in.





Unfortunately, still no swell, so no surf for me so far on the island.
Plenty of flathead are caught out in Great Bay, but you do need a boat.
So with that in mind, Jan & I set our foldup boat & trailer up
3 days ago, with the intention of fishing the next morning.
Since then, the wind has been strong, the rain has come,
& we haven't been able to get out.




Random Pics from round the island

Metal world sculpture at Adventure Bay

Letterboxes round the island








Metal sculptures at Get Shucked, made from recycled material.








Hoping to go fishing tomorrow. We'll be here for a few days more at Bruny.

BreadnJamRndTassie 7/1/18 Week14

Enjoying NYE Dance at Bellerive with Kerry.

Had a great NYE dance that night, & caught up with our good friend Kerry,

who has covered far more ground in Australia than we have!

The next day, the 3 of us went down for our last day at the Taste of Tassie.

Sadly we said goodbye to Kerry, as the next morning

we were off to our next destination, which was the riverside township of Franklin.

We stayed at a campsite right on the river.

Down to our left from the Campsite.

Up the other end of our Campsite

Original steam driven Ferry used to ferry passengers up & down the Derwent.

Sitting at Franklin waiting for refurbishment.

Franklin is known for its wooden boat building history.

You can actually do a diploma in wooden boat building there.

We visited the centre where it all takes place,

& there were several boat building projects on the go while we were there.

All the boats are handcrafted from Tasmanian timber, such as

Huon Pine, a slow growing timber, not actually a pine, & can grow to be

2,500 years old! It's water & insect proof, ideal for boatbuilding.

They also use King Billy pine & Celery Top pine.

They also do timber boat restorations, & a Viking Longship was even built there.

A few more examples of the timber boats in the area

We have eaten some delicious fruit since our arrival in Tassie.

The Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, strawberries, Raspberries,

& Apricots are so fresh & sweet,

the likes of which you just don't get from the Supermarket.

Not to mention the smoked & cured Salmon, the oysters, the scallops,

the cheeses, the honeys. I could go on. In fact I think I have!

With a view to our next camp, & further exploring, we did a day trip 

down to Cockle Creek, which is the southernmost part of Australia you can drive to.

There are walking tracks to take you further South, 

down to South Cape Bay & beyond.

The place was chockers! Every campsite was taken, which is understandable,

as it is a beautiful spot, with the ocean on one side & creek on the other.

Sculpture of Southern Right Whale at the end of the Cockle Creek carpark.

These whales were almost hunted to extinction down here.

Me driving back over the Cockle Creek bridge

Ocean side of Cockle Creek

Franklin is a great central base to explore the region, so the next day

we headed off to Tahune AirWalk, out from Geeveston.

The AirWalk is a steel canopy walkway located in the Tahune Forest,

and sits over the banks of the Huon River.

Cantilevered platform 50M above the Huon River

Vegetation & humans on the canopy floor

1 of the 2 swinging bridges spanning the Huon and Picton Rivers.

Jan standing alongside the flood level indicator. The top level was in 2016

You can float down the river this way, but there are a few rapids.

We heard of a Jazz afternoon happening at Cygnet the next day, which is on the other

side of the river from where we are at Franklin, only further South.

To get there, we drove North 7k until we reached Huonville, crossed the bridge,

then 16k South to get to Cygnet.

The distances to most places in Tasmania are small,

however the roads are hilly & twisty, so you have to be alert when driving.

It takes longer to cover a given distance than over in the West,

but the scenery is worth the drive, with mountain backdrops, green, rolling hills,

with a mix of pastureland, masses of fruit trees, & forested areas.

The entrance fee into the Town Hall at Cygnet was $15, & we were treated to 

a great afternoon of Jazz, by 3 different groups, the first of which was a 14 piece band!

We managed a few dances, & met a few of the locals,

a pleasant afternoon's entertainment.

Cygnet Town Hall

.

Our last day here today, was a bit laidback, we drifted up to Frank's Cidery,

had a coffee, & listened to some live piano music

Tonight, we go to the old Picture Theatre to watch a doco called The Eagle Huntress.

Everybody takes a plate, we watch the first half, then intermission, during which 

we socialize, & stuff our faces, then the 2nd half, should be fun.

Some random pics below from various places in the area.

The elusive Bumblebee

Church at Huonville

Waterwheel at historic Franklin Pub

Leatherwood flowers 

Mushrooms? found on Huon walk

More mushrooms?

Frank's Cidery & Museum

Car scrap yard.

We leave tomorrow for Bruny Island. A ferry trip over with our Van,

hoping to find a campsite.