Back to Bruny

Monday 11^th Sept, 2017.

We’re heading back to Bruny Island today, this time for 4 nights. No rush to get going, we just need to be out of our hotel room by 10am but I think we’re out by 9.30. We walk down to the shopping centre to buy the groceries we need to be self-sufficient for breakfasts and dinners on the island. We buy Tassie salmon steaks, pork chops and a butterflied chicken, so that’ll be enough for 4 dinners, with ingredients for salad accompaniments. 

We spotted some shops yesterday that we wanted to stop off at on the way to Kettering today, added to by talking to a lady at the Bruny Island Café yesterday who gave us the head’s up on a few off the main road. We possibly spent a bit too much time poking around because we just made the 3.30 ferry, so didn’t get to our temporary home till nearly 4.30. Doesn’t matter, we explored a bit and picked up some op shop bargains. Salvos and Vinnies at Kingston; Lifeline ‘Chosen Pieces’ at Kingston Beach, and the 2^nd hand store at Kingston Beach, all worth a look. Lunch was at the Kingston Beach Corner Takeaway, good burgers, but the fellow behind the counter could do with some customer relations training. We didn’t see the Salty Dog Hotel across the road, that might have been a better option. Heading to Margate, we drive through Blackman's Bay, recommended to us by Casey, wife of Jeff's nephew.

When we were in the 2^nd hand shop, I was reminded of the Tip Shop at Margate, we had to stop in there! Somehow, we had it in our head that the next ferry to Bruny was 4pm, so we called in at the tip shop and had a decent look around then headed to the ferry in case it was busy. No, the next ferry was actually 3.30. We made it with 10 minutes to spare! We were on the bottom deck on the way back yesterday and it was so tight where we were that we couldn’t even open the door to get out of the car. We were on the bottom deck again today, but further forward, so there was a bit more room and we could get out and watch where we were going. 

The drive to Lunawanna is fairly easy, and we don’t stop off on the way. It’s always busy straight off the ferry but the cars eventually turn off at different places, so eventually, we have the raod to ourselves. The biggest disappointment so far is that the lookout at The Neck is closed for improvement work, so there is no chance of stopping in there and getting the iconic photos from this place. Although, if we are in the right place at the right time, ie after the workers have left for the day, we might be able to sneak through the barriers. Problem with that is that the workers don’t leave till nearly 5 o’clock, not your typical council workers! We’ll see………………… 

Our accommodation, Aisling, at Lunawanna, is just perfect! There is a combustion fire that we start up straight away although the house isn’t as cold as we expected it to be. While Trevor unpacks and gets settled in, I go for a quick walk up the road to see if there’s a way through from the end of our street, King St, onto Bruny Main Rd. It’ll make the walk to the Bruny Island Winery much quicker. The map shows that the road joins the main rd but we didn’t see it on the way in. It doesn’t join up. There’s a bit of a gully between the end of our road and the main road which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the big wet bit in the very bottom. Nothing that a thick wooden plank across it wouldn’t fix! Mustn’t suit the locals to have people going through that way. So it looks like if we walk to the winery, it’ll be the long way around. About 1.5km.

Walking back down to the waterfront and along to the left, I find the track down on to the beach that our host told us about, and also a spot to collect pine cones for the fire. This house is fantastic, I can easily see us coming back here.