Once we got back to the car, we headed to the next stop: Sam’s oyster farm. It was on the western side of North Bruny (not far from the cheese company) looking out into the Great Bay.

Rob and Ollie invited us to wade out to the racks, but we opted to sit on the rocks and try to warm up. They took an esky out to get some oysters for our dinner.

It feels pretty chilly when you’re in wet pants and not moving around!

Rob came back with this MONSTER OYSTER, which he laughingly described as Sam’s pet. It was the biggest oyster we’d ever seen! Don’t worry; we just marvelled at him and then he went back into the water. We did eat some of his friends though, right there on the rocks.

We also stopped at a nearby apple orchard to pick up juice for breakfast. It was waiting in the self-serve “bootique shop”. (They get some eccentrics on Bruny!)

At some point we crossed the narrow neck into South Bruny and turned off the main road. Eventually we arrived at Camp! There are permanent king-sized tents set up on raised platforms, though we only used two of them. It’s wonderfully secluded and quiet, and pretty much entirely off the grid. All water comes from the rain and the electricity is solar. There’s no land line and to get reliable cell service you need to run back up the road a bit. (I’m with Telstra and my signal was dropping in and out depending on where I stood.)

The dining house is a short walk across the paddock. Judging by the amount of wallaby poo in the paddock, we knew there was a lot of wildlife in the valley!

Here’s the inside of our tent. Rob told us the most important thing is to ALWAYS keep the flaps on your tent zipped up tight (lest a mozzie or blowfly get in at night and make you crazy).

For those that worry about bathroom facilities (I’m one of them), there was a shared toilet block with a very nice composting toilet inside. No need to worry about flushing or sprinkling sawdust; you just make sure the lid is closed when you’re done. (You can’t even see anything gross inside, and there’s no smell.) We used a piece of rope across the door as a signal that the facilities were occupied. At the other side of the property was the shower with a gas-powered instant-on hot water system. One side is open and faces down into the valley. (Epiphany shower!) We used a red ping-pong paddle to indicate when it was being used. (Note: the area by the shower was quite damp, and I noticed a little leech on my shoes when I was getting dressed on the second day. So I wouldn’t advise walking around barefoot!)

View from the dining house porch.

As the sun dipped lower, the shadows grew.

Rob and Ollie busied themselves getting the dinner ready. Here was the menu.

The fridge was well-stocked with drinks, both alcoholic and non. The Snook and I decided it was definitely beer o’clock.

We started with some Bruny Island Cheese. The O.D.O. (one day old) was spectacular spread on some Daci & Daci bread and drizzled with olive oil. I also enjoyed the novelty of finally trying their Raw Milk C2, which is the only legal raw milk cheese made in Australia.

Next came the Spring Bay mussels in white wine and saffron cream. I’m not the biggest mussel fan in the world, but these were delicious. I think I may have even had seconds! We mopped up the lovely cream and juices with more bread.

So much food! This is the Murrayfield lamb rumps – perfect and blushing pink – next to a positively obscene (in a good way!) platter of quinoa and roasted vegetables, topped with spiced yogurt. Rob also incorporated some samphire (the green stalky bits in the lower-left corner) that he picked from the shore at the oyster farm. It was crisp and salty.

The wine and conversation flowed, and once the sun had set the boys closed the doors and lit the fire. It turned out that our fellow travellers were a little geeky too, so we had some great debates about technology and social media (none of which I can remember now). Dessert was a delicate pannacotta with honey and fresh berries.

Eventually it was time to light the flashlights and head back to our tents. I’m not gonna lie – that part was a little scary for this city-dweller! A wallaby THUMPED nearby in the bush and I nearly jumped on top of the Snook. The night was cool, so Rob had provided some hot water bottles and extra blankets but we didn’t need them at all. I am a notoriously bad sleeper in strange places, but even I managed to get a good rest in.

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