Hitchhikers For a Day

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Hitchhikers For a Day

There being no passenger ferry, most people arrive on King Island by plane and land at the airport at Currie which is the main town. We have bucked the trend by arriving at Grassy on the opposite side of the Island about 28km away. Since there isn't any public transport here, getting from Grassy Harbour to Currie and beyond was a bit of a poser. We had met a couple who were volunteer drivers for the Island's Community Car which was one option and would cost around $25 to go to Currie one way. We'd heard that the locals were quite relaxed about hitchhikers and thought we might see how things worked out. The parents at the King Island Boat Club even encouraged it.

This 9 hole course no longer operates since the mine closure.

It was bought by artists who have a gallery and chalets.

First we had a lift from Ken from the Portside Links Gallery. We'd walked past his gate 5 minutes before and he was just making a run up to the intersection to put his 'Open' signage out. Once on the main Grassy to Currie Road we had a ride from Rob and Bob. Everyone we spoke to subsequently, all knew Ken and in particular Rob and Bob in their little green car from the Grassy Garage. With such a small Island population we shouldn't have been surprised that everyone knew everyone else, what car they drove and when they'd likely be out and about!

Once we reached Currie we struck out for a look at the lighthouse and harbour. Make no mistake, it was 'no-brainer' to develop the Harbour at Grassy - the entry to Currie is a shocker. The locals all said that yachts never go in there. Some Cruising books have written it up as a possibility. We can only conclude from what we've seen that in and Easterly and on a blue moon, just perhaps you could brave it. It's not an all weather bailout.

The Currie Museum

Barrel of a cannon, sea anchors etc at the door to the museum.

Walkway on the approach to the lighthouse with fact boards.

Many detailing dreadful shipwrecks

Not much shelter here.

The support pillar is stone.

The entrance to Currie harbour.

From here it doesn't look too bad but don't be fooled.

A very tight entry

The Bloke lining up with the leads.

What the Bloke saw.

Parking controls gone mad. They'll be wanting traffic lights next!

We grabbed a few groceries in town and continued the hitchhiking. We were on a mission to get to the fabled King Island Dairy. A father and son from Baldricks Transport, a local trucking company, dropped us off and gave us a pen with their mobile number on it in case we needed a ride back. So very kind

Our trip back to the Grassy Harbour was in 3 stages and each driver told us another snippet of life on the Island. For example, most highschool children are sent to mainland Tassie or to Victoria to finish their schooling. Sending children away to school has been a recurrent theme since reaching the South Australian peninsulas. It must be sad for the parents and the whole community.