MY ISLAND

Just south of the Freycinet Peninsula is Schouten Island, named after Justus Schouten by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. It's an uninhabited reserve of granite and sandstone that was once a mining settlement but is now an isolated holiday spot for intrepid locals.

Only 2 boat companies run cruises to the island and while we were there 1 had no skipper and the other no boat. It looked as if our plans of getting to the island had been dashed but we didn't give up. We got hold of a pilot that does scenic flights over the peninsula and organised a 45 minute flight that included a loop around Schouten Island. All the locals refer to it as 'Shootin' Island and I went to great lengths to educate them as to the correct pronunciation and the origin of the name.

The flight was fantastic and gave us a great view of an island that is worthy of my family name.