North, South, East & West

We have now been to the end of the earth... well the most southern tip of Australia that is. It is now a quest of mine to visit each compass point, having already done the most easterly (Cape Byron).

End of the road, can't drive any further south in Australia!

But back to Tasmania for now. We are currently ‘free camping’ (yeah the solar works), near Recherche Bay. Our campsite is called Gilhams Beach, but I prefer to call it the Enchanted Forest. We have had perfect weather- bright sunny days and not too hot. Each morning as I awake, I am greeted by the twittering birds, and a view of bright green ferns. From the ferns protrude lichen covered trees that gently sway in the morning breeze. The ground underfoot is soft, covered by both grass and sphagnum moss. I expect to hear a fairy in this enchanted garden..... is that one? No, it is just Dave relieving his bladder, looking more and more like Grizzly Adams each day.

Recherche Bay

This area was once alive and plans were afoot to build schools, houses and shops. Back then in the late 1800’s whaling was thriving, and when that ran out there was always coal and of course the timber. Alas, as each year the ocean was turned to a sea of red, the whales were soon to be no longer. These days Recherche Bay has a handful of houses and occupants, nearby Cockle Creek a population of 3

Cockle Creek, Population 3!

I guess that is what makes this World Heritage listed area so wild and alluring, riddled with natural beauty and remnants from a bustling past.

Recherche Bay

Our first day, we walked just over an hour to Fishers Point around the rocky coastline, past ancient aboriginal midden and whalers grave sites. The remnants of the old pilot’s house (which was also a pub at one stage) and scattered whale bones

Fishers Point, sheep carasses and crab pots....

from a bygone era made the scene quite eerie. Someone obviously wanting to make this ghostly vision even more so, had deposited an old cray pot with a sheep carcass atop,
next to a tall pile of rocks, with twigs jutting out at all angles. It was a scene from a pirate movie, made all the more real when a baby brown snake came into viewsunning itself almost guarding Fishers Point.,
After a day toying with ghosts from the past, it was time for a hearty meal. You may remember an old one legged bushie made me a camp oven from a LPG bottle, back in Queensland? Well we have now christened her, having bought a ‘campie’ to go inside. After a couple of hours our roast beef and vegetables, were ready. While we sipped a glass of red and enjoyed our roast, the camp oven embers kept us warm and toasty.
Our discovery of this area not yet complete, we packed supplies for the big one- a walk to the most southern point, having reached the ‘end of the road’ by car. Setting off we were greeted by a rocky path, made so from a glacial past. Just as our feet became sore from the uneven ground, open heath land lay ahead.

Wildflowers on our walk to the bottom of Australia

A boardwalk made it easy going through the thick wildflowers out in bloom and with the sky a bright blue above, we could see La Perouse mountain and her permanent patch of snow. The open heath gave way to a rainforest, with a fresh water stream to refill our drinking bottles. A couple of hours later, up and over a small rise, there she was- the bottom of Australia.

The bottom of Australia!

Parts of the coastline looked like a moonscape- a reminder of how cold winds and rain can ravage this remote wilderness. There was now nothing between us and Antarctica. Traversing the ‘moonscape’ we descended some steps to the beach. It is a long walk to this spot, but not a hard one. This is handy given the keen surfers who carry their boards all that way, in order to be able to claim to have surfed the southern most beach of Australia.
After a long day of navigating this land (and some weary legs), it was round two of using our campie. With the leftover roast beef and some fresh vegetables we made a casserole. Just what the doctor ordered as the sun set and the cold night air crept into our campsite.
After 4 nights here, we will again impose on our Tasmanian hosts- Kel and Dean for a ‘real’ shower and some washing before we set off on our next wilderness adventure.