VDLC 2015 Day 4 and 5

VDLC 2015 Day 4 and 5 Saturday was a relatively lazy day on Fargo with the weather holding us on board and below decks for much of the day until mid afternoon when cabin fever got the better of me. Having brought a Tri-suit wetsuit with me I simply blew the cobwebs away with a brief swim across the bay to the shore. After making my way back to the Fargo I found the skipper the only willing participant in a beach walk.
Quickly changing into my walking gear and taking the dinghy to shore Barrie and I set out walking south to the aptly named Stinking Creek then further on through the tall forest towards Robey’s Farm. Along the way we passed a small Eco lodge tucked innocuously in a shallow gully in the forest. Black cockatoos fed noisily in the banksias all around.
Catching up with Rob and Sarah from the Aurora on our walk we soon made plans for a Sunday expedition to French’s Farm and the convict ruins a little to the north of Chinaman’s Bay.
Wind and threats of rain greeted us again Sunday morning but our party of 6 walkers headed out into an increasingly sunny day.
We walked along the beach to the north crossing into the forest to reach French’s Farm and then heading west to the old convict cells high on the hill.
This arrangement of 30 or more small red brick cells with earth floors all in an east west line is a sad testament to former times.
Unlike many former convict buildings this structure shows no evidence of being conserved in any way but rather is left to the elements and is bereft of any interpretive signs to elucidate its past. The sandstone block staircase that once would have accessed a cellar below the main building shows evidence of fine craftsmanship of convict stonemasons but now the kangaroos and the wombats have free reign over the site which seems to be visited by only the occasional curious walker such as ourselves. Along our walk we saw Forester Kangaroos and wombats together with Bennett’s Wallabies, Yellow Tail Black Cockatoos, lorikeets and on the beach today for the first time we saw Kelp Gulls as well as the Pacific Gulls.
The usual suspects of Silver Gulls ,Terns and Oystercatchers and our patrolling solitary Musk Duck made the walk worthwhile for this part time “twitcher”.
Tonight we sat out the radio sked on the “Great Sandy“ enjoying the hospitality of Michael and Glen Gloster and the company of our fellow walkers Rob and Sarah -the crew of the Aurora 3.
The evening was rounded off back on the “Fargo” with a feed of fresh flathead and chips which we caught through the afternoon at our mooring. Our stay in Chinaman’s Bay at Maria Island has been longer than originally anticipated with stronger north east winds and rain keeping our northward passage on hold until at least Monday morning.
We anticipate being able on Monday to proceed north along Mercury Passage to Schouten Island at the southern end of the Freycinet Peninsula. Our progress from there is entirely weather dependant.