There is a place on the Tasman Peninsula called Ship Stern's Bluff - also (previously) known as Devil's Point, Shippie's or Fluffie's.
It has only recently become a special spot for surf fanatics (since 2000-ish), but it holds a secure place very near the top of the 'great big terrifying waves that could easily kill you even if you are a world class surfer' list.
Nelson wanted very much to go see. So we did.
There are only two ways to get there. By boat, a 30 km coastal trip. Or walk in, which takes about 2 hours...a bit of schlep if you're carrying a surfboard. People do it though.
The walk is lovely.
First off, the air is (literally and mind bogglingly), sweet and delicious with the breath of the eucalyptus trees - maybe it was just that day, but I don't think so. It was similar to the delicately sweet water in the tea tree lagoon on Moreton.
Tasmania actually does have the cleanest air anywhere on earth - pretty much as clean as the air in Antarctica. It's really something, almost enough to make you feel lightheaded.
You start here...
It's really pretty. Before long, you're the forest.
The track is quite steep, not really as surprise as Ship Stern Bluff towers out of the ocean at around 200 metres.
There's a little creek to cross...
...like this.
And lots of this kind of stuff higher up the track, lovely woodland, full of light and air and a kind of fairy-tale feel to the twisty, gnarly eucalyptus trees...and a sense that something surprising is round the corner...
..which it is...
...Ship Stern. Breathtaking. Somehow, even though you've been going up-hill for a good 45 minutes plus, it feels much higher than you expect.
This is the mid-way point viewing spot.
And we stopped here for a good while. Mostly doing this... getting some true Aussie serenity...
...and a fair bit of this too of course...
I know what you're thinking now...so what's up with that surf then? Doesn't look like much. That's what we thought...at first anyway. But after a while we realised we could hear 'thunder'...hmmm. A bit overcast perhaps, a bit of a breeze maybe, but no storms on the horizon ...hmmmm. Not thunder then, but the waves hitting the rocks. Big heavy blocks of water landing with a great thundering whumph on the rocks.
We are at least 1 km away as the crow flies at this point, so the bluff and the surf is a good way away. It wasn't huge (it can deliver waves a metre plus if conditions are 'right'...go here for the silly stuff... and go here to see what it's like to actually surf it, probably on a day not dissimilar to the one in these photos).
I think it was probably sizeable, and would have been quite something had we gone all the way down..which, regrettably, we didn't.
Maybe next time we'll go all the way down and dip our toes in...
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