Paparazzi

I'm making notes for a book. It's to be a chronicle of our adventures on the island... I think it's a book people will want to buy, don't you?

- Professor Roy Hinkley, Gilligan’s Island

It’s now been 41 days since we have had any human contact. Dan and I had joked that our situation was worthy of media coverage given we pre-empted self-isolation before the pandemic made it popular. So, we felt obliged to agree to an interview when The Australian contacted Tassie National Parks for a story on people living remotely during Covid. After that article appeared, we were interviewed by ABC radio Adelaide followed by ABC Tasmania for an online article and TV news segment. We now wait patiently to hear from The New York Times.

Like the rest of Southern Australia, we have been belted by some pretty wild weather over the last few days. Fierce winds, pouring rain and very angry seas. The force of the waves crashing against the cliffs at Little Squally Cove (80 metres below), sound like thunder and cause the windows in the house to shake a little. The resulting sea spray reaches the house compound, coating everything in a layer salt. We are quite in awe of the extremes in weather and have been enjoying the show that mother nature has been providing.

Inspired by reports of previous caretakers, we have been doing a lot of “off trail” hikes, discovering areas of the island we had not seen. We have stumbled across several hidden cairns that appear years in the making and have been rewarded with incredible views from secluded cliff tops and granite outcrops. On the headland above Winter Cove we found a great spot to sit and have lunch as we watched a dozen dolphins hanging out in the water below.

Hiking off the beaten path often means trudging through thick tussocks of Poa grass, sometime waist high. Whilst most Islands in Tasmania are riddled with tiger snakes (which are not only very venomous but also pretty grumpy), on Deal, there is only one species of snake - the white lipped snake. Although venomous, this species are both timid and small, too small to bite anything larger than a skink - a nice bonus when you are living remotely (unless of course, you’re a skink).

Apart from hiking and media commitments, we have been mowing, clearing tracks, cleaning the lighthouse, servicing machinery and picking up goose poo to boost the compost. I’ve included a couple of videos below… enjoy!

Dan Mowing the compound with the tow behind (sound on).

A walk through the compound.

A walk through our house.

Not the most glamorous task!