As with so much of Tasmania we did not know much about Bruny Island. But we soon found out what we needed to do – book a ferry trip over from Kettering, get good accomodation and take the Bruny Island Cruise. All of which we did, and the cruise was brilliant – it was fun, we saw lots of caves and cliffs, and we saw heaps of wildlife. There is also so much to do and to go and see. Fantastic place.
We visited Bruny Island on 24 & 25 October 2019
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Hobart > Kettering (32kms) > Adventure Bay (40kms) ~ total of 72kms.
History
Nearly 100 kilometers in length, Bruny Island’s two main land masses cover nearly 365 square kilometres, seperated from the Tasmanian mainlaind by the D’Entrecasteax Channel. The North and South of Bruny island are connected by a very narrow sandy isthmus (a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas).
A short history of Tasmania, from pre-European times, to the arrival and growth of European development, to the decimation of the Aboriginal Tasmanians, can be read here.
The Island was inhabited by the Nuenonne band of the South East tribe of Aborigines. Mangana was the chief when Furneaux visited in 1773 and Cook in 1777.
Abel Tasman tried to land near Adventure Bay in November 1642. Well over a hundred years later, in 1773 Tobias Furneaux was the first recorded European to land on the island at Adventure Bay (named after his ship). Four years later James Cook stayed in the bay for two days. He carved his initials in a tree that was destroyed in a bushfire. In 1788 and again in 1792 (with Matthew Flinders) William Bligh stayed in the Adventure Bay area.
The island itself however is named after the French explorer Bruni d’Entrecasteaux who explored the Channel region and discovered it to be an island in 1792. It was known as Bruni Island until 1918, when the spelling was changed to Bruny.
Whaling was conducted off the coast of Bruny Island in the first half of the 19th century. The British whaler Alexander was reported to be in Adventure Bay in 1804. In 1805, 3 British whalers and a Sydney whaler were reported there in the winter months. The American whaler Topaz was there in 1807. Colonial entrepreneurs also operated shore-based whaling stations from about 1826. These stations had all ceased operating by 1850, after decimating the whale populations.
Even though “Cooktown” was marked on maps as early as the 1840s, the island was not officially opened up to European settlement until the late 1800s when the timber industry took off. South Bruny was opened up by numerous tramways and haulages, some horse-drawn and some using modified locomotives. The longest and best preserved tramway runs from Adventure Bay to the far southeast corner of the island.
Almost all settlements on South Bruny were originally opened as timber ports owned by the different companies operating on the island. Lunawanna (former Daniels Bay), Alonnah (former Mills Reef) and Adventure Bay/Cooktown were some of the largest ports.
Since the 1920s the island has become known as a holiday location with surfing beaches, National Parks and historical sites. In more recent history Bruny Island was the site of a land transfer by the state government to local First Nations people.
Today Bruny Island has become a popular day trip from Hobart. It is about 50km long and is really two islands linked by a narrow isthmus of sand dunes called ‘The Neck’. We were told its called “The Neck” because Isthmus is so hard to pronounce. It is only 37 km from Hobart to Kettering where the vehicular ferry to Roberts Point on North Bruny departs ten times a day, eleven on Friday and eight on Sundays. With a range of activities for visitors and a number of unpretentious accommodation destinations, the Island seems far removed from any kind of overt commercialisation. Most settlements of South Bruny now serve as shack towns or holiday locations.
The Cape Bruny Lighthouse, built in 1838, is an iconic Australian lighthouse and was the oldest continuous lighthouse under operation by the Commonwealth. Now out of service, it has been transferred to the Tasmanian Government and is part of the South Bruny National Park. It is now privately operated.
Day 1 – Thu 24 October – To Bruny Island
We left Hobart for Kettering at about 7.15. We were aiming for the 8.30 ferry across to the Island as our Bruny Island cruise departed at 11 am. We followed the coastal Channel Hwy to Kingston, passing the Shot Tower at Taroona. This is a remarkable construction: tapered and nearly 60 metres tall, the tower’s base is 10 metres in diameter and the walls a metre thick; at the top, it tapers to 3.9 metres, and the walls thin to about half a metre. While shot towers were once common, this is the world’s last tower of its type. It was used to make shot for shotguns. Unfortunately we could not stop to have a look around.
It was a very pleasant drive through the outer suburbs of Hobart with good views to the water. We watched a yacht cruising along, it’s red spinnaker full and standing proud. From Kingston it is a short drive to Kettering.
We got to Kettering at around 7.45 and found that the the loading bays for the ferry were already quite full. The lady at the gate directed us to Lane 3 and said we would be on the 8.30 ferry. Given the large number of cars that were there before us we began to doubt that. Kettering looks a nice town with many boats of all shapes and sizes – we had a look around the jetty area.
We walked up and checked out the ferry, and did that a couple of more times, as the car loading area got more and more full and the ferry people did very little to get the ferry ready to go. The ferry looked very small compared to the number of cars waiting. Finally at 8:30 there was movement, as the vehicles from our lane were loaded onto the ferry. We were very relieved.
It only took about 15-20 minutes to get to the Island. We reckoned that we had time to explore the northern section before heading down to Adventure Bay for our cruise. So we took the gravel road north to Barnes Bay, which sits on the very pretty Simmonds Bay. And it looks a really nice little place. The water here looks crystal clear and mirror calm.
We drove up to Dennes Point through some quite attractive countryside, mostly farmlands but also forests on some of the high ridges we drove over.
There is a large jetty at the Point with a few people fishing. There is also a lovely beach to the right of the jetty and another just around to the west of the point. The place was named after the Denne family who first settled the area as farmers around the 1830s, although it was known as Kelly’s Point up to the 1840s. Anthony Smith Denne commenced a regular ferry service in 1847 across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel between Tinderbox and “Kelly’s” Point. Unfortunately, there was a very dead (and smelly) seal on the beach… sad
From there we made our way down to Adventure Bay, passing the Get Shucked Oyster farm and the Bruny Island Cheese Company on the way. We were going to come back up to these places after the cruise. We also passed the Truganini Lookout and will return there the next day.
But we did have a quick stop at the Great Bay.
At the carpark. we spotted a superb fairy wren, hopping between the side mirror of the car and the bonnet, we think to look at itself in the mirror and seeing a rival. Very funny to watch. Will have to remember to turn our mirrors inwards when we park the car… can’t have these gorgeous little Superb Fairy Wrens damaging themselves unnecessarily.
At Adventure Bay, we went directly to the Bruny Island Cruise office to check in. There we saw an interesting timber tribute to the original whaleboats of the area. In the 1820s whaling stations employed 90 men. After the industry declined in the 1840s all stations on the island were abandoned and the southern right whale was on the brink of extinction.
We were told to assemble outside at 10:45, so we had time for a little walk down to look at the beach. At the briefing, we were told that they were about 90 people going on the cruise so that would mean three boats with about 30 people in each. They led us down to the jetty and we all piled on. Then we had to put on the red ponchos supplied by the company to keep out the cold winds and any spray. Getting those on was not so easy.
The cruise was absolutely fantastic and Andrew, the our boat skipper was a bundle of laughs – he kept us amused all day. The first part of the cruise took us to some sea caves not too far South of the Fluted Cape. There were two of them close together and Andrew told us that they go back quite a distance. Very interesting and very cold – I’m so glad its not “windy” today and I’m incredibly thankful for these long waterproof ponchos – mine reaches beyond my feet.
The cliff faces along this section are quite dramatic. Soon we came the first arch in the rocks and Andrew stuck the nose of the boat in so we could have a look.
Then we came to one of the (many) highlights of the tour. A small island sits just off a point and on that island are a couple of very tall vertical columns, one of which looks like a king. On the cliff side there is another vertical column which looks remarkably like a queen. Close up – it looks like Nefertiti. Andrew took the boat screaming through the gap between the king and the Queen and there wasn’t much room on either side. After we had a look around the cliffs on the other side, he turned the boat around and took us through again. All very good fun, and best seen on the video – click here.
More vertical cliffs.
We then passed some more sea caves, and got to another star attractions for the cruise. We came to the breathing cave, where the seawater is only just below the roof of the cave. With each wave water rushes into the gap but then from the pressure the wave gets spewed out creating a white cloud of water. Some of these go very high, nearly halfway up the lower level of the cliff face. This also looks good in the video. It’s only the tiniest bit above the water and, like a blowhole, makes a huge roar as it spews the water out and upwards. Another million or so years might see it grow bigger.
We came round the Arched Island and then into a very pretty bay.
Inside the bay of the island, a very pretty place, we saw another arch through the cliffs looking out to a rock jutting up out of the ocean. Andrew told us that back in the days from when the tours first started one of the skippers would swim through the arch and climb on top of the rock to give the passengers an amazing photo. Clearly, in these days of health and safety, this practice has long since stopped. The story goes that he was chased through by a shark on the last swim… reason enough to stop I reckon.
This area is a very popular place for the Cormorants to gather, including the great Cormorant (the black one). The smell was terrible. Guano certainly has a distinctive odour.
Andrew poked the nose of the boat into another arch where a young seal was frolicking in the water. He then pointed out an albatross that flew out towards the boat giving us fantastic views of this large and wonderful bird.
Then we came to a colony of New Zealand fur seals. Many of these were frolicking in the water or playing on the rocks and Andrew explained that these were a mix of male and female. So some of the frolicking could possibly lead to other things. They really are delightful creatures and we could have watched them for hours.
Then on an Island near Tasman Head, out in Storm Bay, there was a colony of Australian fur seals. The smell was appalling. The seals looked quite different, and we were told they were all males. The frolicking and the antics they were doing was all about teaching each other how to do certain things. At this stage they are all friends but fairly soon the larger seals would be heading off to find the females.
Andrew turned the boat north and we headed back towards the jetty. On the way we passed again the king and queen rocks, and all of those magnificent cliffs.
It didn’t take long to get back to the jetty, but then we found that getting the red ponchos off was a bit of a struggle. Getting off the boat we were all on a bit of a high as it really had been a fantastic day. The boat was well set up and having 30 passengers was not a problem. At all stopping points Andrew turned the boat around a few times to make sure we all got a good look and the best photos. Was a great few hours – so nice when you are on a little cruise and the skipper has a great sense of humour… Makes a huge difference. One of the best tours we have done.
As we were leaving Adventure Bay, we stopped at the northern end of the beach. There is a wonderful little mix of calm beaches and bays there, surrounded by low cliffs, a perfect quiet corner. This would be an absolutely ideal place to take the kids for a swim.
We drove up to The Truganini Lookout at the Neck, and walked across to have a look at the beaches where, at the right time of year, the penguins come out to feed their young. We saw lots of little burrows where the penguins would set up a nest.
I climbed up to the the Lookout – there are lots and lots of steps to get to the top, but the view is spectacular and a just reward. And I wandered along the beach – only a couple of small bits of rubbish which I collected.
From there we drove the short distance to the Get Shucked Oyster farm, where Kerry bought a dozen – I don’t eat oysters. These had to be natural as they wouldn’t give her any cooked oysters to take away. We also stopped at the Cheese Factory and bought a little block of cheddar – I love a good cheese.
We then made our way to our B&B, past some good farmland and a couple of vineyards, calling in at Alonnah to get some supplies. The general store there does not have a lot on offer, and there was little else in the town except the pub. We drove onto Lunawanna and then around to the farm at which we were staying, at the beginning of Coolangatta Road.
What a wonderful surprise the B&B was too…. Charming little cottage with a big verandah – really thoughtfully planned out gardens and a big combustion stove. It is really well set up.
Day 2 – Fri 25 October – Bruny Island
We began the day by heading south for the Cape Bruny Lighthouse. We checked out the jetty at Daniels Bay and then drove around to look at Little Taylors Bay. This wasn’t particularly attractive, other than the two black swans we saw with three cygnets. Very cute.
It was a gravel road all the way south, and thankfully it was in very good condition. We mostly drove through forested areas but with some farmlands. Most gates have a keep out sign attached.
We came to Cloudy Bay Lagoon, a large body of water with a very small outlet into cloudy bay itself. We could not see any tracks we could take to get in to have a look.
Then we came around a corner and there in front of us was a magnificent view of the Lighthouse, the keepers houses, the rugged headlands and a lovely sandy beach. Quite stunning.
We managed to get a spot in the very small car park, and then walked up to the headland. The Lighthouse looks great, old and traditional, and the views in all directions are brilliant. Some of the cliffs in this area look like they’ve been made up by a series of columns – very unusual. This is an amazing place. It was so incredibly hot. While Des wanders around taking more photos, I duck back to the car to unpack shorts and t-shirts. About 10 minutes later, a gale hits and it turns bitterly cold. I should have known.
I walked down to the beach, and about halfway down were the headstones of two young girls who had died whilst their fathers worked at the Lighthouse – one was 2.5 years and the other only 6 months. Next to that was a little collection of headstones for the various pets that had been buried.
The beach pathway comes out along the the rocky foreshore of the bay, but the long horseshoe shaped sandy section is really quite beautiful.
Back up at the carpark a wicked wind had developed and it was bitterly cold. Looking down to the water we can see the wind picking up the spray from the waves. At times it must’ve been terrible to be working in an area like this where the weather can change in an instant. We are both very thankful that we did the Cruise yesterday when the weather was (supposedly) not windy.
We left the beautiful lighthouse behind and drove around to Jetty beach. On the way we saw a very small echidna crossing the road so we stopped and made sure it got across safely, as there was another car behind us. Jetty Beach is a very nice looking camping area and the beach itself is quite lovely. The western section is a very well protected corner, ideal for kids to enjoy.
From there we drove north to Lunawanna and then headed south again down to Cloudy Bay. This was on another good gravel road. It was mostly forestlands that we drove through.
Cloudy Bay is a bit of a wild place when the wind is up. To our left was a beautiful sandy beach with some amazing waves breaking in a long, long line mimicking the curve of the beach. it is a beautiful place, and as we walked along the beach the wind came from behind us whipping up the light sand and scurrying off to dump it further along. There was also a mass of birdlife on the beach.
On our right hand side as we arrived was Whalebone Point, an area used by very keen surfers. The water temperature must’ve been freezing.
We went back out the same road on which we came in, there being no other option. We then took Coolangatta Road over to Adventure Bay. This was a dirt road, but it was in very poor condition. Parts are very steep and rough and there are some tight corners. The land is heavily forested. Lucky we’d done the 4wd course – even though we weren’t in a 4wd.
On the western side of the ridge at a lookout we got a great view back down to Cloudy Bay. And on the eastern side of the ridge at another lookout we got a great view up to the Neck.
Arriving at Adventure Bay from this very rocky ride, we were greeted by a donkey and a small white horse.
We stocked up at Adventure Bay and then drove out to look at Simpsons Bay. This had a nice sandy beach, but the cold and cloudy weather didn’t help to make it look more inviting.
We then headed back around to our farm stay.
To see photos for this post, click here
To see video for this post, click here