New Years on the water

Day five
Another peaceful night's sleep with only occasional rocking as the fishing trawlers returned to port, we woke to sunny skies and a light breeze. We walked along the top of the peninsula and returned on the lakeside, having to wade through parts as the tide was quite high. After breakfast we cast off, heading first to Lakes Entrance for a couple of items then we cruised past Barrier Landing and Metung, across Lake King and around Raymond Island before heading up into Duck Arm. A large flotilla of yachts was moored just inside on the beach so we continued almost to the end of the arm, tying up at a swing mooring.
It is very peaceful in this part of the lake, even though there are a few houses on the Banksia Peninsula for the most part the only sights are trees and the only sounds are birds. After a late lunch we went for a cruise in the brig to explore all the sights and inlets in Duck Arm. It is a lovely spot, close enough to Paynesville for supplies, far enough away for peace. As the end of 2013 approached we reminisced over "the year that was" with champagne and seafood to celebrate....we made it to 11pm before deciding that sleep was too inviting to wait for the year to end!

Day six

The impending sunrise painted the sky a lovely pink and purple at 5:30am, but we didn't really wake up until after listening to the news at 8:00. There is silence here apart from the lapping of water on the boat and the chirping of birds in the bush. We took the brig across to shore  and walked along the Banksia Peninsula track, past houses facing the water of the inlet and many school camps, to where the track ended facing Lake Victoria. Returning to Manookatoo we had a dip in the fresh, cool water before enjoying breakfast on the back deck. Declaring this would be a "pottering day" we found some small chores to do while we relaxed in our lovely location - poor coverage meaning we were relatively undisturbed by the outside world. The Captain polished the chrome and cleaned his brig, the First Mate cooked bread and made Chow Mein for dinner; in between we read, lazed and enjoyed the peace, only occasionally disturbed by a boat cruising around or looking for a mooring - with wind from the south forecast for the evening many boaties are looking for  a safe haven for the night. After our delicious dinner we sat upstairs admiring the clouds painted purple by the setting sun and marvelled at the silence while the boat turned lazy circles in the breeze.