Murdunna

[Kyle]The early afternoon tide at Dunalley virtually forced us to sleep in before our 2pm transit through the Denison Canal (there is no water level change, just a cut with a swing-bridge to coordinate with). That was nice. Then we had just a few short miles underway along the eastern shore of Norfolk Bay to the very well protected little town of Murdunna.

Through the Denison Canal around 2pm, we were anchored in Murdunna well before sunset

We arrived to find virtually the whole harbor taken up with vacant swing moorings. The rumor was that this place was a popular weekend getaway for all of the Hobartians who are sick of the hustle and bustle of Australia’s ninety-eighth largest city (okay, thirteenth).

Kyle wanted to go up the mast to adjust the mainsheet. He assured me I wasn't needed so I took the opportunity to potter around the bay in beautiful calm conditions.

Apart from the moorings as a place to tie up on a weekend, there isn’t really much here except the grocery at the roadhouse and the foreshore walk, both of which we patronized. At the store, Maryanne got a corn jack something-or-other. It looked kind of like an egg roll. Not recommended. On the walk, which was very pleasant, we found some Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos cavorting in a big gum tree.

I could never quite catch the cockatoos at the right moment and in the right light - but we were glad to encounter them.

While we were watching them, I apparently upset another animal, the Jumping Bullet Ant. It did not need to jump at me, as it found itself in my sandal. When I began walking, it must have feared being squished between my foot and my shoe and made sure to show its displeasure with a piercing bite.

I thought I had inadvertently sliced my toe off or perhaps been stung by a wasp. I ripped my sandal off and found a very distressed little ant holding on for dear life by just its mandibles, with each side on the big tendon on the top of my big toe. Awww….and OW! I flicked it away, but the rest of the day I was limping around with the feeling that I was still in the process of being actively bitten. Those little suckers put in a little formic acid to make sure you feel it. As I write this a week later, it still itches like a bad mosquito bite.

We rather enjoyed the easy foreshore walk - especially once the sun reappeared with the blue skies

We didn’t manage to make it to my 14.8km goal, but we figured we’d make up for it later.