Our journey down the D’entrescautreux Channel was a fast and action packed trip. That week we had a time constraint as Hugo’s family had come for a visit and we only had six days to show them some of Tassies highlights and cruising spots. So this led to a week jam packed full of sailing, exploring and adventures. We picked them up at the Bellerive yacht club after they had flown in on a red-eye flight. So we spent the first day tied up at the wharf doing a reprovison at the nearby supermarket. However the following morning it was full steam ahead down the Derwent River in the early morning sun. Although that week we were still experiencing visibility issues from the smoke being blown down from the Victorian fires. In fact the smoke was that bad that the morning we left you would have thought the fires were in Tasmania, the smoke fog was just that thick, even Mt Wellington was doing a disappearing act.
The first stop of our week long adventure was Quarantine Bay. We had been here over Christmas and were quite keen to show Hugo’s family the old Quarantine Station. This was a pleasant walk and a nice way for us to all get off the boat after our morning sail. Especially since Allagai had never felt so full with six people living on her. The old Quarantine Station hadn’t changed since we had been there only a few weeks earlier and the eerie feeling of imagining what life there would have been like was still very prominent. We spent about an hour ashore and once back on board the unanimous decision was to weigh anchor. The day was still young and we had guests that wanted to see everything in the short time they had and so this led us to our next spot, the Duckhole. Everyone was quite keen to see the Duckhole after having heard our stories of the spot from when we had visited over Christmas. The Duckhole was a tiny little bay and like last time we weren’t the only boat anchored there although instead of sharing with four other boats this time there was only two.
The following day after a slow start we weighed anchor and continued our journey up the channel. That day everyone was keen to see Kettering and as it was only a short sail from Quarantine Bay it didn’t take us long to get there. Although once there we quickly realised there wasn’t much to do in Kettering but that didn’t stop everyone from taking the opportunity to once again get off the boat and go for a walk. We had tied Allagai up to the public wharf and so everyone was able to get off with ease, walking to the nearby marina to admire the boats docked there. Following our short walk we didn’t hang around Kettering for much longer and so after refilling on fuel and water we cast off the mooring lines and headed back out to the channel.
That night we had decided to anchor in Great Bay which is where Bruny Islands isthmus is found. We had chosen this particular bay because we had learnt from our research that there was a Fairy Penguin viewing platform on the isthmus. The viewing platform is meant to be the perfect spot to see the Fairy Penguins come in from the sea at night and return to their nests in the sand dunes after a long day of fishing.
Everyone was quite keen to see this spectacle and had decided that we would try and catch them leaving there nests for sea the following morning. It seems though that the penguins are very early risers. We had left Allagai just as the sun was rising over the horizon wading through freezing cold shallows to get to the beach before crossing the isthmus to the viewing area. However when we arrived it was clear that we had missed all the departing birds, including the very large shearwater colony. Although we still enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over Adventure Bay and got to enjoy the stunning views from the top of the isthmus viewing platform. Ferrying people ashore was actually quite an interesting experience as we were only using our little hard dingy. This meant many dingy runs were required and so it took about an hour to get everyone ashore and then back again, but it was well worth the effort.
By mid morning we were off and sailing again searching out our next destination. We decided that day to go to the most southern point on Bruny Island and anchored off Butlers Beach on the Labillardiere Peninsula under Partridge Island. This was yet another lovely anchorage and no sooner was the anchor set everyone was keen to go ashore and explore. Which led to another round of dingy transfers but without any trouble and everyone getting used to the process we were all ashore in no time. There was a 14km walk that goes around the whole peninsula but with only and hour or two to spare before dinner we didn’t have nearly enough time to complete it. So we settled for only walking the first couple of kilometres. However even by only going this short distance we were rewarded with some lovely views and could see all the way to the distant Reserche Bay. That night we had to make the hard decision of what to do next as time was starting to run out, keep going south or turn back and head north. In the end the majority vote was to turn around, we would enjoy a few more spots on mainland Tasmania before dropping Hugo’s family in Cygnet so they could get a car and go exploring inland.
This meant we were all up bright and early the following morning ready to get going and see some more sights. But even with the best intentions we still had a late breakfast before weighing anchor and heading off mid morning. Once under way we set course for Dover and made surprisingly good time, getting there around midday and since it was early everyone was keen to go ashore. To make things easy and reduce the number of dingy rides we decided to tie up to Dovers public jetty to offload all of Hugo’s family. Once they were all ashore we then went out and anchored the boat, taking the dingy ashore, with only one dingy run this made life quite a bit easier. Dover was a very nice town, we walked along the foreshore before heading up the main street and although it was a small town it had a very lovely cafe. We had made the mistake of coming ashore before lunch and with empty stomachs were unable to resist the temptation of bakery foods for lunch. After an amazing lunch it was time head back to Allagai but today we weren’t heading far to our overnight anchorage. That night we anchored behind Rabbit Island which was located at the southern end of the same bay as Dover. This meant we had the afternoon to just relax. Everyone needed to take a much needed break from all the fast paced travelling we had been doing. However while there I couldn’t resist going ashore on Rabbit Island for a quick explore with Hugo and Lindy.
The following morning we were all feeling somewhat refreshed after the previous afternoons break, which was just as well because we had a jam packed day ahead. First thing that morning we wanted to anchor in Eggs and Bacon Bay for breakfast. This meant rising well before the sunrise to weigh anchor as we had about 10nm to make. Half the crew remained in bed while the rest braved the chilly morning conditions. But those who ventured on deck were well rewarded with a beautiful sunrise over the almost mirror flat waters of the channel. The running joke was to have a breakfast of eggs and bacon in the bay with the same name. However we probably bit off a bit more then we could chew and with growling bellies fell short of our destination by a couple of miles. Instead we anchored in Randalls Bay and enjoyed a well earned breakfast in a very pretty bay.
This was set to be our last day before waving good-bye to Hugo’s family the next morning. So with this in mind we decided to go for one last adventure and headed off up the Huon River. With only half a day worth of time we knew we wouldn’t get far and so aimed for reaching the first bend which held the township of Port Huon. We probably should have just gone straight to Cygnet as even though Pt Houn was only 10nm away we had a breeze coming straight down the river, giving us a head wind. This left us tacking the entire way up and when we finally reach the town we realised it was more of a shipping port for the fish farms and had no where to land. So instead we had a brief anchorage for lunch on board Allagai before heading back down river. It was just our luck that day that on the way down we were also cursed with a headwind as the afternoon sea breeze kicked in, meaning more tacking. However eventually we made it to Cygnet, our final destination.
The following morning we would be offloading our passengers one last time so they could catch the bus to Hobart. With this in mind everyone thought that it was in their best interest to go ashore that night and find the bus stop as the bus only ran twice a day and missing the early morning one would have put a dent in the plans. So with a little nostalgia everyone was ferried ashore one last time. The walk to Cygnet was only about 3km and consisted of a single main street packed full shops ranging from small boutiques and cafes to all your everyday needs stores like supermarkets, butchers and chemists. We found the bus stop with ease and as it was late evening all the shops were closed so we all headed back to Allagai for a late dinner with little else to do.
The following morning it was departure day and to make things easy we decided to pull Allagia up to the public wharf. This meant there was no time messing around with the dingy in ferrying all the people and gear ashore. It was with a little sadness that we waved good-bye to Hugo’s family. With everyone gone and after spending a week all crammed on board Allagai the boat felt a little empty with just the two of us. However we knew that we hadn’t seen the last of them knowing that they would be back for more adventures sometime in the future. Now that we had made it to Cygnet we weren’t really sure what our next move would be. We had a long list of jobs that needed completing and it seemed Cygnet, being so sheltered, would be the perfect spot to start tackling them.
