Pencil Pine Lake – Bruny Island

sunrise

Midget thinking the fish would be nice if I could get my feet in the freezing cold water...

Woke to mist everywhere. It was really beautiful. We got an early start and eventually the mist lifted an the sun came out. Another perfect day. Arrived in New Norfolk on the Derwent River in time for morning tea. Enjoyed a walk up and down the main street and the cute antique shops etc. Real Estate is much more pricy now we’re only an hour or so from Hobart.

We then scooted through Hobart and headed down south past the Weather Bureau’s Antarctica Divisions flash offices, and out to Kettering where we took the ferry over to Bruny Island. It only takes 15 minutes to reach this paradise.

sitting on the ferry

Its really amazing. There are still some farming areas on the north island, and the south is mostly holiday houses. There was also a Bligh Museum where lots of his diaries are on display. There is also a piece of the tree that Cook cut into to tie the boat up to when he stopped in a quiet bay in 1777. The tree died and a plaque now stands where the tree used to.

There is a bit of everything on this island. Sheltered beaches, lovely white sandy beaches, large mud flats, oysters galore, penguin breading, bird breading protected zones, sailing harbours and more. In fact, we’ve been told by many at the boat show, that they’ve spent years cruising around the islands of Tassie in their yachts. You can really see why after visiting Bruny.

Midget & Buster (the pub owners dog) and Daughter

There are plenty of free camp sites around the island. It’s a shame that most of the roads are unsealed. The dust is the hardest part to deal with on the island. There is nothing on the island but a pub on each island. We went to the south island pub for dinner and all had a great time. The people are very laid back who live there and the own of the pub’s dog, allowed Midget to enjoy the surrounds with him. They even had a play. Steve later took Buster and Midget over to the beach for a swim. They had a ball. Buster is a ridgeback lab cross. Really cute. He just couldn’t get over why he wasn’t allowed in… I enjoyed a glass of wine from a Bruny Island chardy and it was beautiful.

We found a nice quiet spot on the beach for the night.