Discover Tasmania – The Magnificient Bruny Island

From the old town of Richmond, we drove all the way to Kettering Ferry terminal which it is located 30 minutes or 34km away from Hobart town. Bruny Island is actually separated by the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. And what make it more unique and difference is that the island is actually 2 land masses – North Bruny and South Bruny. It is joined by a long and narrow sandy isthmus. Wait! What is this isthmus is all about? As mentioned by Wikipedia, Isthmus is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water that otherwise separates them. And there’s only a few of these places found all around the world! Wowwww!

Driving towards The Kettering Terminal

The Kettering Ferry Terminal

The Cafe just next to the entrance. While waiting in the long queue, we leave our car and get into the cafe to buy some drinks.

Access here is only by vehicle ferry and the ferry crossing takes about 15 – 20 minutes which offer an excellent views of the channel from the upper deck. We took the 11.05am ferry and paid AUD30 for a return trip. It is advisable to arrive at the terminal 10 – 15 minutes before the departure time. You might want to check the ferry time table as advertised too to cut the waiting time!The ferry itself reminded us the Penang ferry which it could accommodate both passengers and vehicles. No booking is required where just arrive at the terminal and pay as you drive on. There is no public transport on the island, so it’s best to rent a car to explore the beautiful island!

Let’s board the ferry!

Yeay! We are almost there! We could see Bruny Island from far. The adventure gonna starts soon! Let’s hit the road!Since we don’t have any proper itinerary with us, we are very much depending on the visitor map in such a limited time. Basically, we drove randomly without any fix destinations. One thing that we observed is that it’s very quiet here in the island. You’ll get to see only a few cars and small trucks on the road. And less people too. It’s calm and quiet with such a nice weather! And we really love autumn! For real! The first place that we stopped over is the Adventure Bay. We got stucked seeing such a beautiful view of the beach here and based on the tourist pamphlet, this is also the best place to do some bush and coastal walking where it offers breathtaking scenery including tranquil beaches, dramatic coastlines as well as enchanted rainforest. You basically got a full package here! Adventure Bay is located on the eastern side of Bruny Island with a small township population together with its surroundings area of 150 peoples.The Adventure Bay Beach. This is exactly where the first European, Tobias Furneaux landed and it was named after his ship, Adventure. And a few years later, the famous Captain James Cook stayed in the bay for about 2 days with his two ships which was called The Resolution and Discovery. Today, you can relax awhile at the picnic table looking at the scenery and reminisce how the bay area look like in the past with all the previous explorer ships.

Memorials on the Island

We then drove our car passing through the state forest of Bruny Island! At one point of time, we thought that we’re lost. It’s getting scarier when the pattern of the trees changed and we could also see unpaved and uneven road, which means we’re getting deeper into the rainforest! Both of us went silent. But FF’s drove the car and act professionally, as if there’s nothing happened! But I was screaming inside! 😦 But, Alhamdullilah, it brought us to end of the road as we could see the main road. Phew! What a relieved!From there, we quickly hit the paved road towards the southern end of Bruny Island which will then bring us to Mabel Bay. We skipped Cape Bruny as we don’t have much time to explore the area. But, if you guys happen to be here, pleaseeee and pleaseee dont miss this place! Cape Bruny is basically the home for the famous Cape Bruny Lighthouse. Fortunately, the view from the Mabel Bay Look Out does not dissappoint us much!

Driving back through the Lighthouse road, we then make another stop at Lunawanna. The main attraction here is definitely the Daniels Bay and Little Taylors Bay too. We met up with some locals here preparing themselves for an afternoon fishing trip. Had a quick chat with them and just laid back at the jetty having our times there.

Little Taylors Bay

Cows farm in Alonnah. We are made to understand that the local products produce here in the island are exceptional! There are a few numbers of cheese company scattered around the Island and it is all made using traditional techniques. Not to forget the famous Bruny Island’s oyster too!

Next in the list is definitely the highlight of the trip. Safe the best for last. This is definitely the reason why we are here in Bruny Island. It’s because of The Neck! Yaaaa, The Neck! 😀 The main attraction here are the Neck Game Reserve which has boardwalks and a viewing platform (Truganini Look Out). From here, visitors could actually see little penguins making their way up to the beach. Not to to forget the amazing 360′ view of the north and south sections of Bruny Island.

And it’s about time for us to leave the island. We need to catch the ferry back to the mainland before it’s getting dark.

This is not all about it. There’s more about the island. You can visit the isolated Cape Bruny lighthouse, learn more about the local aborigines, the famous Truganini, take up the world’s best eco-cruise and exprience the island rugged coastline and fauna from the sea! There’s definitely a lot of things to do in the island. Oh ya, that would be a good reason  to stay for a few days. Trust us! You won’t regret!

Bye bye Bruny Island!

Simply us,
Zara AB & FF
ZaraAB Travel #zaraabtravel
Husband & Wife All Around the Globe