Lighthouse caretaking

We are all just visitors here

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Once again as caretakers, we realize we are the visitors here. This was so well put by the last caretaker at Seguin Island, where we were this fall. Many of the boats who stop here have been here many times. They have seen the changes and improvements on Deal Island. Some met the last lighthouse keepers.

The past couple of days, we had three boats with people who had never been here before and then we get to share the magic of Deal island with them: lovely island, wonderful walks, historic buildings and views. There is a wooden boat festival about to take place in Hobart and many beautiful boats stopped here on their way south. Today’s boat reminded me of the African Queen. They had to leave one crew member behind because of the large cyclone, Yasi, that is about to hit Cairns, near his home.

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There is a fence around the compound, in theory, to keep the wallabies out. In reality, they find their way in and at the moment we must have about a dozen in the outer compound. They and the Cape Barren Geese will be here long after we are gone. We are all fenced in together.

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Caretaker Residence Deal Island
We hope to replicate a table built by a previous caretaker when we get home. i have taken photos of it and we will put it in our living room as a reminder of Deal Island. I think we will leave out the goose head though.

Deal Island Table - 1

How I procrastinate digging ditches while Tim works

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We heard an Air-Sea rescue the other night on the VHF radio. Someone fell overboard, we don’t know where or from what sort of boat because we never heard the distress call. But a Coast Guard boat and a helicopter went to the scene to search. We could hear them talking to each other. The people on the boat could initially hear the person but not see them. The chopper flew away for a bit to let the boat listen and they managed to pull the person out of the water. Nice.

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We are on our one day on, one day off schedule for clearing the ditch along the lighthouse trail. The other day, I walked up to the lighthouse to open it up, mop up water and let it air before I started raking. This gave me an hour reprieve. I have to confess I was listening to Michael Jackson on my iPod, who really knew how to write dance music. So i danced on the lighthouse hill in the wind. Nice. It is a good thing the helicopter wasn’t hovering nearby because they may have thought I was in distress.

My work site

We think we only have three days left of work on the road. In the meantime, I found an old map, which says there are five more cairns on the island besides the three we have already seen. I know what we are doing on our off days. I was a whirlwind the other day. After I worked on the track I came back and cleaned the whole house.e think we only have three days left of work on the road.

This included taking out the vacuum (for the first time since I sucked up the huntsmen spider from the shower). I began very gingerly and made sure the suction was on right away. When I was done, I changed the bag so we can incinerate the old one, which was full. To my horror, there is no flap, the paper towel I stuffed into the hose may have been the only thing between it and me.

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I have opted to exclude any more spider photos for fear of losing my son as a reader. Then of course when I went to open the lighthouse today, an insect not a spider, was waiting for me and jumped on me when I opened the door. I let out a nice scream. I’ll show a photo of a lizard instead. I have a photo of the insect and while it’s not a spider, it is pretty scary looking.

Our food is holding out if you are not reading the food blog, but we didn’t bring enough chocolate or snacks. The next batch of beer, which was fortified with extra sugar and took forever to stop fermenting, will be ready this Friday. The garden is lush. We’ve finally had our first tomatoes. Yesterday, I transplanted a bunch of seedlings and then we had 30 knot winds for two days. Nice timing. Today I went back and propped up the ones that fell over.

This is what I do while Tim keeps working. I look for nice shots of the lighthouse and have been trying to find the site of a house, the halfway house, which used to be between the compound and the lighthouse. I found a clearing today, but it may just be an old tip. There were relics of bricks there though.While Tim works

Archaeological site

Mowing the tracks from a sardine can

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We spent part of yesterday mowing and today working in the workshop. Tim drove the Ute and looked as if he was shoehorned in the truck. There are no seat adjustments and both our feet hit the bulkhead. I went along as copilot.

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We walked down to Little Squally Cove and surf was crashing.

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Little Squally faces the southwest and collects all the debris from the sea. Today Tim cleared the track leading down to the cove. Only a few visitors seem to walk her but it’s a dramatic cove and there are all those treasures washed ashore.

Today we spent some time working in the shop. I am working on a new invention and Tim was changing a flat. It’s a well equipped shop, usually has what you are looking for but you might have to check every bin.

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Words of wisdom in the shop
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Sky over Deal
Wallaby watching

Bush bashing for cairns

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Flag Hill

Sounds like bowling for dollars. We’ve been clearing drainage ditches along the lighthouse road and my body only lets me do that every other day, so we explore or relax on the off days.

We’ve (mostly Tim) cleared the major tracks and have looked at old maps and surveys and found other places to explore. One map shows two cairns on a hill near the house. I had read somewhere that in the 1800’s when they surveyed this area, they placed two survey markers (maybe cairns?). The cairn on Barn Hill on the southwestern bluff is easy to find and has a track to it. I’m not sure when these were placed but the Parks Ranger confirmed they were there and they would mark the north.

Back in the fold

Before we started, we wrangled a baby wallaby out of the inner compound.  It was trapped inside while its mother was still outside and they would hang out on either side of the fence near one another.  The mother didn’t seem too concerned.  We had to get her near one of the gates to lure him out.  Once reunited, he tried to get back into the pouch, or at least stuck his head there.

So off we went, bush bashing. We worked our way through tussock grass to the trees on top of the hill. We passed a tree with what looked like funnel spider webs to me. I wonder if other spiders spin funnels? Funnel spider? face Flag Hill southern cairn

The first cairn was easy to find.

Then we walked along the plateau and saw other perspectives of Erith Island.  

A new perspictive of Erith Island

Aboriginal cave

We think we could see the entrance to the cave on the northern end of the island.  An archeaologist, Rys-Jones, found evidence of aborigines living there 7,000 – 10,000 years ago.

There used to be a mountain range connecting Wilson’s promontory in Victoria, northwest of the Kent Group of Islands, and northern Tasmanania, to the southeast.  The range included these islands and Flinders Island to the southeast.  These mountains were occupied by aborigines until the sea rose and isolated it from both the mainland of Australia and Tasmania.  Now they are islands and the water is about 50 meters deep.  The findings in the cave and elsewhere, suggests the land bridge closed thousands of years later than originally thought.

Lunch lichen

Lichen growing on a tree near our lunch spot.Gnarly old man rock

Gnarly old man rock.

We continued north, over two saddles and found the second cairn.   P1260174.JPG  Pulpit rock P1260206.JPG

The bonus is that we think we also got a glimpse of the elusive Pulpit Rock.  We missed that during our previous bush bash to Pegleg Cove.

We ran into the three stooges on our way home.Apres cairns A good time was had by all.

American lady on Deal Island

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That’s me. We use the VHF radio to communicate with local boaters. We provide weather information and sometimes they just want to check in with us. Then when they leave, they bid farewell. Yesterday, a group tried to hail me on the radio by calling, “American Lady on Deal Island, American Lady on Deal Island”. I must have been away from the radio because other boaters told me about it. Then I was referred to last night as the siren in Bass Strait because the majority of people on the radio are male. People come in lashed to their masts! I don’t get it. We’ve both been referred to as the crazy Americans on Deal Island. They’ve got that right.

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Since there isn’t a lot going on, we and all boaters, are big eavesdroppers. Boats hail one another, or us, on Channel 16 and then switch to another frequency to chat. Yesterday, we heard a boat we knew, arrange to offload fuel from a large ship (I guess the wind wasn’t in their favor and they ended up motoring more than planned). We get weather reports by radio when the internet isn’t working. We can hear boats check in with the volunteer Coast Guard service. They report their positions and ETA’s and are actually tracked. One radio man we enjoy listening to is at Tamar Coast Guard. Everyone in Bass Strait knows Brynn, the Welsh radio man. He broadcasts the weather four times a day and takes position reports and passes on messages. He is a legend, I think in his 80’s and a comfort to hear even when the weather news is bad.

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Yesterday we enjoyed a dinner at the BBQ down by the pier with good company. Boats are passing through on their way to a wooden boat festival in Hobart. There were beautiful boats and fun people. We’ ve exchanged contact information with many. The group yesterday included a former caretaker from the 1990’s. He never thought he would make it back here and delighted in the island and the many improvements in the compound and quarters. I wonder if we will ever get the chance to come back here.

Ditch Digging in Paradise

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We both agree that one project we want to compete while we are here is clearing the drains along the lighthouse track. This track is about 2.5 kms long and climbs 305 m. There are several steep sections and when it rains, as it has over the past few days, we get an inch at a time, water comes cascading down the hill and the track. Since the lighthouse was built, more than 150 years ago, there have been various drainage schemes installed. The most basic is a ditch along the side of the road, with various places for water to run off the road into the ditch. That’s where we worked yesterday, clearing sheoke needles from the drain and digging deeper where it overflows. The road is a macadam surface and there are culverts across it, some concrete lined. There are culverts under the road made of steel, cement and most recently PVC. Our mission if successful, will be to clear all those drains, dig deep when needed and do our bit to prevent the road from eroding further.

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I would like to say I was there merely as the official photographer but I wasn’t. We raked and carried and dug. I have the aching back to show for it. We were able to clear two sections of switchbacks and build up the ditch in a couple of areas.

At one point, Tim cleared an area and revealed a huge jack jumper ant colony. I steered clear of that and we avoided getting bitten.

One day we have to go up the track when it’s raining to see the weak spots. But I had a hard enough time going outside today in the rain to get our drinking water from the tank.

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We have had several boats and visitors ashore despite the rain and wind. The kayakers are still here but may get a weather window tomorrow to head southeast to Flinders Island. I can’t even convey what it must be like to kayak across the Bass Strait. Big seas, wind and currents. One man’s kayak was sinking on the way from Hogan Island to here because water was getting in via a through hull for a rudder cable and he wasn’t sure it would make Erith Island. He said he can now tick “Terror” off the emotions experienced during the trip.

Lightning Strikes

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Little Squally Cove and me

Weird communication zone, weather and spouse induced. Nice weather precludes the internet. Yesterday was fine and windy and we didn’t have internet all day. So, I enjoyed working in the garden, baking and a walk up Barn Hill.

Barn Hill with South Bluff in the background

Barn Hill is my favorite place of the week. It’s close to the house with tall cliffs and great views. Dragon's Tail Perhaps a man?

I explored the southeastern side with views over Dragon’s Tail.

And perhaps a man rock.

Today, there has been front after front rolling by with thunder, lightning and buckets of rain. Tim had just unplugged his computer when lightning struck the house and we saw a bright flash in the living room, where the phone, VHF, HF, internet, computers, fax, TV and copy machine live. The phone was out briefly but everything else seems to be in working order. Today, Tim is doing me a favor and won’t let me use the internet in an attempt to save my computer. In the meantime, he’s been surfing for hours.

There are two groups of kayakers hunkered down on the islands. Three are over on Erith Island who can’t go anywhere because of the weather and a lone kayaker is camped here, waiting to go to to Flinders Island. There is a strong headwind predicted for the next couple of days, 25-30 knots, so they will probably be here for the next few days. They arrived under their own power, 35 miles off the mainland, with another 35 miles to Flinders Island and then island hopping to the Tasmanian coast. In the meantime, the wind, rain and lightning keeps sweeping over the islands.

Yesterday, however, was fine. Fine is a legitimate term in Australia. It can be mainly fine, fine and windy, partly fine. I think it means clear or perhaps sunny. Two of the kayakers visited us yesterday and we were talking about brewing beer.An Australian company, Coopers , sells beer brewed in the bottle, which is not clarified. They use the slogan, “Cloudy but fine”. We wouldn’t get it in the states.

The garden started by the caretakers before us continues to produce. We’ve been eating carrots, beets, silverbeet, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, peas and beans. Tomatoes, cucumbers and corn are on their way. I only hope we do as well for the next caretakers.

Beans, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce Beetroot, sliverbeet, carrots, spring onions and tomatoes Corn is sprouting

Jack jumpers and spiders

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I think i stirred things up with cleaning and blogging. I cleaned the house and the next day awakened to several small, dead spiders in the house. Maybe they ran out of insects to eat or I destroyed their webs. I purposely left two spiders as sentries over the doorway to the sun room to keep the house clean of bugs. I took photos of the dead spiders in the morning and one I ran into at the lighthouse in the afternoon

Kitchen spider Sun room spider Watchful spider at the lighthouse

Then I blogged about vacuuming spiders. I got to put it to the test yesterday.

First, Tim was clearing a trail, while I painted the lighthouse stairs. I had the better of the jobs because once again the views were phenomenal. The wind was howling around the lighthouse and the tower was singing and groaning and the stairs were actually vibrating. What fun!

Another beautiful day at the lighthouse
Ruinsa at the lighthouse and Erith Island
Tim was working away on Squally Trail and was bit by not one, but two, jack jumper ants. I wrote about them earlier and have a link to a photo here. Yikes. At least he didn’t have an allergic reaction to it, which is fairly common. Then to make matters worse, he came home to shower and while he was in the shower, a huntsman spider

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was on the outside of the shower door. He couldn’t get out of the shower because if he slid the door, it would have run inside the shower and they are surprisingly fast. He called me to get rid of it. I was hysterical laughing because it is so incredibly huge. I got a litre container and the mouth wasn’t big enough. Then when I moved towards it, the spider started to go in the shower. I could hardly stand, I was laughing so hard. I resorted to extreme measures and got out the vacuum. The spider is about 3X the diameter of the hose but I got it running and managed to suck it into the vacuum. Then we plugged up the hose with a paper towel. How long until it dies in there? And is there a flap to keep it in? I hope so. It may turn out the dead ones are actually more dangerous but the huntsman are so big and ugly.
Plugged vacuum

Cleaning day in paradise

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Even though we live in paradise, we still have mundane chores to do. They are certainly easier when you can look out the window and enjoy a beautiful view. Yesterday, I was all over the island but today I hunkered down at home. Tim was off clearing Squally Track and I had some cleaning to do. The question I would like answered is, can spiders and bugs crawl back out of the vacuum??? There must be a security door at least in Australia because I hear a lot of people talk about vacuuming up those huntsmen spiders. I didn’t have anything nearly as ambitious as that but almost caught a lizard by accident in the sun porch.

Another gorgeous day

I spent time rereading more history about the group of islands and the people that explored or visited here. This group of islands was a land bridge between Wilson’s promontory in Victoria to the northwest and Flinders Island to the southeast. It flooded somewhere around 12,000 years ago but there is evidence of people living in a cave on Erith Island, 7,000 years ago. 7,000 years ago!

The Beagle (of Charles Darwin fame but without him on board) nearly floundered in the cove because of the current and williwaws. Captain Bligh, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, was given two ships and sailed back to explore Tasmania after he was cast adrift. reading Matthew Flinders and George Bass proved there was a strait between Tasmania and Australia and named it after Bass. Flinders named the Kent Group after a colleague, William Kent, and then the islands seem to have been named after towns in Kent, England: Erith, Dover and Deal.

Erith Island has been visited by historians, naturalists, artists and writers for more than 40 years and their connection to the island helped preserve the original caretaker residence, which houses a museum they established. Every one who spends time here is moved by the experience. I know I am.

Dinner aboard the Young Endeavor

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Young Endeavor in Garden Cove

We received a phone call in the afternoon from the Young Endeavor, anchored in Garden Cove. She is a 44 meter Naval Training Vessel, with a youth training program for kids aged 16-23. It focuses on personal development and growth sort of like Outward Bound and 10,000 kids have done it. This year they sailed with the Sydney Hobart racers as a support vessel. There is a crew of nine Royal Australian Navy personnel and 28 youths in training. A group came up to the lighthouse and then they invited us down for a tour of the boat. What a treat. The kids were a little green because they sailed here in 30 knot winds overnight and were happy to be on land, hugging trees? A cure for seasickness. They all climb the yard arms and have their first go at it in the dark so no one can really tell how high they are. By the end of the trip, they take over the ship for 24 hours and are observed by the Naval crew.

Aloft

The crew couldn’t have been nicer and more safety conscious. They met us on the beach with a dinghy and foul weather gear and lifejackets. There was a mildly dicey transfer to the ship from the bouncing dinghy up a ladder on the side. We had a grand tour and stayed for dinner! Very sweet. The wind picked up while we were aboard and we caught a ride back ashore. We landed in water up to our chests in the surf but luckily my glad bag kept my camera dry.

We hoped to watch them sail off today but for some reason they were delayed and our stomachs called us back home for lunch.

 

P1170123.JPG Naval Flag Dinghy returning to Young Endeavor
Then as I was finishing this entry and enjoying a cuppa, they came sailing through Murray Pass. Tim hailed them on the radio to say goodbye and I ran up Barn Hill to catch some photos. They poked around Erith a bit and headed on to Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria.
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Now we’re thinking of sailing on Tall Ships as our next adventure. Tim as mate and me as cook. We looked up a few in Maine and they all use wood fired stoves in the kitchen and are all looking for cooks. What does that tell you?