Next Stop, Antarctica

Keen for adventure but not so keen on roughing it? Here’s the perfect solution.

Have you ever wondered what the very bottom of Australia looks like?

It’s a large pocket of World Heritage-listed wilderness and a marine reserve in the south-west of Tasmania that is so rugged and isolated, the only way to get there is by foot or by boat. There are no roads.

All around are buttongrass plains, jagged quartzite ridges rising straight out of the Southern Ocean and layer upon layer of tall mountain ranges reaching into the clouds and fading off into the distance.

We were on board the Odalisque in Bathurst Harbour, a 20m ‘floating hotel’ moored in protected Clayton’s Corner and, thanks to some clever manoeuvring by our skipper Pieter van der Woude, there wasn’t another soul in sight.

Pieter built the Odalisque and started boat charters in 2015 after spending decades as an abalone diver as well as a master of vessels working off this southern coast of Tasmania and resupplying Australian Antarctic bases. He knows these waters well, both above and below the surface.

The day was gloomy and with clouds closing in and night approaching, it was all 50 shades of grey. The atmosphere was dark, but the scenery was beautiful in its bleakness. The thought of being so remote was irresistible. Is this what early explorers felt like as they sailed the coast, not knowing what they would discover around each bay?

The fact that I was relaxing in a high-powered luxury vessel, a glass of bubbly in hand, feasting on an enormous cheese platter, makes me think not. Unlike those intrepid pioneers, I was quelling my sense of adventure in style.

Rather than venturing alone, I prefer to have a guide — someone who knows the lay of the land or, in this case, the way of the water, and someone who can explain what I am seeing while we dare to go where not many can.

A gruelling 6–8-day walk to get here from Cockle Creek is not my thing, so I opted for the 5-day Tasmanian Boat Charter instead. This way, I could be immersed in nature by day and immersed in comfort by night, with hot showers, soft beds and some of the best food and wine Tasmania has to offer.

The Odalisque is licensed to take 10 people overnight, but we had just five guests and three crew.

WHAT’S IN STORE?

What can you expect on a Tasmanian Boat Charter? Excursions up narrow winding waterways to an ancient gorge, across marine reserves, past sea caves, rock arches and blowholes and through islands — through them!

Expect short walks to historic sites and long hikes to the top of mountains, across buttongrass moors, along beaches and around coastal headlands dotted with rock pools. 

“It’s all about getting your feet wet,” said Pieter. And he meant that literally (remember to pack your hiking boots).

You should also expect the unexpected because Mother Nature can turn all of that around and dish up a whole different itinerary.

FLYING HIGH

The expedition started with a 40-minute flight from Hobart to a remote landing strip in Melaleuca in the south-west. The dark green landscape flanked by mountain ranges and buttongrass plains looked lush to us but, those who know, like our guide Peter Mooney, describe it as pretty barren. 

“The forests are mostly gone,” he says, “thanks to all-consuming fires over many years.”

As the former head of Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife, Peter’s insight into conservation management and this region is extensive. Want to see glacial gouging or learn about the local fauna and flora? Want to see 8,000-year-old Indigenous middens or hear how the damming of Lake Peddar to the north was the start of the worldwide Green Party movement? Then, as we discovered, it’s a good idea to travel with Pete.

A small, solemn crowd was waiting to board our plane. They looked tired — so would I had I tackled the gruelling 6–8-day South Coast Track from Cockle Creek or the 4–5-day Port Davey Track even further south. They had just trudged through one of the most secluded areas in Australia, over ranges and through valleys — often in mud — and sometimes across creeks and rivers nudging just 8 degrees.

Our short walk to a waiting dinghy was much kinder — along an elevated platform. They get up to 2m of rain a year down here so the raised path was very welcome, and eco-friendly. Peter told us it’s made of recycled Coke bottles.

The dinghy took us up the Melaleuca Inlet to our plush home for the next five days.

HISTORIC HUTS

Once we had settled into our floating hotel, it was back onto the dinghy to check out Clyde and Win Clayton’s Hut. Clyde and Win met against all odds. He was a fisherman who brought mail and stores to the tin mining outpost at Melaleuca. Win was the sister of Deny King, a tin miner and local legend who built the airstrip and opened up tourism in the south-west.

It’s an unassuming cottage surrounded by remnants of a once much-loved garden. But when we met up with seven kayakers taking refuge inside from the weather, we soon realised its value goes far deeper than how cute it looks.

We crossed paths a few times with our kayaking companions and each meeting was a reminder of how good we had it. While we were ferried to new discoveries and then returned to gourmet delights, they paddled and camped and dined on reconstituted meals.

We also got our first glimpse of sea eagles who became our constant companions, watching us with wary eyes as their young tested their wings.

A TYPICAL DAY ON BOARD

At 7:30am the genset started and you knew it was time to get up.

The coffee machine was on and our chef, Courtney Drew, was already weaving her magic. The mobile feast Courtney delivers was as impressive as her credentials — she also owns A’petit restaurant in Hobart, runs the cafe at the Prince of Wales Marina and has a catering business. 

She has a pretty impressive workspace — a commercial-size kitchen with large windows opening to gorgeous views. 

On the menu was homemade muesli, Tassie yoghurt, fresh berries and hotcakes. Then fresh bread was served with oven-baked mushrooms, spinach and eggs, and the feasting begins.

The weather looked ominous, so the skipper decided the best option was to explore Melaleuca for an insight into the Needwonnee Aboriginals who called this tough country home, and characters like Deny King and Peter Wilson, who forged a living from tin mining.

The rain held off long enough for us to get a good look at the tea-tree-lined Melaleuca Inlet. Tannins from these trees and the surrounding buttongrass are responsible for the water’s brown tinge.

Then it’s time for a stroll along the Needwonnee Aboriginal Walk, through the Melaleuca Campground, which boasts a visit and helping hand from Sir Edmund Hillary, to the Deny King Heritage Museum.

We spotted critically-endangered, orange-bellied parrots thanks to a rehabilitation project manned by volunteers and supervised by Barbara Wilson who still lives near the priceless clutter of the now heritage-listed tin smelter.

NEW HEIGHTS

When the sun rose on day three, Peter pointed to the mountain backdrop we were climbing to.

I spied the saddle between two ranges thinking ‘I can handle that,’ but ‘that’ is just the starting point for a two-hour hike to the top of Mt Milner.

Despite some pretty tough uphill terrain including muddy patches, gnarly bottlebrush and Banksia, tea trees and eucalypts getting in the way, we made it to the top. And what a reward it was — views of Bathurst Channel and all of Port Davey over the Breaksea Islands.

As the name suggests, these islands break the ocean impact, protecting the channel. They are home to thousands of mutton birds, penguins roosting at the very top and black rabbits — brought here by the French as food for shipwrecked sailors.

Courtney hiked ahead of us and ran back down so she could whip up soup and scones before we returned.

Back on board and re-energised with another three-course meal, we crossed Port Davey Marine Reserve on the open ocean side of the Breaksea Islands, the only slightly rough patch of our expedition. I still didn’t need those heavy-duty seasick tablets I packed.

Bright white quartzite layers are exposed all along the coastline, pounded by the Southern Ocean. Somewhere out there was Antarctica.

DAVEY RIVER GORGE

Each time we discovered something new we wondered how we were going to top that experience. 

Davey Gorge goes to the top of my list for ‘wow’ moments. It gives Katherine Gorge in the Northern Territory a run for its money in terms of ancient rock formations, only you’re not surrounded by boatloads of tourists.

There were just five of us on this journey up Davey River, plus Peter who was in and out of the dinghy, navigating the rocky riverbed and pushing us through shallow sections. He was determined to reach 450-million-year-old Davey Gorge to show us where a glacier once gouged out the bedrock on its way downstream.

“It’s the only evidence of glacial striation in Australia,” Peter said, “and not many people have seen it.”

The rippled rock with deep scratch marks forms part of the tall, angled walls of sharp quartzite shards. The forces that heated the rock deep underground and pushed it sideways out of the ground are unimaginable.

Settlement Point on our way back to the Odalisque, was not what we expected. It’s hard to believe this tangled web of vegetation was once home to 200 settlers who processed the huon pine logs that felled 10km upstream and floated down the river.

A DAY AT THE BEACH

A walk on the beach sounds like an ordinary day out, but there was nothing ordinary about any of our excursions.

It took an hour to hike from Spain Bay, across the headland choked with buttongrass, to get to Stevens Beach, a beautiful stretch of pure white sand and turquoise sea. Here we strolled for another hour, investigating the treasures washed up on shore and collecting plastic rubbish that manages to invade even these pristine waters. 

Right at the end of the bay are the real gems — Aboriginal middens believed to be about 8000 years old. This is where Aboriginal tribes would come year after year to feast on seafood.

RELAXING NIGHTS

Each night was a relaxing affair with the focus firmly on the food, company and conversation.

As on the first night at Clayton’s Corner, Pieter’s first concern was a safe, quiet spot to drop anchor and watch the sun set. 

His need to be as far away from the few other boats we passed on this adventure saw us take shelter in Joe Page Bay, Bond Bay and Bramble Cove. We revelled in the isolation and knowledge that our mobiles were not going to ring.

THROUGH THE ISLANDS

Our last day brought another highlight and a ‘first’ for skipper Pieter. The Southern Ocean swell was kind enough to let us delve deep into caves at Berry Head and to navigate through a hole in the Breaksea Islands. Pieter had explored most of the island caves but this one had remained hidden — until now. 

Entering is like taking a highway off-ramp. There’s a clear path lined with bull kelp clinging to rocks via big suction cups. Their stems are as thick as forearms. But squeezing all the way through takes some clever handling of the dinghy.

Once we were ‘inside’ the island, we could see where giant layers of rock had cracked off the ceiling creating our passage and what looks like a caveman-style chandelier.

It was high-fives all around when we got to the other side.

It was quite the experience to go where not many people can, to reach the bottom of a continent, to explore ancient landscapes and take a path where few have trod, and to bear witness to where our Indigenous ancestors roamed for thousands of years.

It’s even better to do it in style while leaving the hard work to the experts.

The writer was a guest of Tasmanian Boat Charters. tasmanianboatcharters.com.au

FAST FACTS

For the tech-minded boaties, the Odalisque is a Legend 65 mono hull with 1000hp Caterpillar C18 motor.

It runs on Simrad AP28 auto pilot, Furuno hardware based on MaxSea navigation software and has a Techicomar water maker. Water holding capacity is 1500L and black water 1400L. Cruising speed is 14–15 knots, using 120L fuel an hour.

CABIN CONFIGURATIONS

• Two deluxe cabins with double bed, single bed and ensuite
• One standard twin cabin with double bed, single bed and private bathroom
• Single supplements: 6 x single bed with shared bathroom

TENDERS

• Aluminium Powercraft 14ft dinghy with 60hp motor. 
• A 5m Yanmar RIB with Williams 110hp jet engine.