October 2020
After spending so much time sitting in Cygnet and using the car to go exploring and not sailing we were more then ready to get back out on the water. So when we saw that we had a week of clear weather forecast we decided to do a trip along the D’entrecasteaux Channel and sail to Hobart. The morning we left Cygnet we had clearing skies, a fairly light wind and a goal to reach Isthmus Bay on Bruny Island before sunset. It was particularly important to reach the anchorage before sunset as we were on a mission that night to see the fairy penguins return to their nest from a viewing platform set up for this purpose.
At the time when we made this plan the idea seemed good in theory and we even arrived with plenty of time to spare as we dropped anchor several hours before sunset. However upon arrival we soon realised that we didn’t have the best tides for our venture ashore but were too stubborn to let that stop us. So given the lowness of the tide we left Allagai about half an hour before sunset to give us plenty of time to reach the viewing platform over Adventure Bay. When we arrived at the beach the dingy was about 200m away from the shore line as the water was too shallow to get us any further, which meant we had to get out and walk the rest of the way. Normally this wouldn’t have been an issue but it was cold and getting dark and given the time of year the water temperature was still in the single digits. The water was absolutely freezing and I could have sworn at the time that my toes had frostbite as they slowly lost feeling during our long walk ashore and then later burned as the blood flow returned.
When we finally arrived at the platform we were surprised to see we weren’t the only adventurous souls taking on the elements that night as already a few people stood at the platform and even more arrived after us. That night all on the small platform were rugged up in warm winter gear and rain jackets as the temperature slowly dropped below ten degrees and a light rain started on sunset. However all of us on the platform weren’t to be deterred by a little wintry weather as we were all keen to watch the returning penguins. At this point the sun had also just set so we had an amazing show going on in the sky above us as the hundreds if not thousands of shear waters returned to their nests for the night. This was a truly spectacular thing to see as the birds swooped and swerved right above our heads, seeming to have amazing sight as they managed to dodge each other and find their own nests in the rapidly fading light. This show lasted for about half an hour until it was completely dark and then the next show of the evening began. Finally we could start to hear the calls of the fairy penguins as they emerged from the water and began their slow waddle up the sand dunes to their nests. Since we knew it would be a dark night we had come equip with a special red light torch. The red light meant that we wouldn’t hurt or scare the penguins and was used only occasionally so that we could mark the progress of the little birds up the beach. All up we only saw about 6 fairy penguins make their way up the beach but we could definitely hear a lot more as the little birds were amazing at camouflaging and even with the light were a challenge to spot.
When finally the noise of the retuning penguins disappeared we decided that it was time to return to Allagai which was a mission all on its own. When we had left the dingy hours before we had been a little foolish and hadn’t thought to leave a light on it, which meant finding it on that dark and moonless night a bit tricky. However we new the vague direction we had left it and so after awhile of aimlessly wandering in the right direction and by some good luck we managed to eventually stumble over it and make our way back to Allagai.
The following day we continued on our way up the D’entrecasteaux Channel and sailed into the Derwent River that afternoon. That evening we dropped anchor near the large bridge crossing the river and readied ourselves for the busy city. We had decided to visit Hobart to catch up with a friend for lunch for my birthday however we were quickly remembering how little we liked cities. So after a couple of days drifting around the Derwent and after our lunch with our friend we quickly made a beeline back for the much quieter D’entrecasteaux Channel.
That day we left from Hobart’s public jetty at King Piers and had a perfect sailing breeze of 15-20kts. With this breeze we had a roaring sail that afternoon racing down wind as we enjoyed our first bit of fast sailing since leaving Cygnet. However it wasn’t long before we were reaching the channel and that things started to get a little bit interesting. In all directions we had blue skies with a few clouds however coming straight at us out of the D’entrecasteaux Channel was a wall of water and dark angry clouds. There was an obvious front line aiming straight for us which appeared to not only be filled with water but also wind as we could see the churned, white capped water before the front . Seeing this we decided to aim for Bull Bay on the outer edge of Bruny Island. It felt like we were in a race against time as we knew nothing good would be in that squall as we reefed all sail right down in preparation. However even with all our reefs in Allagai didn’t slow much and continued racing along at 4kts to our destination. In the end though we still weren’t quite fast enough to out run the squall as eventually it caught up with us. In the pouring rain we were drenched in seconds and felt like we came racing into Bulls Bay with the wind of the squall pushing us. Although the squall looked menacing it was actually quite short lived and so after our invigorating sail we were quickly arriving into Bulls Bay in a calm and anchoring like nothing had happened.
We only spent the one night in Bulls Bay before weighing anchor early the next morning to continue our way back to Cygnet. Although with no real reason to hurry back we decided we’d spend a few days while the weather was still nice visiting a few more places we had but also hadn’t been to yet. So that day we headed to Barnes Bay and dropped anchor in the Duckpond. We had visited this anchorage a few times by now and although there wasn’t really anywhere to go shore this was still a favourite of ours with the beautiful scenery and the cozyness of the spot. However with little to do we decided to again only spend the one night as we weighed anchor the following morning to head off.
That day we were aiming for Great Bay as our research had uncovered a walk in Ford Bay to Adventure Bay which was located on the opposite side of Bruny Island. The sail to Ford Bay was fairly uneventful with light winds and the flat seas of the channel. When we arrived that afternoon it was too late to do the walk as it was a fairly long hike. So instead we headed ashore just for a quick stroll on the beach to stretch our legs after several days of sailing and to find the best way to reach the walk. The beach in Ford Bay was more mud flats then sand and was bordered by private property so offered little to explore however it was nice to be off the boat and we were able to find our way to the main road for our long walk the following morning.
It was quite early the next day when found ourselves ashore once more, this time equipped with backpacks, water and lunch. For the first 2km we walked along the main road as the actual trail head of the Cape Queen Elizabeth track was a fair distance from the beach. However when we finally arrived and the real trail began we had a lovely walk. The track was well maintained and followed what appeared to be an old 4wd or maintenance track. But that was only first portion as eventually the track became less road and more hiking trail as the ground became more sandy and the ferns grew closer to the edge until we reached a track junction. At this junction we were given the choice to continue walking along the track or if the tide was low walk along the beach. That day we were lucky to have arrived at the low tide and so naturally we decided to take on the beach track first.
While walking along the beach we came across a rock arch, simple known as “The Arch” and spent some time marvelling at this wind and wave erosion creation. While walking the beach there was also many other such rock formation along the cliff face which we also spent some time looking at. However it was as we neared the end of the beach that we made the decision to make this the end of our walk. As although we still had plenty of day left we still had a long walk back to Allagai. So after spending some time dawdling on the beach watching the surf and looking at the various rocks we eventually turned around and began the long walk home. However instead returning via the beach we decided to head back using the inland track over Mars Bluff. Although this was a little trickier then first expected. As since we’d use the beach track originally we didn’t actually know where the track up to the bluff started, which caused a few unnecessary treks over the sands dunes. However eventually by following the trail of foot prints in the sand we found the path that led up to Mars Bluff.
From the top of the bluff we had amazing views of Adventure Bay and its isthmus in the distance. The walk along the bluff was quite lovely although the climb up was fairly steep but with such beautiful scenery we didn’t really mind. That day we ended up walking 13.5km and returned to Allagai feeling well walked after our big day out. This was set to be our last night at anchor as the following morning we weighed anchor and made our way back to Cygnet.
