"Ralphs Bay is a body of water in south-east Tasmania. It is semi-enclosed by the Tranmere/Rokeby peninsula and the South Arm peninsula. Sea access to the bay is from the River Derwent.
Ralphs Bay is a shallow, windy bay, situated on the south-east of the Derwent Estuary, about 12 kilometres from the south-east of Hobart in Tasmania. The bay is sheltered by the low, grassy hills of Droughty Point to the north-west and the spit of South Arm and Opossum Bay to the south-west.
ECOLOGY
The red-necked stint migrates from Siberia every year and most of the birds, which do that, find themselves in Ralphs Bay.
It is also an important area for the spotted handfish.
The spotted handfish is an unusual fish, in that it has highly adapted pectoral fins, which appear like hands (hence the name) and allow it to walk on the sea floor. They are classified as critically endangered on the ICUN Red List 2020 and, because of the pollution in the River Derwent, live in majority at Ralphs Bay and its surrounding waters.
The bay is part of the South Arm Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of pied oystercatchers and of the migratory waders, or shorebirds, of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway." (source wikepedia)
Please park at the Dorans Road boatramp and make your way along the narrow/animal trail to the track. There is no need to rock hop along the shoreline as there is a track of sorts to follow to the cache.
Great views can be enjoyed and obviously all sorts of weather. On the day of placing the bay was dead calm but on others there can be white caps and lots of windsurfers out surfing.
Please bring your own pen.