It was a beautiful sunny morning and the bay was like a mill pond. Taking advantage of the still conditions we got the drone out and took a few photos.
We departed Mickeys Bay at 1030 with a SW wind of 10-15 knots. An hour and a half later we anchored off Wares Point in Great Taylors Bay. Looking at the beach we could see a camp ground and a number of people walking up and down the sandy beach enjoying the sunshine and the lovely clear waters. After lunch we grabbed the backpack and went ashore to walk the 4km to the Bruny Island Lighthouse. From the top of the cliffs we caught our real first glimpse of the Southern Ocean!
In 1835 there were three ship wrecks in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. One of them, a convict transport ship named “George III”, was carrying 134 passengers when it was wrecked at the entrance of the channel killing all passengers on board. As a result of the wrecks the Cape Bruny lighthouse was built in 1838. It was designed by colonial architect John Lee Archer and was built by convicts from local rock. To this day this lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse still standing in Australia.
The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1996 after 158 years of service and replaced by a second lighthouse/tower which is fully automated and on a nearby headland. The original lighthouse was the longest continually manned lighthouse in Australia and has made the history books.