It’s been a bit of a hiatus between adventures after poor Gemma was unwell for a bit. The itch to get out and explore more of Tassie was at last scratched last weekend, as we took a trip South……waaaaaaaay South. Pretty much as far South as you can possibly go in Australia to be precise. We drove to the end of the asphalt at Cockle Creek and then hiked for a further two hours to get to the beach at South Cape Bay. It’s a place that feels truly remote and barren, despite being fairly easy to get to.
Windeward Bound looking very much at home in this distant corner of the ocean.The height of the season on the Costa Del Crab. Yes those purple blobs are crabs……thousands and thousands of them live on the muddy shores of Cockle Creek.Hi Ho Hi Ho it’s off to South Cape Bay We Go!“Hello me”Making our way out onto the lovely open grassland between the start of the trail and the last stretch of woodland before hitting the coast.Tasmania sure has some pretty native grasses.Much of the trail across the grass is on boardwalks, easy to walk on and helps protect the environment.Native Tasmanian Orchids. Pretty.Botanists of the World, you’ll need to help me out with this one.Pretty little fluffy Acacia.The glorious Tasmanian Waratah. It’s not as voluptuous as other Waratah but it’s still rather beautiful.These are Pea Flowers I believe.Another lovely plant i’m not 100% sure about.Aha, I know this one! đŸ™‚“Shhhh, you didn’t see me”How many millions of years are on display right here? Some epic geology at South Cape Bay.There’s some really interesting structures in the rocks at the top of the beach.These beautiful succulents dotted the rocky shoreline at South Cape Bay.Someone could make a lovely bit of furniture out of this i’m sure.Looking down the beach to the West.Wild, remote and glorious seas.Gemma taking in the serenity.I can only imagine how battered this coastline gets in the Winter.The interesting geology at the top of the beach seems to be unlike the rest of the area. It looks almost volcanic in places.The obligatory jumping shot đŸ™‚Tannin water, meet ocean…..Ocean, meet tannin water. They got on just great.Lion Rock in all its glory. It pays to wander down the beach and watch this chunk change shape as you pass it.A fine piece of seaweed washed ashore.Is this a) leather or b) seaweed?The fascinating shapes left in the sand from the never ending movement of the ocean.A lonely shell waits for the sea to return it to its family. Awwww đŸ˜¦
There’s also a sad reality to this place, in that no matter how far you venture from civilisation, you’ll always be brought back down to earth by our impact on the environment.
We’ve all seen those harrowing images in National Geographic of the seabirds and marine life who’s stomachs are filled with micro plastics. I always thought it was something that happened out in the Pacific, on the atolls and distant islands but there it was, right below our feet on South Cape Bay. Amongst the line of debris left by the receding tide was a scattering of tiny colourful bits of plastic. It’s something completely different from the usual driftwood and bits of rope we expect to see on our beaches. It’s scary to think that out there in the ocean, there’s an entire clump of this plastic…….the size of Mexico!
Czeching Out Tasmania 