Norfolk Bay, Bruny Island and the Huon River

Sailing down the Derwent River and under the Tasman Bridge, we passed into Storm Bay and turned north into Frederick Henry Bay. With the variable winds, it was in and out with the headsail. Although it was pretty grey and overcast, we were happy to be back out on the water, and the sun made a welcome appearance in the late afternoon. We are constantly amazed at the difference that a few rays of sunshine can make to our moods and our experience. We anchored in the calm conditions of Lime Bay in Norfolk Bay, but unfortunately it became a bit bumpy throughout the night.

It was cold, foggy and grey as we motor sailed across the bay to Taranna the next morning. Thermals, beanies and our wet weather gear came out. In the icy wind, I was shaking with the cold, my feet frozen, as I stood on the bow waiting to grab the mooring buoy. After tying onto the MAST mooring, we chilled for a few hours while we waited for the rain to pass. And pass it did, so later that day Matt rowed us over to the little jetty. How I do love being able to step straight onto a dry dock, instead of wading through cold water onto a sandy beach!!! Life really is about appreciating the small things.

We wandered up to the Tasmanian Devil UnZoo, but being so late in the day and seeing as Matt didn’t have his camera, we decided to return the next day so we could do the park justice. Instead, we stopped for ice creams at the Tasmanian Chocolate Foundry and I may have bought a block of chocolate too.

The UnZoo, according to its website is ‘..a reversal of the traditional concept of a zoo. Instead of animals in enclosures for the benefit of humans, an UnZoo invites visitors into natural habitats in which cages or barriers are removed or concealed, and wild, as well as resident animals, are encouraged to interact with the environment.’

We attended several talks on Tassie devils, which included a feeding and learnt an astonishing amount about an Australian creature I’ve only ever laid on eyes on a few times, and never in the wild.

First up we were warned never to try to pat a devil. A Tassie Devil has the strongest bite for its size of any mammal in the world and their incredibly strong and powerful jaws can easily crush bones. Being carnivores, they eat only meat; birds, snakes and other small mammals and they leave no leftovers, consuming absolutely every part of the prey; bones, feathers and fur all included.

They were named devils for the sound they make. European settlers heard unearthly, blood-curdling shrieks and growls from deep within the bush, making them imagine that demons surrounded them in the wilderness.

A female Tassie devil gives birth to around 20 to 40 joeys at once, each the size of a grain of rice. However, these joeys have to race to her pouch, which only has four teats and only the four joeys that attach to a teat will survive. They will spend around three months in the pouch until they are fully developed, and then another three months or so in the den.

We watched these devils, so cute and innocent looking, absolutely attack and completely consume their meal, a piece of wallaby, in just a few minutes.

We wandered the remainder of the ‘zoo,’ feeding and patting the very docile kangaroos, watching the pademelons (a type of wallaby found only in Tasmania) and spotting some native birds. It was well worth the visit and we’d both thoroughly enjoyed our morning there.

Feeding and patting kangaroos:

Tasmanian Pademelons:

Some of the wild birds that came to say hello:

Back on the boat, we found that the icy cold southerly had returned, reaching over 25 knots at times, so after sailing right around Norfolk Bay, we retreated back to our anchorage at Lime Bay. Fortunately, the next day dawned sunny and still. It was absolutely gorgeous. We motored back around the corner in the super flat water and anchored off the Coal Mine Heritage Site.

We had been here before and Matt was particularly keen to anchor here again. That previous time, in 2014, had been our very first time on a yacht, on an overnight charter on the 65 foot yacht Helsal IV. It had been an amazing adventure for us, so far out of our realm of experience at the time, and we wanted to return with our new perspective. And it was indeed a very different perspective that we now had, here in our own yacht. What had seemed so extraordinary and adventurous all those years ago, was now just a routine, every day occurrence for us. It was another demonstration of just how far we’ve come. It’s also a pretty cool place to visit and we enjoyed wandering around the ruins again.

And just for a few giggles, here is a flashback photo – Matt and I onboard Helsal IV in December 2014. I don’t think we’ve changed one bit!!

Leaving Norfolk Bay, we had a good sail south in following seas to North Bruny Island. We anchored in deep water at Quarantine Bay, Barnes Bay. The next day we explored the Quarantine Station, just a short walk up the hill from the jetty.

That night the water was incredibly flat and still and the night sky was bursting with stars.  Matt decided conditions were good enough to try taking some photos.  We’d also just become aware of the Aurora Australis and it was our new obsession – to see one with our very own eyes and also to try to capture one in a photo.  The Aurora Australis is the ‘southern lights’ and somehow, although seeing the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) was on my bucket list, I’d never realised you could see the Aurora right here in Tasmania.  The photos that people were posting in the Facebook page showed that it was definitely possible.

The previous night had been a no-go, but on this very still night we did indeed manage to capture something.  It was not really visible with the naked eye, but it can be seen in Matt’s photos below as the greeny yellow and pinky glow. Pretty cool, I reckon!

With a light breeze and following seas we sailed out and down the D’Entrecasteau Channel. The sun was out and the channel was very green and pretty. The light breeze had us sailing ever so slowly, so it was late afternoon when we finally anchored in Port Cygnet on the Huon river.

Tasmania was having a heat wave. It was 28 degrees celsius. I kid you not – the temperature barely reached 30 degrees, and there were weather warnings for a heatwave!!! Anyway, we went to shore and soaked up the lovely warmth. After a short walk to town, we dropped in at the Sailing Club, and discovered it was Friday Happy Hour, so Matt stayed to chat to some locals while I delivered our groceries back to the boat. The locals were very friendly and welcoming, and one of Matt’s new friends even dropped a bag of his homegrown fruit and vegies off to us the next day.

The next day was spent exploring the cute little town of Cygnet, full of coffee shops, art galleries and gift shops. We had a coffee at The Port Hole Café, a beer at the Pub and a charcuterie board at the lovely Port Cygnet Cannery. It was pretty hot so I was pretty happy! In the afternoon, before we could get back for a refreshing swim the temperature cooled right off. Heatwave over!! I could only chuckle.

Port Huon, further up the Huon River was our next stop. A thick fog enveloped the land as we motored back out into the river. Visibility was only about one kilometre. The day settled into a pattern of cold and rain; drizzle interspersed with short downpours. We spent a quiet day on the boat, dealing with various life admin. The next day was a little less cloudy with some sunshine, so we rowed to shore to stretch our legs, walking as far as the Port Huon marina.

Leaving the Huon River, we made our way to Quarries Bay on South Bruny Island, where Chris and Anne were coming out in their yacht Horizons to meet us.  We invited them over and caught up over a cheese platter and spaghetti bolognaise.  The following day, after a late breakfast and a quick dip to freshen up, we moved the yachts north to Great Bay and walked up the road to The Bruny Island Cheese Company.  We shared a yummy Ploughman’s Platter and while the others sampled the beer, I had a particularly delicious pinot.

Chris and Anne, being locals, suggested a nearby anchorage for the night and when we tucked in behind Snake Island, it was indeed very sheltered and protected.  We had dinner on Horizons and enjoyed a pretty sunset.  There was no sign of the Aurora though.

With some strong westerlies predicted for later the next day, we motored around the corner to Barnes Bay.  Stopping first in Alexanders Bay, we then anchored next to Horizons in Quarantine Bay, south of the jetty.  We had a walk onshore and met Chris and Anne’s friends on La Boheme, Barb and Tim.  A final dinner on Cool Change was the end of our time with Chris and Anne.  They would be returning to Hobart to prepare for their daughter’s wedding and we would be heading to Kettering on the mainland and into a marina.  Matt was returning to Melbourne for a few days and then we would be heading south, fingers crossed tightly for that elusive weather window to head around the southwest corner.

O, Sunshine! The most precious gold to be found on earth.

Roman Payne