A perfect little capsule of natural beauty and fresh food, Bruny Island is sometimes described as a microcosm of Tasmania. This little island off an island will please food and nature lovers alike.
Despite it’s remote feel, it’s surprisingly easy to get to. Kettering is a 30-minute drive from Hobart. From there, you can take a Sealink ferry with your car across to the island. It’s just under $50 for a return trip and takes about 15 minutes each way. I’d also suggest allowing extra time for your ferry ride back if you are on a day trip. Higher demand at the end of the day meant we had to wait about an hour before catching our return ferry.
Bruny Island is much larger than you might think. It can take an hour to drive from the ferry arrival point to the bottom of the island. Our plan was to drive to the furthest point on Bruny Island first, the lighthouse, and then slowly make our way back to the ferry. Our approach worked quite well and I’d recommend this to other day trippers too.
Adventure Bay
Adventure Bay, where many of the island’s amenities can be found, is a sheltered cove. For practicality’s sake, it’s worth knowing that this is where you can find a general store and the only petrol station on the island. Whilst the area is naturally beautiful, it was actually once a thriving whaling station in the 1800s. Around the area you’ll see historic sites relating to these times that educate and serve as a reminder of the island’s more brutal past. Today, Adventure Bay is a haven for marine life (like whales, dolphins and seals) and the area is protected as part of the South Bruny National Park.
Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Perched at the Southern tip of the island, Cape Bruny Lighthouse stands tall over the rugged coastline of the Tasman Sea. A series of shipwrecks, including a particularly catastrophic loss of 135 lives in 1835, necessitated the existence of the lighthouse. The convicts who built the lighthouse were motivated by the promise of freedom if they could complete it within two years. They did it in 18 months. It then became the longest continually manned lighthouse in Australia, with the lanterns lit continuously from 1838 to 1996.
The light keeper in those early days would have faced tough work, needing half a litre of whale oil every hour to keep the lamps illuminated. Sadly, they made the very last light keeper redundant in 1993 when everything became automated. You can take an informative guided tour of this historical lighthouse, or simple admire the views in this scenic area. The tours run every 30 minutes and cost approximately $20, but you can confirm details here.
The Neck + Truganini Lookout
When anyone mentions Bruny Island, this is likely the iconic view that comes to mind. Climb the staircase for a stunning view of the thin strip of land that connects the North and South islands of Bruny. It’s also quite interesting to see the waves crashing on one side of the isthmus and the calm water on the other side.
We drove straight past The Neck early in the morning as the tides were low and it wasn’t all that pretty, but came back later to much greater reward. Checking the tides and planning your stop for the forecasted high tide is a worthwhile suggestion. Apparently this is a good spot for fairy penguins at dusk if you’re still on the island as it gets dark too.
Bruny Island Baker
For a little roadside stall, Bruny Baker’s reputation outweighs it’s size. Make sure you have cash in your pockets, as you’ll want to behold the bread altar that countless visitors worship. Operating on a honesty based system that is so truly Australian (help yourself, leave cash), the old vintage fridge can be found on the corner of Sheepwash Wash in Alonnah.
Once a day, the baker stocks the fridge full of delicious sourdough breads wrapped in white paper for passers by. Disappointingly, the first time we drove past, we found an empty fridge. However we tried again a little later in the morning and we were in luck. So i can definitely vouch for the hype – the sourdough sultana loaf we picked up was delicious.
Bruny Island Chocolate Co
On the path in to Adventure Bay, those with a sweet tooth will want to make a quick stop here. Although a small shop front, they offer a wide range of chocolate truffles, fudge, bitesized bags and bars. Many of the ingredients used in their products are sourced locally from the surrounding Tasmanian countryside, such as honey, berries, and even sea salt. They’re particularly known for their fudge, including the Hounds Tooth Fudge crafted with whisky from the nearby Hounds Tooth Distillery. I hear they often close early, so don’t get there too close to their closing time at 4pm.
Bruny Island Honey
We love to pick up a tub of honey at farmers markets, so Bruny Island Honey was on our list of ‘must stops’. Their signature product is leatherwood honey, which is prized for its unique taste and limited availability. The bees make the honey using nectar from the flowers of the Leatherwood trees, which are native to the rainforests of Tasmania. Given it can only be found here, it’s the perfect treat to bring home or gift to others. We also picked up a small tub of their delicious honey ice cream, that I now have to recommend to everyone stopping by too!
Bruny Island Cheese Co + Brewery
For both the delicious cheeses and the relaxed setting, this was my favourite foodie stop of the day. It was established by Nick Haddow back in 2003, after he was inspired by the traditional cheesemaking techniques he discovered while living in France and Italy. Later he partnered with Evan, of Moo Brew and Lark Distillery, to produce their own locally-brewed beer. So if you love specialty cheeses and you love craft beer, you’ll be the happiest little camper. You can get a tasting paddle of each to enjoy, so good!
With a desire to showcase Tasmanian flavours, milk is sourced only from local dairy farmers, allowing them to produce cheeses with distinctive flavours and textures. On the day I visited, three cheeses were on offer for tasting including the ‘tom’, ‘saint’ and ‘o.d.o’. I really liked their unpretentious tasting notes that went alongside it (’tom is a simple guy…on the inside, he is really just great milk’ or ‘o.d.o stands for one day old and that’s what it is’). The O.D.O is one of their most popular cheeses and given it is made using milk from the previous day’s milking, it can only be enjoyed here. That’s an excellent reason to visit!
Get Shucked Oyster Farm
When in Tasmania, fresh oyster stops are an absolute mandatory. They’re more affordable and more delicious here (about $24-28 a dozen) – how can you say no? Get Shucked is a oyster farm that cultivates their own Pacific Oysters, but also has a fully licensed bar for visitors to the island. They promise oysters “so fresh it’s like you’re being kissed by the ocean” and they’re not overselling it. They have a lovely outdoor setting where you can enjoy oysters that have been harvested and shucked up fresh that day, alongside a glass of local wine. If you’re lucky you might even snag a seat with an ocean view.
Alonnah Sheepwash Track
We felt like this was a little off the beaten track, as we didn’t come across this in our research prior to arriving on the island. We knew we didn’t have enough time to do a bigger walk to the Bruny Island Arch via the Cape Queen Elizabeth Track, so went looking for something a little bit shorter to squeeze in. This walk was under an hour return, starting from the Alonnah Jetty through the bushland to the foreshore at Sheepwash Bay. As the name suggests, there is a historical connection here to the island’s agricultural past, and the bay was used to wash the sheep during sheering season.
Sunset Bay
You can easily combine a swim at Sunset Bay with the Alonnah Sheepwash Track, as they are positioned right next to each other. This was another chance finding, so hopefully this guide puts Sunset Bay on your radar. We didn’t plan to swim on Bruny Island, as our sights were set on all the gourmet food offerings, but temptation called. When we saw how beautiful the water was at Sunset Bay, we were glad we had chucked some swimwear in the car. From the shore, you can also see a smaller island in the distance known as Satellite Island (a private island hotel that I can only dream of visiting).
As you’re driving between sights, do keep your eyes open. If you are lucky, you might spot a white wallaby. Considered rare, they have managed to survive on the island due to the diverse vegetation and the absence of predators. Failing this, you may see some other wildlife or even some cute penguin shaped post boxes!
Want to explore more in Tasmania?
Bruny Island is just off the coast of Hobart – a guide coming here soon.
In the meantime, you could check out my East Coast road trip that includes Bay of Fires and the Freycinet Peninsula.
