The End of the Road - Cockle Creek

From Snug we meandered south, via Cygnet.  We resupplied at some roadside stalls and had the pleasure of tasting some of the best cherries we had ever eaten.

We made our way across the rickety old bridge at Cockle Creek, and visited the somber whale sculpture, before setting up camp nearby.  

The Bridge to Cockle Creek Campground

French Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was the first European to stop by this way, on his search for La Peruse (who sailed into Sydney literally hours after the First Fleet arrived and was subsequently shipwrecked in the Solomon Islands)

The French took fresh water, built an observatory and planted some exotic species, in the name of science.  Their encounters with the Aboriginal people living in the area were friendly, however it wasn't long until whalers, sealers and timber cutters were to change this area forever.

Thankfully this beautiful part of the coast has since been protected, and a magnificent Elephant Seal made use of the sheltered warm beach for a quiet nap.

Just dropped in for an afternoon nap

Enjoying the last of the sun before slipping back into the water

The sunset was simply spectacular, as we enjoyed the best weather of the trip so far.

Cockle Bay at Sunset

Having come so close to the southern most point of Tasmania, we decided to hike to South Cape Bay, to see the Cape.   It is signposted as a four hour return walk, but the track was a little muddy after the recent rains - much to the boy's satisfaction.  This walk is either the first or last day of a multi-day walk through the wilderness, and we met several hikers on day six or seven, and one fellow who had been eleven days on the trail!  Boys were impressed.

On the trail - South Cape Bay Walk

Over the Butt Grass Swamps

Getting closer now - coastal tea tree

The view was spectacular when we came upon the cliffs and looked towards South Cape and down on the mighty Southern Ocean.  We all concluded it was well worth the effort.

We made it - and South Cape is over our right shoulders!

We paused to ponder the mighty Southern Ocean - Next stop Antarctica!

The boys must have been getting hungry because they shaved 40 minutes of the return journey, making our total time on the trail a very reasonable five hours neat.  Not bad for little legs!  Our rule of thumb for walk lengths has been their age plus one in kilometers. They were mighty proud to have smashed 15 kilometers - and I was glad not to have to carry either or both of them!  Perhaps it was a good thing Mum didn't read the fine print in the Parkes Tasmania brochure before we set off or we might not have been so confident!

Proud boys - and deservedly so.

We loved Cockle Creek as our first real bush camp of the trip.  It was time to start heading north, and our next destination was another island... Bruny Island!