Wednesday March 28th saw us leaving Huonville and heading to Bruny Island where we plan to sit out the Easter Weekend (5 days in Tasmania as the Tuesday is a public holiday as well). We headed North briefly before turning off towards Sandfly. From there we travelled South East through Margate arriving at Kettering to catch the ferry about 10am.
We were lucky that we were first in line and got on the next ferry with no problems. The water was calm and the sun was shining which was a rare treat! The trip across is only 15-20 minutes and we enjoyed the views from inside our vehicles. Price for a return trip with a caravan is $70 which is pretty reasonable. I got a bit of a deal as the girl rang us through as only a car. I did advise her of my mistake and she thanked me for our honesty and gave us the reduced $33 fare anyway. Got to love life's small wins! It was a bit crowded getting on and particularly off the ferry but we made it with no incidents.
It was only a short 15 minute drive to our destination at Bruny Island Landscape Supplies. This is a lovely low cost campground set up by the owners of the Landscape business, John & Sheryl. They are keen caravaners themselves and showed us great hospitality during our stay. They have 14 locations set up with power and water as well as lots of open space for those that don't require these services. Cost for the full serviced sites was $20 with the 7 night free which is excellent for Tasmania! As we were the first in we got our choice of spots and setup as best we could to minimize the wind which normally comes in from the water in the West. Amenities consist of a couple of rustic drop toilets but the campground is intended for self contained units only. We are located right next door to Get Shucked (The Oyster Bar). Rans and I grabbed a dozen for lunch. They were great!
From here we continued onto the small community of Adventure Bay. We are catching the Bruny Island cruise from here on Thursday and just wanted to check out the location for parking etc. We had a quick stop along the beach there to explore. The water was quite cool when I waded in so don't think I will be going swimming here! We checked out a couple of alternate camping locations on the island as well. I think we got the pick of the bunch! The caravan park is primarily permanents with a few powered sites interspersed amongst them. A campground at the Neck run by National Parks had too many trees, narrow roads, and limited flat areas for large vans. The last option we looked at was a free camp behind Hotel Bruny. This was free and would be fine for an overnight stay but not for a week. We returned to our campground and enjoyed the last of the sun!
Thursday morning we woke to somewhat cloudy skies but light winds which was great for our planned cruise. We set off for Bruny Island cruises at Adventure Bay arriving around 10 for our 11AM cruise. We wore a few layers of clothing as we were warned it would be cool out on the boats. The cruise company supplied some extra fleece jackets for us anyway which was an unexpected bonus. Just before 11 we got our briefing and walked down to the boats. There were at least two boatloads which held up to about 40 people each. Our boat ended up with just over 30 and we got seats towards the back in front of the controls/guides. We had a couple of young guides who regaled us with bad jokes/puns throughout our tour! Lots of fun! We also got to add lovely full length red rain gear to our already attractive ensembles. As you can see we were quite glamourous, more importantly though we were warm!
We headed off around Penguin Island and into the Tasman Sea. First stop was at a couple of caves in the rock walls and viewing the large kelp forests growing along the rugged shoreline.
From here we passed through the narrow gap between the cliffs and Monument Rock, one of the most recognizable rock features of Tasmania.
Once through the monuments we stopped and took in the 270M Jurassic Dolerite Sea Cliffs. These are some of the highest in the world and quite impressive. Because the sea was very calm we were able to get it very close to all the stops along our journey. This is the exception rather than the rule as our friends from Harrington had got very rough weather on their tour and didn't see many of the highlights that we were able to enjoy. Our good fortune as the skies were sunny and blue with light clouds throughout the day as well.
From here we stopped at Jimmy's Cave which was shaped like a Cockatoo and The Breathing Rock. This is a cave that is being formed under water. Every minute or so water is forced out of a small opening with great force. Amazing!
Lots more stops along the way to explore various caves and some New Zealand Fur Seals. The guides said they can only get into where these seals were very rarely (6 times/year I believe).
From here we headed out to the open ocean crossing from the Tasman Sea into the Great Southern Ocean. This area is much more exposed but luckily the seas were again very calm. We spent quite a bit of time at the Friars enjoying the views of Cape Bruny and a large colony of Australian Fur Seals. These were all males and we got very close. Close enough to smell them which wasn't a pleasant smell by any means!
The trip back was quicker with a bit of wildlife spotting. An Albatross was the highlight with up to a 3M wingspan! We stopped again on the return trip at Angry Man's cave and did the Monument again which was a treat. All in all a great day and we would highly recommend the cruise to future visitors! If you have the luxury of extra time I would definitely try to pick a day when the winds were calm. We were very lucky as the wind picked up and we had spotty rain for most of the rest of our time on Bruny.
We returned to the campground where we had a late lunch. Rans and I got another dozen oysters from our neighbours at the Oyster Farm. The afternoon was pretty relaxed.
Friday morning the wind had picked up and the rain was threatening. We picked up a couple of dozen oysters for our Good Friday lunch when they opened. We took a drive to explore the North Island during the morning. The conditions weren't great as there were very strong winds coming from the West. We stopped at Dennes Point and Barnes Bay during our trip. Not a great deal to see and the winds prevented us from walking very far. We did see the Iron Pot Lighthouse from near Dennes Point. We did a short walk at a quarantine station near Barnes Bay as well. Short drives into Apollo Bay and Snake Bay completed our trip. Not much to see there other than some residential development.
We returned to the caravan where we enjoyed a seafood lunch (Oysters, Calamari, Fish, and Chips). Had a relaxing afternoon and share a Tuna bake with the Ransleys that evening.
Saturday Sandra woke up not feeling well so we had a quiet day. I did a little bit of laundry while Sandra slept. Carol and Stephen took a drive out to the Cape Bruny Lighthouse in the afternoon. They said it was packed and we had seen previously so wasn't too big a concern for us to see again. We did a short walk along the beach across from the caravan park to have a look for shells. Not too much exciting but good to get some fresh air! An early night with Sandra still not feeling well.
Sunday Sandra was still not 100% but much better than the day before. We took another drive out to Adventure Bay where we did the Fluted Cape walk. Well I should say attempted the walk. The four of us set off along the beach and completed the Grass Point walk to where we could see Penguin Island. From there we began the climb to Fluted Cape. The climb was quite steep and close to the cliff edge in spots. Sandra, Carol, and Rans decided to turn back as they weren't enjoying the experience. Against better judgement, I decided to carry on by myself. It was a challenging climb and my old heart was beating pretty hard before I made the top. A few fairly scary areas where I was a bit close to the cliff's edge even for my liking. I messaged Sandra when I made it to the top as I knew she would be worrying about me and my clumsiness! Got a good view from the top with rain approaching quite quickly on the horizon. Got a picture at the top with my friends as well (Selfie that is)! I headed down the other side which was much easier going and well away from the cliffs. I met the rest of my group halfway down and they had decided to come up the other direction. We all made it safely back to the car from there.
Sunday afternoon we relaxed before enjoying a free pizza night thrown by our hosts, John & Sheryl. John had built a large concrete/brick pizza oven in the camp kitchen and fired it up for 4 couples that were staying in the park. Sheryl supplied some salad and lovely potatoes as well. The girls made there own pizza on some gluten free wraps which John cooked in the over first, before doing several pizzas for the remaining group. A good night with good food, a few drinks, and lots of travel stories!
Monday morning was again somewhat windy with rain showers. The girls attempted some laundry before lunch. After lunch we made a quick visit to Bruny Island Cheese which was only a few hundred meters from where we were staying. A very busy place even without any bus tours while we were there. We purchased a small sample plate and bought a cheese with prosciutto wrapped around it for a snack later.
We then headed off to do the Cape Queen Elizabeth walk. It is located near the airport and there is a small parking area which was quite full. We timed the walk to complete in late afternoon because of low tide being at 3:30. Sheryl had advised to do near low tide to see a rock arch. The first part of the walk was quite wide and looked like an old 4WD track. After the lagoon it got much narrower and a bit overgrown. We reached a point where you could either climb over a hill or take a low tide option along the beach. We voted to try the low tide option and set off. A short walk brought us to the beach where we discovered the low tide wasn't quite low enough. We ventured through a few rock canyons and over a couple of rock ledges but eventually could not proceed without getting wet. We did discover some beautiful private beaches and rock formations though. We also discovered a small penguin huddled against the rocks while there. We enjoyed some time here taking pictures before retracing our steps to where the path to the other route was.
Up over good sized hill with steep track and lots of loose sand. A bit of work for our legs but again some good views of "The Neck" and Bruny Island. Once over the hill we again re-joined the beach where we discovered the Rock Arch we were looking for. The wind was strong and the sand was blowing but we did get our pictures of the arch. We had hoped the tide would have dropped enough to take the shortcut around the beach but unfortunately it wasn't in the cards. Back up the hill and over again before returning to the car. A good walk and highly recommended, although the loose sand does take it's toll on the legs!
Tuesday was our last day on Bruny Island and we took it fairly easy. A bit of laundry and preparation for our next stop. We drove into Alonnah where we enjoyed a lovely meal at Hotel Bruny. Sandra and I had a seafood platter for two which was all natural or grilled so gluten free. Delicious! Rans had a chicken parmesan that use a whole chicken we think! We all enjoyed an afternoon nap when we returned to caravans. We enjoyed afternoon drinks with another couple at the campground and our host John in the afternoon. A wonderful way to finish our week on Bruny Island. Great spot and a wonderful stay at Bruny Island Landscape Supplies!
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