Wild winds and orange bellied parrots

Day 4 - Sunday 4 March 

Wild winds forced us to seek safe harbour today, and our flotilla anchored up in Port Davey.

Whilst there was some rest and recuperation for the crew, we also made the most of the opportunity to visit this magnificent part of the world.  At Clayton's corner we visited the home of Clyde and Win Clayton, who made their home in this remote corner in the 1940's, and we assisted family members doing maintenance on the historic house by removing rubbish from the site.

Coastwatchers team Shane and Pip taking a well earned break with a delicious Gillespies ginger beer

A team headed up through Forrest Lagoon and Melaleuca Inlet to explore the South West Conservation Area at Melaleuca.  Here we were delighted to observe Orange Bellied Parrots feeding at the bird hide.  The Orange Bellied Parrot is Australia's most endangered native bird species and volunteer researches spend weeks at time over the summer camped at Melaleuca to monitor and record the annual migration between South West Tasmania and the mainland.  Pip, was particularly excited to see seven Orange Bellied Parrots, which is 15% of the entire wild population.

The team are looking forward to getting back on the beach tomorrow to continue our mission to clean up the beaches.