Bruny Island

What’s special about Bruny Island?

• Only a 20-minute ferry ride from Kettering, south of Hobart.
• Spectacular cliff-top walks.
• Little penguins and shearwaters in great numbers.

Head to South Bruny National Park where you can look out over the cliff tops while at The Neck Game Reserve you can see little penguins and shearwaters on twilight tours in the breeding season.

Bruny Island has a permanent population of around 550 people. You will find wild seascapes, sweeping surf and quiet channel beaches, coastal walks, sealife cruises, fishing, rare birdlife and wildflowers, tall forests, farmlands, and an historic lighthouse. Most of the roads are unsealed.

Despite being only 35 minutes’ by car, from Hobart, and a 20-minute ferry ride from Kettering, Bruny seems another world away. You can stay at one of the many bed and breakfast or cottage accommodation options, and there are small grocery stores at Lunawanna and Adventure Bay.

Bruny Island is really about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long but appears to be two islands; North and South Bruny are joined by a narrow strip of land called The Neck.

The Bruny Island Neck:

This isthmus of land connects north and south Bruny Island. The Neck, as locals call it, is an important habitat for native wildlife. There are boardwalks and viewing platforms, at The Neck Reserve, enabling you to watch short-tailed shearwaters and little penguins (also known as fairy penguins). The Reserve has an interpretation board and during peak viewing times there is a Parks and Wildlife Discovery Ranger guide present at dusk. The best viewing period is during the warmer months  - September to February. Follow the timber stairs from the dunes to the Neck lookout, offering stunning 360 degree views.

South Bruny Island:

To reach South Bruny Island, head south, crossing at The Neck to reach the park boundary near Adventure Bay or south of Lunawanna. Walks include the coastal track to Penguin Island and Fluted Cape, from Adventure Bay; beach walks on Cloudy Bay; or the full-day circuit of the Labillardiere Peninsula. An unsealed road links Lunawanna and Adventure Bay, giving wide, stunning south-westerly views. As you walk look out for Bennetts wallabies, pademelons, echidna and wombats. The lighthouse at Cape Bruny was built between 1836 and 1838 with convict labour.

More things to do:

Bruny Island Cruises
Bruny Island Farm Tours
Inala Nature Tours

The story of Bruny Island:

In 1773 Tobias Furneaux, who was exploring the coastline with Captain James Cook, anchored his vessel, the Adventure (after whom the island's main bay has been named), off the island's coast. Four years later on 26 January, 1777 Cook sailed the Resolution and Discovery into Adventure Bay and stayed for two days. His contact with the Aborigines who lived on the island was amicable. In 1788, Captain Bligh anchored the Bounty in Adventure Bay and planted some seeds. It is claimed that Bligh was responsible for Tasmania’s apple industry. He returned in 1792. Bruny Island and the waterway between the Island and mainland Tasmania, however, is named for the French explorer, Bruni D'Entrecasteaux, who first explored the area in 1792.

Travel directions:

To get to Kettering take the A6 Highway from Hobart to Highway B68 passing through Margate and Snug. The Bruny Island Ferry Service runs seven days a week and you can check the timetable at 61 (0) 3 6273 6725.

Related Sites:

Bruny Island Information Guide