I thought readers might be interested in this trip as it was the first time it
had been attempted as an extended birding trip, taking in Port Davey and was a
great success despite not actually being able to reach Pedra Branca due to the
bad weather. If it had been a week earlier, it would have been a different
story. I hope it will inspire birders to make a similar attempt next year and
to discover the possibilities offered by this great charter vessel.
The bird list for the trip can be viewed by following this link:
http://1drv.ms/1h0bRcb
Kind regards,
Els Wakefield
La Golondrina voyage to SW and SE Tasmania 14th to 19th March 2014.
The six passengers, Karen Dick, John Lillywhite, Andrew Walter, Hazel Britton,
Peter Madvig and I drove down to Kettering, arriving just as La Golondrina
pulled up at the public jetty. We met Morrie Wolf, the skipper and Chrissie
Rowlands, the only crewmember. Chrissie showed us the cabins and we all
chose where to sleep - some down below on bunks, others under cover on deck in
single fold-up tents. The boat was very stable both for the rough weather
and for bird watching as well as tidy, clean and spacious. The toilet and
shower were in a combined space, which worked well. Morning tea with Morrie's
wife (Christine's) home made biscuits and fruit cake and then lunch with bread
rolls filled with thick slices of Morrie's famous pressed beef tongue and salad
were impressive.
Soon we were heading south but from the start, Morrie was concerned about our
wish to reach Pedra Branca, as the weather forecast was for gale force winds
and a four metre plus swells. He decided to head as far around the coast as
possible on the first day and so he managed to reach Port Davey that night, a
welcome respite from the large, following swell. On the way Morrie caught two
tuna, one of which was so large, he was tempted to cut it loose as he struggled
to bring it in. The coastal scenery along the way was magnificent with close
views of untouched bushland, high cliffs and rugged mountains. Other boats
anchored in Bramble Cove were grateful to receive newspapers that Morrie threw
to them as we arrived. He seemed to know everyone.
The weather forecast promised deteriorating conditions for the next few days so
Morrie felt we could afford a few days pottering around in the inland waters of
Port Davey. We motored as far as possible up to Melaleuca and then
transferred to the tender dinghy for the last, winding leg up to the home of
Jeff and Janet Fenton, greeting them with fresh crayfish as a "passport". From
there we walked to the bird feeding station where we were treated to great
views of 15 Orange-bellied Parrots, 20 Firetail Finch, a Striated Fieldwren, a
Tasmanian Scrubwren, a Ground Parrot and a Southern Emu-wren. That night,
tuna steaks were on the menu followed by Gravenstein apple crumble from the
Wolf garden.
Morrie had intended to take us up the Davey River to look for the Azure
Kingfisher on day three but during the night there was heavy rain that he knew
had flattened out the swell so he made a quick change of plan. The weather
forecast was for a 2 to 3 day gale that would have kept us in Port Davey but we
now had a 12-hour window to escape. Leaving early after hauling up some
crayfish, we headed past Maatsuyker Island for Recherche Bay with a dark storm
hard on our heels. Here we joined other boats taking shelter but the worst of
the weather further south was to come the following day, trapping those who had
lingered.
As our passengers were a hardy lot, despite the 3m swells, Morrie decided to
make an attempt at reaching the continental shelf the following morning. He
headed due east, past Bruny Island, across the notorious Storm Bay, to Tasman
Peninsula and Safety Cove. Here the jetty at Port Arthur was a safe
anchorage for an entrée of half a crayfish each followed later by tuna steaks
after a group of us had sneaked off to look unsuccessfully for the Masked Owls
by the light of a glorious full moon. Others stayed behind to try some squid
fishing from the jetty without success except for Morrie who caught a couple
while showing them how to do it!
To Chrissie's disappointment, these squid proved useful the following day, day
five, when we headed out to the edge of the continental shelf east of Tasman
Island and then north for several kilometres for a brief burley stop before
being chased back by another threatening storm. As there had been no time at
Port Davey for Morrie to catch a shark as he had planned, our burley was very
limited in quality and quantity, perhaps explaining the lack of diversity of
pelagic birds. Morrie timed our return from the shelf perfectly, lingering
near Visscher Island while Chrissie managed to bake a batch of savoury scones
as we retreated to Blackman Bay and shelter at Dunalley. Here we dined on
Chrissie's secret battered fish recipe while tied securely to the jetty.
Dunalley is slowly recovering from the devastating fires, which were still
obvious a year later from the water. The passage through the canal, hand dug
by convicts, went smoothly as the traffic was stopped for us to go past the
opened bridge. Chrissie served hot scones with home made apricot and
raspberry jams as we crossed Frederick Henry Bay. Travelling past various
small islands, extensive beaches and cliffs gave us an interesting perspective
on this magnificent, fairly untouched coastline that is not apparent from
shore. From here we slipped around the Iron Pot, the second oldest light in
Australia, now clad in scaffolding for restoration work. Then down the
D'Entrecasteaux Channel between Bruny Island and Tinderbox Peninsula, admiring
the historic old white and green pilot station houses opposite the entrance to
the Derwent River where the old sailing ships arrived from Europe after many
months at sea.
Throughout the trip, Chrissie was fantastic, always alert to everyone's needs
including the skipper's and quietly working in the background. The high
quality of the fresh home produce and the delicious meals prepared by cook
Chrissie made every meal a special occasion.
As a group, we all pitched in and helped when needed, looked out for each other
and took turns taking notes on the birds.
Arriving safely at Kettering, we knew that we had not reached Pedra Branca but
that Morrie had managed to do more than would have otherwise been possible
without his clever reading of the prevailing conditions. All were in grateful
appreciation of Morrie's amazing seafaring skills learnt from years of
experience. In addition his hospitality, warm personality and dedication to
offering us a comfortable, interesting and exciting experience made this a trip
of a lifetime.
Els Wakefield
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