Today dawned with a repeat of yesterday's sunrise. It was not as cold as yesterday morning and we were up and about early to start on our 180km drive to Musselroe Bay on the north east corner of Tasmania.
The roads were quite good although 40% of the journey was on gravel roads. The only downer was the roughest of roads into Petal Point.
We drove most of the day through farming country with sheep and beef cattle predominating. Once again the herds and flocks were very large, no doubt reflecting the quality of the land for this purpose. One of the longest straight sections of road we have experienced since we have been in Tasmania was on our agenda today. It was such a change from so many of the roads through the mountains which twist and turn consistently.
We passed through a very small town named Rushy Lagoon It is a bit representative of some of the environment around here, a bit old and unloved. Much is being done to correct this but with a small population, the government has its work cut out for itself.
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| 220514 The sign is a bit worn out, not atypical of the area |
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| 220514 The town of Rushy Lagoon - a misnomer - no lagoon and no rushing |
Our first stop was at Tomahawk, a fishing village. Needless to say there were beaches and headlands there but no Indians. The weather had changed for the worse. Beaches are not the most pleasant places with cloud cover and wind.
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| 220415 The Beach at Tomahawk looking west |
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| 220415 Rocks on the beach from a little further east at Tomahawk |
Next we tackled the horrible road to Petal Point and later, a not so bad road to Little Musselroe Bay near Cape Portland. The latter was a delightful spot with an open beach and a lagoon type back beach. It is near the northernmost point of Tasmania's north coast.
There is a large wind farm, Musselroe Wind Farm at Cape Portland. It is the third wind farm in the state and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania. It has 56 wind generators.
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| 220415 The bay at Petal Point with portion of the wind farm in the background |
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| 220415 The beach and boat launching ramp at Petal Point |
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| 220415 Little Musselroe Bay with Little Swan Island in the background |
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| 220415 The Bass Strait beach at Little Musselroe Bay looking west |
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| 220415 The Bass Strait beach at Little Musselroe Bay looking east |
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| 220415 The lagoon's exit to the sea at Little Musselroe Bay |
There are some large sand dunes in this area.
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| 220415 The sand dunes behind Little Musselroe Bay |
Our final point of call was Musselroe Bay on the northeast corner of Tasmania. By this time we had some exposure to a very strong southerly wind. The ocean beach was a bit "wooly" and unpleasant.
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| 220415 The Beach at Musselroe Bay looking south |
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| 220415 The Beach at Musselroe Bay looking north |
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| 220415 The surf beach at Musselroe Bay |
During the day we saw Mt Cameron, a largish mountain to the south of the road in two different lights.
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| 220415 Mt Cameron (551m) near Gladstone on the way out |
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| 220415 Mt Cameron on the return trip |
An eventful day finished with us arriving back at Bridport with the sun shining and a warm 18 degree temperature.
We thought we should provide evidence of yesterday's claim that when the tide is out at Bridport, the tide is out.
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220415 When the tide is out at Bridport "harbour" the tide is out
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Also, there is an element of quaintness in Bridport as evidenced by a cottage near the caravan park. One should not be lulled into a sense of comfort when seeing Bridport as it is now, quiet and idyllic. Come summer, the population swells from the current 1200 to seven to eight thousand.
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| 220415 A quaint beach cottage across the road from the caravan park |
Our love affair with country humour was rewarded again today, with two offerings.
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| 220415 A whimsical sign at Gladstone |
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220415 At the entrance to Musselroe Bay, a good example of what happens
if you don't slow down and you do hit a child |
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