The morning of the 31st was spent lying on the beach and enjoying the sunshine. A quick check of stock revealed that we had enough food to last us a further 6 days. Conscious of our limited food supplies, but too hungry to care, we devoured our 6th meal of pasta in as many days and set off back up the hill to wander through the Deal Island museum (a tin shed) and explore some of the island.Deal Island is the largest of six islands that form the ‘Kent Group’, an archipelago located in eastern Bass Strait. The other two main islands are Erith and Dover. Covering an area of 1576 hectares, Deal Island is an important breeding site for the Australian fur seal and many bird species including petrels, short-tailed shearwaters and the Little Penguin. Deal Island is most well known for its lighthouse. An historic heritage site, at 305 metres above sea level it is not only the highest lighthouse in Australia, but also in the Southern Hemisphere. Due to the high elevation and the visibility problems with low lying cloud, the Deal Island lighthouse was decommissioned in 1992.
The afternoon was spent lazing on the beach. We watched as nearly a dozen yachts sailed into the cove and excited families and crew ferried supplies on to the beach in preparation for the evenings New Years Eve celebrations. It was not long before an ice cold can of beer was thrust into my hand. I turned around to see Nick trying to act civilised and hold a conversation whilst juggling a beer of his own and devouring a sausage in bread. The generosity continued well into the night. We met a different and interesting mix of people that night. The fireworks and group ‘dance competition’ were a highlight.
