TASMANIA - TRIABUNNA TO MARIA ISLAND - 27 TO 29 MARCH 2022

 

27 MARCH

TRIABUNNA

Our first stop after leaving Port Arthur was the PORT ARTHUR LAVENDER FARM. Jacinta loved it and had a fine time buying presents for the family.

Next stop was Taranna for the TASMANIAN DEVIL UNZOO. The Tasmanian Devils were amazing and it was highlighted by the feeding. The complex was large but really there wasn’t much there to see. A bit expensive for what you get but the devils made it good.

We stopped at EAGLEHAWK NECK to check the surf … flat and to have lunch.

WE took a detour to MARION BAY. A long beach in a huge bay with a massive wetland area just over a couple of beach sand dunes. The wind was howling so it wasn’t much fun hanging there too long. It would be nice on a windless day.

Back on the main road and after a stop at Sorell for groceries, we reached TRIABUNNA. We checked out where we would get the ferry tomorrow to Maria Island and then settled into our camp area. Just before sunset we had a short stroll to view the wetlands behind the camping area … pretty.

28 MARCH

TRIABUNNA – MARIA ISLAND

We cycled from the camp area to the harbour marina, where we embarked on the boat to MARIA ISLAND. It was a great boat ride on a glassy swell and pretty views.

On the island, we organized ourselves and our bikes and cycled off towards the south. The ride was long, up and down on a service road. We passed a number of bridges, relics of the past and pretty beaches. We got to French's Farm and had lunch on the land facing side of the beach/isthmus. We decided to continue along the sandy track to get access to the ocean side of the isthmus. It was a hard ride but we persevered and finally reached the ocean beach side. The beach was beautiful with small nearly surfable waves. It was worth the effort! The ride back was hard as we thought we were running out of time to catch the ferry. Anyway, we were fine and the ferry was late. Haha. The island was great and we both made a personal achievement in bike riding.

29 MARCH

TRIABUNNA       

We woke after both having bad sleeps. Maybe because of the long ride the day before.

Still, we decided to move on rather than stay.

INDONESIA, WEST TIMOR, KUPANG - IN THE WILD EAST - 25 SEPTEMBER 2018

24 SEPTEMBER 2018

Our flight was with Garuda. We arrived at Kupang, picked our bags and were taken by car to our hotel - Hotel On The Rocks. The hotel was clean and modern with a great pool. It was set on the waterfront. Our room was fine with a city view. The reception wasn't that knowledgeable. Eventually, they verified the ferry time to Rote tomorrow. We had a swim in the pool, a walk around the neighbourhood and dinner. The walk was pleasant through the fish market and the path along the waterfront. 25 SEPTEMBER 2018

We had an ordinary breakfast, checked out and caught a taxi to the harbour for the fast boat to Ba'a, Rote. The ticket queue was chaos. I battled my way to the counter and got the VIP seats on the boat for us and another Australian couple we just met.

BEROWRA CREEK KAYAK - 26 MARCH 2016

Berowra Creek is about an hour drive from home, so hoping for a quiet start I drove off in the dark and reached Berowra by first light.


It took awhile to find a parking and launching place. The tide was low and there was a big drop from road to water and most of the access points were on private land. Luckily, I found a spot though it was very slippery on the rocks leading down to the water's edge.

I paddled past some small marinas and reached the Berowa Ferry. I had to wait till the ferry passed and the cables of the ferry were underwater before I could paddle past... no drama.

After a short distance, I paddled around a bend and there were no more boats or houses just mangroves and still reflective water.

The paddle was for 3 hours plus. The best parts were the small tributaries.

One was narrow and ended in a dripping waterfall. I wandered around carefully on the slippery rocks.

Another tributary went under a walking track bridge and ended when the water was too shallow for the kayak. I paddled back to the bridge and walked around the area and onto the bridge which was a part of the Great North Walk. There was a very pretty saltmarsh on one side of the creek that was dotted with spider webs on the top of the tall reeds.

Another tributary was bounded on one side by sheer cliffs with huge sandstone overhangs that overlapped the creek. One day they will fall but not today. Further along the creek, were some rock obstacles to paddle around with the creek finally ending for me in a tumbling spread of body size rocks. The sunlight was filtering through the trees and highlighted certain rocks and vegetation in the bushy area.

It was a hard 10 km kayak as I was paddling against the tides in both directions. Still, it wasn't that hard.

PALM BEACH BARRENJOEY - FERRY, HIKE, BREAKFAST - 20 JANUARY 2016

A big day out today.

Jacinta and I were up early to get a ferry from Ettalong to Palm Beach.



We missed the 7am ferry by 2 minutes. The next ferry was at 8am. We drove and had a short wander around Pearl Beach.

We were back with time to spare for the ferry. It is such a great ferry ride especially at $22.50 return. The seats were comfortable and on boarding we made our way to the top open deck.

We cruised along the shores of Ettalong and out through the narrow channel from Brisbane Water to Broken Bay. It is amazing how close to the barnacled rocks and the shallow sand banks the large ferry maneuvers.

Out on the open water of Broken Bay and top speed to Palm Beach passing by Lion Island and into Freshwater.

We disembarked at the wharf on the Freshwater side of Palm Beach and walked up the hill and amazingly, there was no footpath so the traffic was very close as we trudged between the guard rails and the cars.

We followed the beach till we reached the path leading up to Barrenjoey Lighthouse.

It was a steep hike and the day was already very hot so we were drenched in sweat by the time we reached the summit.

The lighthouse was impressive and there was a track leading out along and down the ridge towards the point of Barrenjoey. It was very dry and the vegetation still showed the effects of the last bush fire in this area - few large trees, burnt trunks with blackened skeleton branches and metre high regrowth. Walking along the track was fun with rocks to drop across and down. The views were superb both north and south.

We quickly reached the bottom by retracing our steps and stopped at the Boat Shed for breakfast. This restaurant was such a nice setup - cool, breezy, great views, good service and good food.

We continued walking to Palm Beach. The water looked inviting but there was no shade and we were overdosed already from the sun and heat. So we walked back to the ferry, cooled off on the seabreeze once underway, bounced a little with the swells of Broken Bay and landed back at Ettalong.

We decided it was too early to head home so we drove to Pearl beach for a cooling swim in the ocean.

A nice day. :)

INDONESIA - ROTE - April 2013

In retrospect this was the best part of the trip. It was a new area for me and it had adventure, great surf, good food, and good accommodation - the lot.

I left Kupang at the fast boat harbour. I couldn’t get a VIP ticket (sold out) so I was economy. It was okay below deck but it was very, very hot. At Ba’a harbour, which was a pier, I alighted with great difficulty due to the narrow gangplank and the drop below into the water. Luckily, I was okay. At the end of the pier a van was waiting. The car to Nemberala was 300 000R but another person shared so only 150 000R.

I arrived at Kioan Traditional Village or Lualomba Bungalows and was greeted by Jenet. Jenet ‘s husband David was away. The room was great – clean, firm bed, mozzie net, stand fan, mandi and a small veranda.

400 000R with three meals and one boat trip per day and free mountain bike usage. Dave Ph +6281239478823

I settled in and Jenet showed me the way to the restaurant and beach. Of course coming back, I got took the wrong turn but it was fun cycling around the back roads.

The rest of the time was surfing, eating, sleeping, talking to people and exploring.

I hired a motorbike (50 000R with board racks) and drove for ages on a number of occasions along the relatively flat coastline. There were some great white sand beaches, reefs, small villages and headlands. I stopped at most and had a wander around. I found a number of other surf breaks along the coast. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a good spot for snorkelling.

The locals were nice people. In Nemberala, they were use to tourists and didn’t pay me much attention though they were friendly. In the outer areas, the kids were thrilled to see you, shout hello and have a small conversation. I chatted me a few older people in Bahasa. Their lives were quiet and relaxed. No one seemed stressed out or too worried about money. A lot of people gathered seaweed, fished or farmed.

Not far from the guesthouse was an outdoor covered kitchen with underground oven. The lady there made gula Rote (like golden syrup) every morning. The oven was pretty cool looking being made under the ground with three open sections for cooking. I bought a litre of the stuff for 20 000R. I had a bit of a taste then gave it away.

Jenet who ran the guesthouse was nice though language could be a problem sometime. Atta her sister worked there and in the restaurant. Shirley and Augustine worked in the restaurant. The food was really good and there was a variety to choose from on the wall menu.

I met another of other tourists and expats – all very nice. I had a number of surfs with Andy, Richard and Adam. Later, Andy and I travelled back to Bali.

The surf was epic – it was had height when I arrived but eventually got very big and stayed like that for a few days before dropping to fun size again. There were a number of breaks but only a few accessible by land. There were a number that could only be reached by boat and the boat wasn’t cheap. So a small crew is needed to share the costs to get to some of the breaks.

Well, it seems after writing that not much happened but sometimes that makes for an epic trip.

A couple of things stood out overall:

It was very hot.

It was hotter on the beach.

On some nights it was so hot that the bed was drenched with perspiration.

Cold beers tasted better there.

Boats weren’t that easy to organise to the surf.

There are hardly any signs pointing out where guesthouses were.

Paths stopped abruptly at times.

The locals were very healthy looking.

It takes two days to get to Rote and two days to get back to Bali.

Jenet was good at getting things arranged – such as boat tickets, transport, etc.

Italy - Venzio (Venice) - july 2006

We stayed outside Venice at a seaside camp area. The beach was filthy with cigarette ash and the water was murky but cool. The camp had entertainment every night.

Down the road from the camp were ferries to Venice and other places. We took a boat trip to Venice, stopping at and walking around Burano and Murano. At venice we walked around the small streets, churches and squares and took a gondola ride (expensive but cool).