Beautiful Bruny Island

Trip Start Dec 13, 2008

Trip End Apr 26, 2009

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Flag of Australia Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia
Saturday, January 31, 2009

Having left the highlands and lakes behind, we headed back to Hobart and south to a small coastal village called Snug for an overnight stay prior to taking the short ferry ride from Kettering to beautiful Bruny Island.

Ferry to Bruny Island

The trip is only about 15 minutes but when the last boat of the day leaves at about 6pm one feels cut off from the world and it is so peaceful.

There are not many residents or shops on Bruny but on our arrival we made sure to stop at the cheese factory and oyster farm.

Bruny Island Cheese Company

There is also a berry farm so we picked strawberries. On our drive down to Hobart we had already stopped at roadside stalls for cherries and apricots.We are making the most of the soft fruit season for as long as we can.

Bruny is a small island with the north and south parts joined by a narrow neck with a dirt road and it only takes about an hour to drive from North to South.

Bruny Island neck

Our original plan was to spend a few days here and then return to the Tasmanian mainland but we are enjoying the laid-back feel and natural beauty so much that we are still here over 2 weeks later.

There is only one caravan park on the island and it is at Adventure Bay in the south opposite a beautiful beach so that David can walk out and fish whenever he feels like it.

Crowded beach in school holidays BI

We have eaten freshly caught flathead and salmon courtesy of David and flounder and squid courtesy of our neighbours(who have the advantage of a boat). There is a general store a short stroll along the beach where we get newspapers and other supplies. We feel like locals now especially after we had some mail delivered care of the store, which also acts as the postal agent. That day several people stopped us and said "Did you get your mail?"; it seems the whole area knew before we did and how they knew who we were is a mystery; the dubious joys of living in a small community.

Bruny Eco-Cruise

One of the first things we did was to take a trip on the Bruny Charters Wildlife cruise which is a 3 hour cruise around the rugged south coast of Bruny.

Dolphins BI

We were so lucky that the weather was perfect with calm seas and we were treated to the sight of over 100 dolphins herding fish and splashing and leaping around; some also followed the boat and were so playful. The scenery was magnificent and we also saw hundreds of seals, sunning themselves on the rocks, and albatross diving for fish and soaring gracefully overhead. It was a magical outing.

Giant Kelp and seals BI

Coast of Bruny

Blowhole

There are many interesting walks and on one we saw 2 pure white wallabies.

White wallaby on BI

I think that this is the only place they are found. We are also enjoying the birdlife including beautiful multicoloured Swift parrots; sorry no photos as they are true to their name. The beach is a favourite haunt for the seabirds; oyster-catchers, albatrosses, Arctic terns and the ubiquitous seagulls.

Rainforest walk on Bruny

I also saw my first Tiger Snake when I nearly stepped on it on a bush walk; David says he has never seen me jump and run so fast. It wasn't very big but I nearly tripped right over it. Again, apologies for no photo but I wasn't stopping to inspect it.

Fluted Cape walk on BI

The fairy penguins also nest here and can be seen at dusk but daylight here is till after 9pm at this time of year so we have been too caught up in the tennis to drive to the nesting areas to see them. Maybe before we leave?

Most Southerly Pub in Oz

The island has one pub and even a winery; both are the most southerly in Australia. The wife of the couple who own the vineyard/winery makes the wines and she is a direct descendant of the first settlers on Bruny; makes good wine too.

One of the reasons behind our decision to stay here a while was the good TV signal so we have enjoyed watching the Australian Open tennis which we found very exciting this year. Seeing the extremely hot conditions in Melbourne and in fact right across the south-east of Australia, including parts of Tasmania, made us appreciate the cooler temperatures here on Bruny and the cooling sea breezes. We have had perfect temperatures in the 20s with long light evenings.