North Bruny

Tuesday 12 Sept, 2017.

Slow start this morning, we need to catch up with ourselves. The plan today is to head up to North Bruny and explore around Dennes Point. A bit of drizzly rain rolls in, so we take it easy on the gravel road that takes us back to Alonnah, where the road is sealed again. Back through the roadwork at The Neck, past the Bruny Island International Airport, LOL, we skip past the BI Honey and pull in to the BI Cheese Co and BI Beer Co, the cheese being the big drawcard. Trevor’s not keen on boutique beer, so we pass on the tasting paddle, 4 beers for $12. Around the back of the building there’s a big window where you can watch the cheesemakers at work, all very interesting. Back inside, you can see into the cheese room, where there’s a man vacuum cleaning the cheeses and turning them on to clean shelves. Oh, to be turned loose in there!! Of course, the obligatory tour arrives right after us, so the tasting counter is engulfed, and we don’t want to get caught up in that, so explore the other items on the shelves, mostly goodies in jars. Relishes, pickles, honeys, pickled walnuts, it just went on and on. Eventually, the tasting counter cleared and we were able to taste all the cheeses without the crowd. No surprise that I liked the soft ones the best and Trevor preferred the hard ones. Problem was that the soft ones only came in one size for purchase (large) and Trevor didn’t really want to buy the hard ones. Maybe we’ll just go back for another taste another day! 

We’d already decided that we were going to have lunch at Get Shucked, the oyster farm and oyster bar. Best decision ever! We started with the mixed dozen oysters, 4 natural, 4 kilpatrick and 4 Asian Fusion. The Asian Fusion were out of this world and I could have eaten them all day! Crumbed and fried oysters, topped with a sprinkle of mustard seeds and chilli, served in the shell on a bed of thin rice noodles, finely chopped veg (carrot, red cabbage, spring onion) with an asian dressing made from soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, mustard seeds, (bit odd but good) something else …………………………… can’t remember.

We went back for more Asian Fusion oysters and also tried the oyster wontons, which were a bit disappointing, they were deep fried and we were imagining that they’d be steamed. The guy behind the counter who served us was very knowledgeable about oysters and their cultivation and the amount of oysters they shuck per day over summer is staggering. There is an indoor seating area as well as an outdoor undercover area, and the grounds are home to some interesting metal sculptures, made from old bits and pieces; horseshoes, big drill bits, old chain, car springs and pick heads. Very creative.

From there we head north again to do a lap around the northern end of the island, out to Barnes Bay, Quarantine Bay, Killora, Nebraska Beach and Dennes Point on the northernmost tip. It’s at this point that the submarine cable comes across with electricity from Tinderbox, on the Tasmanian mainland. I looked at an Airbnb place at Dennes Point. I’m glad I decided against booking in there. It was only because it was so far to one end of the island, Lunawanna is fairly in the middle, always a good choice in my opinion. The old quarantine station would have been an interesting spot to have a look at but, of course, it’s closed today. Only open Thurs – Mon. Not sure what’s so special in there that they keep it behind a locked gate, but anyway………….. their loss! Nebraska Beach is interesting. On the way down the hill, it looked like bathing boxes on the foreshore, but when we got there, we weren’t really sure what they were. Maybe they were boatsheds?? Who knows? 

It’s been very slow going around this end of the island. The roads are mostly gravel and even though in good condition, they’re windy, hilly and narrow, and it’s a wet day, and we barely see another car all the way around. We find a good spot to pull off the road and take some photos across the channel to the mainland, there’s a left hand hairpin bend past the quarantine station and the spot is before you get to Killora. The weather is still drizzly rain, but the view would be fantastic on a good day. It’s not looking good for Aurora spotting tonight. And there’s nothing we need to come back to Dennes Point for. 

Surprisingly the council workers are still on-site at The Neck when we come through at 4.30, we thought they’d be gone by now, so we plan to try again tomorrow and hopefully the weather will be better. By the time we get home and start the fire, it’s nearly 5pm but I take my glass of wine out onto the front verandah anyway. It’s not all that cold, and the view is worth it.