Home town Picture

This is a bit of a cheat really – I took the photograph last October. The snow capped mountain in the background is Adamson's Peak and it's a tough walk to the top. Not that I've ever done it but maybe one day.

Sometimes there'll be dolphins playing in the waters of the bay. One day when we were out on M's previous boat there was about thirteen of them, swimming alongside and under and around. It was one of the most beautiful sights to see. They were just having fun.

There's quite a few boats moored in this bay as it is quite sheltered from the really wild weather. They come in all sizes and colours. There's a number of fishing trawlers which go all around Tasmania looking for a good catch. Where I live they grow salmon in great, big, round pens, thousands of them. But we can't buy them here as they all get sent out for export. We also have oyster farms which you can buy, but we never do as we can collect them from the rocks for free! That's the best sort, particularly if you light a small fire on the rocks, have a small Barbie plate and steam them open. Add a touch of lemon and bliss.

In summer, there's always a "tinnie" (dinghy) out on the water; sometimes tourists but more often it will be one of the local lads, hoping for a fish supper. In winter you'll only see the true fishing fans out in the bay as it does get pretty cold out on the water, particularly if it's windy. A lot of people will drop a line from the main wharf, hoping for squid or any type of fish, but once again, you need to be well wrapped up in the sea breeze.

It's a pretty small town that I live in, one grocer, one supermarket, a baker, a chemist, a post office and a bank. The local hardware shop is part of the garage on the main strip. But there are a few places to have a coffee or grab a take-away, not that I ever do anymore. We also have a local police station with one policeman for the area. He likes boats too. So the main industries are fishing, farming, forestry and tourism. There are many beautiful spots around here; there is even a thermal pool with caves less than thirty minutes away. Further south by about twenty minutes there's some top surfing spots too.

Now that I've lived so close to the sea for the last fourteen years (six in South Australia, eight here in Tasmania) I couldn't imagine living away from it. To be continued……..

J