Bruny - an island of two parts

And that I did. (Slept well last night for those of you you have not read yesterday's lot).

Although we all refer to Bruny Island, this land, off the south-east coast of Tasmania, is  two islands connected by a long, narrow isthmus. We have spent the last day and a half on South Bruny and this morning are travelling up to North Bruny Island. We only have this one day, as we have booked accommodation for the next two nights at the House on the Hill, a B&B in Huonville.

The day has dawned nice and clear. Except for the occasional passing vehicle, we sit with  the door open, quietly contemplating our lot. There is no wind and the waves just gently kiss the beach, a sound we almost need to strain to hear. It is definitely  autumn. The morning light is gentle, almost weak, muting the colours of our surrounds. This morning, the water is the colour of my new jumper - a baby blue. There is a line of rocks that must be the edge of an underwater ledge. The waves roll gently over the line, in a line, perfectly horizontal to the narrow beach. Outside the protection of this little bay, the water is a deeper hue of blue and from the deck of our villa it almost looks navy. And, in the distance, the landmasses around us are softened by the early morning mist.

We take our time over break-fast. Croissant and roll, a shared banana, the last of our cheese and a couple of 'packet' lattes and we are ready to hit the road.

There is no one at the pub at this time of the day, so we leave the room key in the drop-box and head off. We make one stop at the Bread 'Fridge' and opening the door, are greeted by warm, yeasty smells. The magic baker has been hard at work and replenished the supplies, depleted by yesterday afternoon. 

Our final visit on South Bruny is to the Bruny Island Chocolate Company. We are told that the owner and manufacturer is a pastry cook by profession and fell in to fudge making about 10 years ago when he realised there was a market gap. There are the usual assortment of chocolates, catering to the family and mass markets, but they also have some nice speciality ranges including a boxed selection of six, described as "More than a heavenly chocolate indulgence, our delicious premium quality handmade fudge with a rich creamy texture and distinctive, mouthwatering flavour to satisfy the most discerning of connoisseurs". Add to the mixed box, i have a Hounds Tooth Tasmanian Whisky Fudge, two chocolate sauces - one Brandy and Cointreau and the other Chocolate Mint, a bag of chocolate caramels and chocolate fruit and nut mix fill our bags.

Next stop is The Neck - at the lookout high atop the only hillock on the isthmus that connects south to north Bruny. The tide is out and I can see Sandpipers busily digging in the exposed sandflats for tasty morsels to eat. There is the odd family with kids digging in the sand, hoping to find some sort of little treasure, and the occasional tourist couple, hand-in-hand without a care in the world, immersed in their togetherness, with not a single other soul in sight along the beach.

The steps up to The Neck lookout are insurmountable - at least for me. 279 steps are just too many more than the 14 steps at home! Gen graciuosly (although probably silently cursing) offers to climb for the photos. They are truly stunning. You look north and south, and across the bays devoid of almost all water - you can even see Kunanyi in the distance. What a sight. Gen tells me that there are lots of small burrows all up the side of the hill - home to Fairy Penguins no doubt.

All too soon, we are back on North Bruny, with a list of places to visit before we leave. First call is at the Bruny Island Honey where they have a huge swarm of bees busy in a perspex covered box, which is behind closed doors. We sample a number of their varieties and purchased a small pot of creamed honey 'Bruny Island Prickly Box' honey and some Manuka Honey lip balm. I had used a sampler to test it on my lips and there was no immediate bad reaction, so finger's crossed they might help relieve them. The winds are not chaffed lips friendly!

Honey done, we move on to the Bruny Island Cheese Company. Fresh cows milk cheeses are made on the island from O.D.O. (one day old) cheese to a range of soft rind, washed rind and cheddar styles cheeses. Gen really only likes the two milder cheddar styles, but I am in my element. Not a blue in sight, but the washed and soft rind cheeses are very edible, lacking that acrid bite that often comes with a young, immature cheese. It's close enough to lunch time to sit and savour the bites here. Also on offer are ciders and beers with some other local wines and sparkling drinks, but for the time being, we just sit with apple juice (cos you can't be in Tasmania and not have the Apple Juice!) and coffees. A selection of three cheeses - O.D.O., Tom and Saint - refer to their website linked above for a description, proscuito, baguette, Ligurian olives and pickled beetroot and gherkins. Very tasty. As neither of us are oyster fans, we skip the Oyster Shack and instead head to the Bruny Island House of Whisky - much more my tipple of choice!

The Bruny Island House of Whisky sits high on a hill just 1 km from the Ferry to Kettering (Tasmanian Mainland). They boast the largest selection of Tasmanian Whisky's for sampling. Given that I haven't gone looking for other tasting rooms, I am happy to take them at their word! You can choose a 'flight' of four whiskies from one of four shelves all differing in price - from $60 per person up to the Champions (top) shelf at $295 pp. This is after all, 4 nips of whisky. We splurge and choose level 2 @ $75pp and opt to just share the tasting. We had one nip of 1. Nant - Tasmanian Highlands Single Malt, Bourbon Cask, 2. Trappers Hut Limited edition Tasmania Single Malt Whisky, 3. Lark Malt Whisky Small Cask Renaissance and 4. Callington Mill Tasmanian Single Malt Tango. I think we both the last one best. And of course, we can't go passed without trying their Gin. I had a Seclusion Gin with Soda and Gen, not liking gin, had a non-alcoholic Raspberry and Chilli Sparkling Ginger Beer  - after all, she is driving lol. At just over $90, we have contributed very generously to the local economy here thank you!

The day is slipping by and we are no headed or the Huon Valley. The crazy thing is that while everything is so close (as the crow flies) in Tasmania, the travelling times are longer than anticipated due to the narrow, winding roads. So we are pleasantly surprised to find that the trip to Huonville is all on multi-lane highways - even if it is steep in places. Disappointingly, there is no where to pull over as the first views along the floor of the Huon Valley come into view. It is a stunning sight - with a long, fertile valley nestled at the base of ancient hills on either side. we will just have to come back and hope there is a lookout somewhere. Through Huonville we drive - its a slightly larger town and we see some take-away establishments (although none of the chains - yay!). Lining the road into the town are apple orchards - lots of them. And we pass the Willie Smith Apple Shed that we have heard so much of. We plan to return here tomorrow to sample some of the 70+ varieties of apples that they are supposed to grow.

We follow Google maps to find The House on The Hill B&B that we are booked in to for the next 2 days. Turns out we don't need to find that lookout after all - this is set high on the Hill overlooking Huonville and we can look up and down that fertile valley. I'll make sure that Gen includes some pics on Facebook. Owner Paul greets us and shows us into a lovely double room, with a huge bathroom and access to a large dining and lounge area and verandah off that. Paul explains that the original house was built in the early 1980's and added on to in the late 1990s. It is very well set-up for a B&B.

There is one other couple here at the same time - they arrive back from their outing about 30 minutes before Dinner. 

Paul has a limited menu and we have both chosen Seafood Bisque - tomatoes, herbs, cream, potatoes and seafood to be followed by 'The Best Tasmanian" Cheese platter and port for two!  OMG I can hardly swallow, I am so full! Paul's Bisque was home-made with home-grown potatoes and lots of Tasmanian seafood. Our plates were filled to the brim with Seafood - literally. There were mussels, prawns, calamari rings, scallops and fresh and smoked fish. He was explaining that he makes his fish broth on the shells and heads of the prawns. No wonder it tastes so rounded and complete! I couldn't finish my serve - he jokes that he only gave us a small bowl - Maaate, I'd love to see a big bowl!!

We finished the evening with Paul, asking him to share the ENORMOUS cheese plate - plated with about 6 cheeses, from blue, to soft crumbly cheddar to truffled to camembert etc. There were a variety of pastes, olives, gherkins (chillied), chorizo, salami and bread and crackers - we would have done better to have just had this platter! Served with a glass of Penfolds Club Port that matched the rich pickings beautifully.

We sit, we talk. We drink coffee and finish the night on caramels and truffles that we purchased this morning. All in all, a lovely way to spend the evening.  Paul had asked what time we wanted breakfast in the morning. Origianlly we said 8am, but have changed that to 9 am - to make sure our digestive systems are ready for the next generous servings!  Pays to stay in local small hotels, B&Bs etc and not in the big multi-nationals. The people you meet are so passionate about what they do and the area that they are in. 

Nitey nite, my head is telling me I need to go to bed 😉😉