Wednesday 20th January 2021 Little Norfolk Bay – Eagle Hawk Neck – Lime Bay

Thankfully the wind had backed off to less than 10 knots, and there was a sunny sky. At 0830 we motored around the point to Eagle Hawk Neck. Eagle Hawk Neck is a narrow 30 metre-wide isthmus that joins the Tasman Peninsula to the rest of Tasmania.
Once ashore our first destination was the Dog Line. Ferocious dogs were used to guard the narrow isthmus to prevent convicts escaping from the nearby penal colony. The dogs, which were located on platforms in the water and across the narrow neck of land, would bark and alert the soldiers at the slightest disturbance.

Located 10 minutes up the road is the tessellated pavement. The pavement reminded me of Oma and Opa’s bluestone driveway. An extremely rare type of natural erosion has occurred along this section of coast on the flat rock in a pattern of regular rectangular saltwater pools. This type of erosion is known as tessellated pavement for its resemblance to Roman mosaic floors. There are two forms of this pavement, loaf formation which is when the edges of the stone are worn away by the saltwater leaving a rounded crown, similar to the look of rising bread. The opposite effect is known as depressions when the centre is worn away into pools.

We rock hopped back along the shore then walked along the beach as we watched surfers get pounded by 4 metre waves as they tried to get past the shore break, it did not look like fun. At 1130 we departed Eagle Hawk Neck. There was now less than 5 knots of wind, so we motored the 1 ½ hours to Lime Bay. Arriving at Lime Bay was like being in paradise, sunny skies, tropical looking waters and sandy beaches. Little Norfolk Bay and Eagle Hawk Bay had rocky shores and mud bottoms which was great for anchoring, but a pain having to blast the mud from the chain with the deck wash prior to it going into the locker.

Mark, Georgie and Lucy had no trouble catching 10 flathead. We are very happy with our provisioning to-date, the only purchases being fresh vegetables, fruit, milk, bread and chicken. The fish has become a welcome addition to our menu.