After having been woken by Peter at 6:30am, it was not long before we were back in the kayak and on the water. Conditions were reasonable and progress was good. Despite the wind picking up slightly, the first two hours passed by relatively uneventfully and it was not long before we reached Trousers Point. The unusual granite rock features and sandy beaches of Trousers Point made for a pleasant and interesting place to stretch the legs and have a bite to eat.We were soon back on the water and it was not long before we said goodbye to Flinders Island altogether and were on-route to our next destination – Cape Barren Island. There was a pleasant sea breeze to cool us as we paddled the 15km stretch between Flinders and Cape Barren Island and, at this point the tide was on our side. The wind picked up slightly as we pulled into the bay at Cape Barren. The shallow water meant that this part of the bay was only accessible by sea kayak, but soon, we too found ourselves needing to jump out and walk the boat to the beach.
Cape Barren Island is an Aboriginal community with little more that a Post Office, one shop, a school and a nursing centre. It is the 2nd largest island in the Furneaux group. After a brief wander around the town, we cooked up some pasta for lunch and debated our next move. We agreed we should try to push on to Preservation Island that afternoon, before making our final assault on Little Musselroe Bay, Tasmania the following morning.
The tide had gone out considerably during the hour we had spent at Cape Barren and it took quite some time to drag the kayak back to the water. It was a very peaceful paddle in the afternoon sun as we passed quietly by several fishing boats. As the hours passed, the tide began to turn, and it was not long before we were battling a very strong current. In the shallow waters, I could see the tide racing against us like a river, and despite having had 3 days rest at Whitemark, already I was exhausted. Through lack of other available options and determined to get within striking distance of the Tasmanian mainland we persevered. It was a tough slog, but just before 6pm we pulled into the beach on Preservation Island.
We let ourselves into the empty yet well maintained hut by the beach, and set about preparing what we hoped would be the last meal of tuna and rice for a very long time. The hut was quite basic, but had comfortable bunks, water and a sheltered outlook, and made for a comfortable nights sleep.