Week 7 - The Great White

The trip this week:

Lymington - Dover - Southport - Cockle Creek - South Cape -  Lake King William

An overview:

• The Big Catch
• Burnsey's naturist dream
• A surfer's paradise

So we are at the end of week 7 and we now consider ourselves to be accomplished fisherman. I do however get the feeling that catching fish in Tasmania is about as easy as getting a suntan in Queensland and we may be as likely to catch fish upon our return to Victoria as we are to get a suntan there.

That aside, this week marked a momentous occasion as Burnsey laid down his life for the big one.... The Great White. Whilst paddling off the shores of cockle beach on the southern most cape of Tasmania trawling for our tea, Burnsey got a snag. Or so he thought. In a moment he realised he was hooked and that this was no ordinary fish. Oh no. As he tried to reel it in, his boat rocked and swayed threatening to tip him out and right into the jaws of the monster. 'I've got something huge here' he wailed. 'This is crazy, it must be a shark!'. The beast thrashed in the water whilst Burnsey used everything he had to stay afloat and keep the catch, his biceps bulging under the strain of it all.

As he got it nearer the surface and braced himself in order to launch it into boat, he caught sight of his vicious foe.... The Great White.... Squid! Now don't be so quick to judge. This thing was massive. Biggest squid ever, I'd say. That blighter fed us for three meals! Bloody beauty.

The rest is really quite short and sweet. Whilst doing yoga (yes you heard it correctly) on our own private little beach in Catamaran Bay, Burnsey made a somewhat disturbing remark (strange enough I know that we are both doing yoga like a couple of hippies). Given the glorious weather, Burnsey had decided to partly derobe and complete his chakras shirtless. Halfway through he suddenly asked 'do you think we could do this completely nude?'... I didn't know what to say. 'I'm sure you could' I offered cautiously... 'Why?'.... 'Eh' was his returned. 'Just wondering'. And now it is me that is left wondering. Oh Burnsey. 

The last on the list was the spectacular South Cape. What a place. The surf was awesome and there were a number of surfers out there enjoying the breaks. We walked past a couple on the 15.5km round trip in and they were just carrying their boards in... barefoot. Awesome. We thought of you Hammo. Well worth the trip if you're ever down this way.

Well that's it for this week! Only a few more days here in Tassie and then it's back to the mainland. See you next week and enjoy the video.

Matt and Kelly x

Week 6: Holy Mackerel! Tassie is just stunning

The trip this week:  Swansea - Dunalley - Cape Surville - Eaglehawk Neck (Tasman Peninsula) - Port Arthur - Lime Bay - Fortescue Bay - Hobart (and MONA) - Snug - Lymington

Another stunning week of beauty this week with most of our time concentrated on the Tasman Peninsula.  We continue to be blown away with how amazing Tassie is.  The fishing proved to be quite fruitful and as a result we are being spoiled with fresh seafood every other day.  The fish tastes almost sweet and it just melts in your mouth.  It is like nothing else we have tasted before (this could be due to the 'ikea effect' but hey).

While the scenery is outstanding, the locals talk a lot about the absence of work and the tough economy in Tassie.  There are dozens of houses for sale everywhere we go and people are not typically optimistic about the immediate future.

We have seen really interesting industries such as salmon farming in the Huon River, and there are  loads of oyster racks and fishing trawlers about the place.  Forestry is nowhere what it used to be but you still see the odd truck loaded to the hilt with tall timber rumbling by and there is no shortage of grey nomads on the road spending the kids' inheritance.

I suppose the absence of built up industry is good for the wilderness.  We are constantly surrounded by wildlife which more often than not is scoping out our lunch or leftovers.  They are game little buggers, you can't leave anything out or it will be gone in two seconds flat.  The forest grows right to the coastal waters and is so thick that you would be hard pressed to walk through it without a track to follow.

We are starting to get a bit of cooler weather now but the majority of the time it is still shorts and t-shirts.  Perfect time to be in Tassie during Autumn. I strongly recommend it!

Animal encounters: Australian fur seal, bandicoots (very cute and not afraid of humans, see below), wallabies, bloody possums, a snake, parrots, currajongs, and a mackerel and a few flathead (which became supper of course).

Thanks for reading everyone.  Speak with you next week!

Matt and Kelly

Week 5: Tassie keeps on giving

"I can't believe that we used to find the time to fit work in!"

Our days are are filled with so much activity, it is hard to remember when we found the time to even watch the news.

I sit here on the Tasman Peninsula watching the sun slowly set over Norfolk Bay with Hobart somewhere in the distance.  Kelly is scoring and seasoning a freshly caught squid from the calm waters we are camped beside, getting ready to throw the tasty morsel on the BBQ.   The ipod boots out Mark Ronsan through our tiny camp speakers as we settle in for another chilly Tassie evening.

Week five has offered us another week of abundance and stunning beauty a we move down the East Coast of Tasmania.  You HAVE to come and visit this place.  It is simply amazing. 

Can you imagine what it is like to paddle along a secluded bay lined with Australia's finest oysters covering the rocks free for the taking.  The sea life is abundant, wherever we turn there are creatures of the deep. The turquoise waters with their accompanying pure white sandy beaches never disappoint.  Tasmania has knocked our socks off and we haven't even made it half way round!

The trip this week:  Waterhouse Point - St Helens (St Georges Bay)- Humbug Point - Binalong Bay - Bay of Fires - Moulting Lagoon (Freycinet Peninsula) - Cape Surville

Week 4 - The taste of Tassie

The week so far....

Bentleigh East - Devonport - Lake Rowallan - Launceston - Waterhouse Point

The weekly lowdown....

Number of showers since leaving Melbourne - nil
Number of 'baths' had out of a tupperware container - 1
Our patience with regard to technical malfunctioning of any sort - nil
Number of times Kelly has done a half eskimo roll in her kayak - 1
Number of fish caught - 5!!!

That's right people. The moment you have all been waiting for... ok, the moment Burnsey and I have been desperately hoping for...

Yesterday we caught two squid and a flathead out of our kayaks! Thank you Tassie. About bloody time too. It was baked fish and calamari salad for supper last night. Oh but it doesn't end there, no no. Today we caught two leatherjackets (not of the motorcycle variety, though that would have better for the budget with the likes of ebay), a whiting and two crabs! This place just keeps getting better and better. So it's fish curry for dinner tonight (courtesy of Ryan and Lizzie) with a cold Coopers (thank you Warnses' and for putting us up!). What a smashing end to the week.

We are off to the local caravan park in St Helens for a shower tomorrow, but in lieu of such luxuries I would like to say a huge thanks to the gang at CNS for the massive can of dry shampoo. Fantastic. If only it could magically cure my tragic fashion sense.

See you next week!

P.s. And yes, a half eskimo roll means I was unceremoniously tipped out into the sea...

Week 3 - A stroll through the Prom...

The end of week three and we are getting regular hot showers and cold milk thanks to our wonderful friends in Melbourne.

The trip this week:

Foster - Port Franklin - Wilsons Promontory - Bear Gully - Eltham

 The stats:

Days fishing: 6
Fish caught: nil
Number of kilos of fish we could have eaten for the money spent on fishing gear so far: 12

This week has been absolutely fantastic. After our failed attempts at fishing the various ports of southern Victoria we headed down to the Prom for a 55km, 3-day hike which was easily the most stunning walk we have done.  We learned two valuable lessons on the walk...

1. Take enough metho. This way you won't have to make a decision between a cold supper and drinking untreated creek water.

2. Put your scroggin in an airtight container... not a zip lock bag. Having questioned Burnsey's sanity when he packed only a few handfuls of sweets/nuts for our walk, I came around to his 'scarcity principle' realising it would increase the value in times of need. He further redeemed himself by wrestling it out of the mouth of a determined possum in the middle of the night after it climbed into my backpack (under the clips and drawstring and all). Unfortunately all of his brownie points were lost the following morning when he left the zip of his backpack slightly askew as we headed up the hill to the lighthouse... when we returned we were scroggin-less thanks to a black cockatoo who was clearly smarter than we are. Devastating.

A massive thanks to Chris and Anna, Sammy and Jonno, Jodi and Berkhard for their wonderful hospitality

Here is a little compilation for the week. See you soon!

P.s. Sorry! The second video should play on phones and ipads... 

Week Two: Time for an adventure...

Well here we are at the end of week two, and boy what a week it was.

First of all the journey:

Tom Groggin (Kosciuszko National Park) - Alpine National Park - Metung - Lakes Entrance - Golden Beach (90 Mile Beach) - McLoughlins Beach - Port Welshpool

And some stats:

Number of inter-marital fights  =  nil
Average daily food spend  =  $12/day
Number of days spent fishing  = 4
Number of fish caught  =  nil
Number of showers this week  =  nil
Number of times Kelly has said the 'F' word  =  2

The reason for such seemingly unnecessary profanity? Adventure. This week we have had two of them. Great ones. I will give a brief description of both, but it was the second that elicited such vulgar language.

The Nissan Mountain Goat

Having decided to make our way into Victoria by means other than the national highway, Burnsey and I picked up a wee leaflet on the Davies Track running through Alpine National Park. On the back of said leaflet were a number of warnings advising the difficulty of the 4WD trail we were about to traverse. 'Very Difficult', it read. 'Only for experienced drivers', it proffered. 'Always travel in groups of four vehicles or more and with appropriate equipment', it warned. We postulated and decided that this was clearly a case of overkill and backside covering for the purposes of health and safety and off we went; two of us in one vehicle with no equipment and even less experience.

The track was most certainly 'very difficult'. Hair-raising in fact. By the time we reached the summit of the lofty Mt Gibbo we were both so pumped with adrenalin we ate bowls of pasta the size of our heads followed by a couple of Nerea's wonderful Italian biscuits and a cup or two of tea. The way down was no less difficult, but exhilarating nonetheless, and both we and the nifty Nissan Navara survived unscathed. Hoorah for blind optimism!

The Black Bog

Today marked day three of our fish-less fishing endeavours. Not to be deterred by such minor details we set off even more determined than before. We decided to head up to the end of the spit at the inlet opposite McLoughlins Beach where we were bound to catch more fish than we could carry home. The walk there was splendid. Golden sandy beaches that stretched into the horizon and not a soul to be seen. We walked triumphantly, knowing this... was... it! The moment we had been waiting for....

We fished. We tried different bait. We fished. I lost a lure or two on a snag or two. We fished some more. Nothing.

As the sun began to set we admitted (temporary) defeat and decided to head home for a warm supper. Rather than walk back along the way we had come (it was further), we decided to try the other way around the spit for a swift trip home before dark.

The beach rapidly turned to mud flats. We headed inland for some respite but it was marshy, boggy and covered in salt bush. We trudged on. We encountered what can only be described as 'Jab Jab Grass'. We went back to the marsh. The dark was descending and with no torches or any other light to speak of I was getting desperate . 'Let's try the beach again' I suggested. We crossed back across the swamp to the muddy flats and decided that barefoot, we could probably make it. Burnsey went first. Not ten metres in and he sunk up to his groin. Now Burnsey is not a panicky kind of man but I sensed panic (insert first profanity here). We made a swift retreat, realising the only way out was to walk some 2km through the Jab Jab Grass. At this point, in an attempt to lighten the mood somewhat, Burnsey made a joke about the fact that he was now 'half black' on account of the mud covering his lower half and could no doubt use his new found tracker skills to help us out of our pickle.... We reluctantly went back in. Burnsey in his best bush walking thongs and me in my bright white trainers....(insert profanity #2)

The best part about walking through knee high grass that pricks you like a thousand needles is that it takes your mind off whether or not there could be snakes looming. As we neared the end of our epic walk home in the now pitch black, the Jab Jab grass suddenly went from 40cm tall to 1.5m... oh how we yearned for the waist height mud flats!

Needless to say (and to cut a very long story short), nearly five hours later we arrived back to our trusty camp site. Two weary adventurers half black with thick black mud and not a shower to be seen.

So, a week of adventure centered around terrible fishing skills and limited bathing.... don't worry too much, we have bathed in the rivers and the ocean every day and I'm sure my one huge dreadlock will brush out eventually.

I have loaded a few pics below.  Some more can be found here if you are interested:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152372298581747&type=1&l=4690e2c5de 

Speak soon

Kelly and Burnsey

Valuable Lessons - Week One

1. Do not trust SatNav
2. Allocate responsibility for vehicle door closing checks prior to take-off... to Kelly
3. Eating bacon and egg rolls for breakfast, lunch and dinner is perfectly acceptable
4. Do not trust SatNav
5. Matt looks very dapper with a mustache


The trip so far....

Brisbane - Thora - Sydney - Helensburgh - Jervis Bay - Jindabyne - Thredbo - Tom Goggin


Having the most amazing time so far. Paddled the Sydney Harbour and Lake Jindabyne as well as some gorgeous little rivers.

Good news on the food budget... thanks to Hamdog, Martine & Pete and the Richards family on the 'Can Roulette'  front we have come in at $10/day this week for food!!! The bad news.... we are 2.5 times over on fuel...

Leaving in the morning for a 4WD adventure through Alpine National Park on route to Lakes Entrance. See you soon!!

P.s. A massive thank you to Chris and Hannah, Aunty Jill, Monck, Emiliano and Laura for your wonderful hospitality and grub!