Boating To The Southern Ocean

Wildfires have been a big issue here this week.   Most of the island is effected in some way.  Many have lost their homes already,  and it could be days before the fires are under control.  The good news is that, as of now, no lives have been lost.  This is amazing, given that in one area, they thought they had a couple of days to get out,  but the fire surprised everyone. by traveling at 20 m/hr.  I am doing a cruise today,  and the tour company used their boats to help people get away from Port Arthur, which was cut off by the fires.   My guide today got a video of the fire jumping the bay, much to everyone's surprise.

So on to my adventure.  I went on a speed boat cruise of Bruny Island.  We go around the shore looking at dolerite cliffs and caves.  With one underwater cave, called breathing rock,  you hear a sound,  and then a few minutes later,  water explodes into the air 40 feet our more.   It was really cool.   We learned about lichen,  which covers the rocks and gives them color.  Rocks in some areas were golden,  other areas green.   I'm not sure what drives the different colors.   Lichen grows where both fungi and algae exist. If one dies, the lichen does.  Yet it is its own living organism.  In between the sights, we sped over the water.  I was near the front and it was often like a roller coaster ride.  They give everyone all-natural ginger seasick pills before we left to minimize people getting sick.

After exploring Bruny Island,  we left the Tasman Sea and sped through the Southern Ocean to some rocks in the middle of nothing that contained dozens of Fur Seals,  mostly relaxing in the sun.    On the way back we came across some albatross flying just over the water.  A couple of days earlier,  some girls I met had seem a baby whale swimming along with their boat.  I was hoping for something like that, or even dolphins, which are not unusual,  but no luck.

To get to and from Bruny Island, you drive to the coast, take a ferry to the island, and drive over Penguin Island,  across an isthmus, to Bruny.  I asked of we would are any penguins while were driving on Penguin Island,  and was informed there weren't any there.   It seems that when the first explorer landed on the island,  he saw a penguin and gave the island its name.   Add far as anyone knows,  there has never been another penguin on the island since then.  But they're suck with the name.

Bruny Island has only 650 permanent residents, but jumps to over 2000 in the summer.  Besides tourism, salmon farms and oysters are big business.  One the way home,  we speed at what was literally a but,  and several purchased a dozen orders or $2.00. These are the same oysters that are shipped to the restaurants in Host and throughout Australia.

Tomorrow I go to Mt. Field,  Mt. Wellington,  and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

Random Thought Odd The Day:  if you have an isthmus connecting two islands, to which island does the isthmus belong?