It’s our 20^th wedding anniversary, which means this time in 1997 we were frantically preparing to put our lives into storage and set out across the northern USA and Canada on bicycles (read our Married With Bicycles blog).  We wanted to celebrate the anniversary, but have opted for a slightly less ambitious trip.  Ian suggested a weekend away on King Island.  He visited way back in the early 1960s, when he stayed with cousins on their farm.  I’ve never been – despite KI being only 45 minutes south by plane. So we booked a flight, somewhere to stay, and a rental car, and packed light.

We hoped for weather that was either clear and sunny, or dramatically stormy, having booked a house with a view to the west coast.  We’ve got the former, with blue skies all weekend long.  The flight, in a Saab turbo prop, was a delight. We flew down the bay and over the heads, with spectacular views including Phillip Island and San Remo (hi Mum and Dad!) In no time we were descending, with our first views of the northern coastline of King Island.  We saw sandy beaches, lakes, dunes, rocks and crashing waves as we flew in low.

We were greeted by Sharon with the keys to “Netherby Downs” and a plethora of tourist information, and were soon ensconced in our Mitsubishi (harking back to our pre Subaru days). We girded our loins to face the peak hour traffic of KI as we drove to Currie, the biggest town (by virtue of having the only roundabout on the island, and two supermarkets to boot). If you are a fan of “800 Words” you will understand when I say Currie is like a slightly sleepier version of Weld.

We pressed on to Netherby Downs via a gravel road strewn with animal carcasses. Some of the wallabies don’t leap out of the way fast enough, unfortunately. The house has a maritime theme, with portholes upstairs, lobster pots hanging from the rafters, and a telescope. It has lots of gorgeous rough-hewn timber, and stunning views.  It has tons of room, with three big bedrooms (ours is upstairs), two bathrooms, and a large dining/lounge area.  There is enough crockery and cutlery to cater for the DROC Christmas party. It would be a perfect place to stay for an orienteering event, except that there is no terrain …

Having sussed out the fridge, we headed back to Currie in time to hit the supermarkets, which in a show of anti-competitiveness, both close at 6pm every day.  Trying not to wince too much at the prices – food is brought in once a week by ship – we purchased the makings of Moroccan chicken stir fry, and some crackers to go with the complimentary King Island brie that had thoughtfully been left by our hosts. It would be downright rude not to sample the local produce.

The sights of Currie can be covered fairly quickly, and we started with some nice coastal views from a lookout, before meandering off to the lighthouse.  Currie was a difficult place to land at the best of times – King Island has 60 shipwrecks. These days there is only a small fishing fleet, with the main wharf on the east side of the island.  The lighthouse and surrounds had some interesting plaques and sign boards, giving us a feel for life here in the mid 1800s and into the war years.  We can only imagine what it was like with the wind howling in and the waves crashing feet into the air as they hit the rocks. We were treated to a lovely sunset over sparkling ocean, before retreating home for dinner and cheese.