06 Feb: Hobart (TAS) --> Bruny Island (TAS) --> Hobart (TAS).

Marc enjoying the very placid waters within Little Oyster Bay Cove

Finally: South Australia pics (Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide) are finished and posted!

+Marc and I had another early start this morning because we had a kayaking tour arranged outside of Hobart. When Marc was going through the Lonely Planet, he noticed a couple of interesting things to check out at a place called Bruny Island, and I wanted to kayak around there. So to make it work, we did a half day paddle and then spent the afternoon on Bruny.

I can't even begin to describe how amazing the conditions were for kayaking. It was warm (high teens/low 20s) and the sun was blazing. The water was calm and pretty much no wind or traffic was in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, which is where we kayaked with our guide from "Roaring 40s". Reg was engaging, informative and passionate about the area having grown up on Bruny, but also having the perspective of traveling the world.

LOCAL seafood - as in picked off the side of the bay!

We checked out an old shipwreck, saw some interesting coves and I got to eat a very fresh oyster from "Little Oyster Bay Cove" of all places. HA! Yum! We paddled through some of the larger boats moored in the marina in Kettering before getting back to the ferry in time for lunch.

On the ferry, we saw some dolphins jumping around. Unfortunately we only got one picture and it looks a bit blurry, but I'll post it to FB anyway. After a quick ride, we made it over to the Bruny Island Smokehouse where I had smoked wallaby for lunch and Marc played it safe with smoked chicken. Both were tasty and definitely smoked for real (guess our Big Green Egg experience has to be good for something, right?). 

Jill and Reg (our guide) on a magical morning in the D'Emtrecasteaux Channel. H/T to Marc for capturing this amazing shot

After lunch, it was pretty warm but we headed further south to Cape Bruny, the southern most part of South Bruny. Some dirt roads were involved (yeah for rental cars) but overall it was a nice and picturesque ride. The tide was very low on the west side of the island for the entire afternoon, which we found odd. We checked out the lighthouse and weather station. I am pretty sure Cape Bruny is the southern most point in Tasmania (and obviously Australia) but I need to check that.

After visiting Cape Bruny, we worked our way back up north to HIBA, a local place that makes chocolate and fudge on the island. You can only guess who wanted to stop there. Marc got his chocolate and then we ventured more north towards the Bruny Island Cheese Company (yeah for fromage!). I got a cheese platter for takeaway in what can best be referred to as a pizza box. My cousin, Scott, who runs Scott's Pizza Tours would be so impressed.

Cape Bruny Lighthouse, South Bruny, Tassie

We made it back to the ferry and got back to Hobart for a quick shower and a walk down to dinner. I wanted to check out a place that seemed to be making the news as *THE* place to go to in Hobart - Garagistes. While the food was very local and the service was attentive, the menu felt a bit too limited for us. Also I was disappointed that they pretty much had only French and Italian wines to choose from. I don't get how you flaunt that you use local ingredients but not back it up with the wine. That said, we enjoyed the food and the portions weren't so big that you felt too stuffed.

We got back to the flat where we are staying and agreed that we were looking forward to sleeping in. We did note that a fire did start near where we were planning to hike so we would have to potentially have a Plan B if the park was closed. We shall see.

Thanks for tuning in.