Australia: Outstanding hikes and wildlife encounters on Bruny Island, Tasmania

During my visit to Tasmania I spent one night on the lovely Bruny Island. It is the most southern island off Tasmania, it has bewildering landscapes and local wildlife is abundant on the island. For wildlife viewing, it is a great place to see some of the iconic animals of southern Australia such as red-necked wallaby or Bennett’s wallaby (including rare albino wallabies!), little penguin or fairy penguin, colorful parrots, albatross and fur seals on the offshore cliffs.

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The wilderness of Bruny Island — A view of the dramatic coastline as observed from The Neck Game Reserve Lookout

My reason for coming to the island was because my bird book recommended it as a good destination where all of the Tasman endemic bird species are found within a relatively small geographic area.

Due to the nature of my stay and my mission to see as many of the 14 endemic species, a visit to Bruny Island was my top priority.

Therefore, if Tasmania is ‘too big an island’ for you, Bruny Island may be your getaway place. In this post you can find out why + my must see list on Bruny Island!

I visited in the beginning of December 2022 before the Australian summer holiday starts, and I could hardly find a place to stay for one night. I can imagine this place being packed by even more tourists during high season. Later in this post I will share with you some graphs concerning the climate on Bruny Island.

Where to find Bruny Island and how to get there

Bruny Island is the most southern island off the Tasman coast. Bruny is nearly ‘split in two’ and the two parts are often referred to as ‘South Bruny’ or ‘North Bruny’.

The way to get to Bruny Island is via the small car ferry from the town Kettering. The ferry company Sea Link operates in the area and there are many daily ferry departures leaving from Kettering and return.

Pied oystercatcher: A black and white wader bird standing on a sandy beach on Bruny Island

You can reach Bruny Island within few hours from Hobart Airport, but you may also reach it from Launceston Airport in roughly half a day depending on your time of arrival. Most people arrive in Hobart by airplane anyway, so it should not be a problem to get to Bruny Island fast.

The ferry is 10 minutes short and costed me 45 dollars for a ticket (they only sell return tickets).

Here’s my tip: The sooner you arrive at the ferry docks prior to a departure, the cheaper the ticket. But if you arrive too soon, you may end up in the back of the queue to the ferry prior your expected departure!

For me personally, it was a bit nerve wrecking to squeeze my small rental car in between the bars under the roof on the ferry. Luckily I have lots of experience driving and parking onboard ferries from back in Denmark! 🙂 The crew onboard the ferry was also available to guide me through the narrow places and to my parking spot.

Driving on Bruny Island

As soon as the ferry arrived at the docks on Bruny, I quickly took a left turn on a gravel road towards the northern part of the island.

Everyone else on the ferry rushed away from the ferry driving no less than the speed limits, and it seemed like most of the other passengers headed directly south to South Bruny.

I had picked a spot up north to try and find the rare and hard-to-find forty-spotted pardalote (unfortunately my mission failed and I spent 45 minutes on a roadside 😦 …) At least there are plenty of other interesting and beautiful birds on the island such as this superb fairywren! They are quite inquisitive and don’t mind sneaking up close to you, especially to inspect the side mirrors on cars or other shiny man-made objects.

Superb fairywren seen on Bruny Island, a common bird in Southern Australia

An overall observation I made in Tasmania was that there was a lack of rest spots/areas along the roads in Tasmania. Is that to prevent campers from settling for the night? It made my bird watching mission a bit more difficult, as the island is small and packed with day-visitors rushing by. Luckily there was som large parking areas close to the most important places on Bruny Island.

Having gotten rid of my ‘tail’ I was hoping to drive more relaxed, but as soon as I headed towards The neck Lookout other people were pushing and overtaking during poor road conditions and bad viewing areas.. Maybe I am just not used to this aggressive driving?

The general road conditions on Bruny Island

The road conditions on Bruny were mixed, mostly the roads were tarred but gravel roads were also common. Due to the heavy rain and floodings occurring earlier in the year, there were plenty of pot holes.

Due to the abundance of wildlife on Bruny Island, there are lots of signs stating to take care of wildlife while driving, but this is mosty relevant at dusk and dawn, where the majority of wildlife is active.

Climate on Bruny Island

As you can see on these graphs constructed by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, the months of December, January and February offer the mildest climate, with a higher mean maximum temperature (left figure) and fewer days of rainfall per month (right figure).

As with the rest of Tasmania, the island is also a place where it can be tricky to dress for a day of activities, so make sure you bring some warm clothes, waterproof outerwear and remedies to prevent sunburn. Hiking boots is also a must here!

The Bruny Island MUST sees – my top 3

Must see #1: The Neck – Truganini Lookout

Adore the gorgeous views and learn about local Aboriginal history and the local breeding colonies for seabirds.

Typically you may spend half an hour here.

You can climb up the stairs to enjoy the unique scenery of the narrow strip of land connecting the north and south island, with the waves crashing in from east. You can also enjoy a stroll along the beach and spend much longer time here, and look for shells, seabirds and waders (like the oystercatcher in the photo at the top!).

A narrow stretch of land bordered by waves from the left and shallow lagoon on the right. A staircase and boardwalk makes a walking route. — The view from Truganini Lookout

Bruny Island is really a place where you can calm yourself, do some meditation and enjoy the fresh air. All while getting exercise from all the hiking and strolling the beaches.

View of the ocean and Fluted Cape (land) from South Bruny Island, Tasmania — The views of South Bruny from the beach at Truganini Lookout.

Must see #2: South Bruny Wildlife Cruise

Wildlife Cruise off the coast of South Bruny Island

Venture into the shores of Bruny Island and endure the wind and waves while you watch the fantastic geological treasures unfold before your eyes. All the while Australasian gannets plunge dive into the waves around you and Australian and New Zealand fur seals bask in the sun on the cliff islands.

Embark on perhaps the biggest adventure of your Aussie trip on a three hour guided wilderness cruise from Adventure Bay, Bruny Island.

Since I did a last minute planning of my whole trip to Tasmania, I did not know of this excellent opportunity. I met an Aussie women on a hike, and I went with her to inquire about the availability of the tours.

Thankfully, there was an opening for a 10 am cruise, and I joined on the fully booked vessel wearing all the clothes I had in my suitcase (the office employees said it would be extremely cold out there) and the essential red, full-body waterproof jacket that was provided for everyone on the cruise by the staff.

What a blast it was!!

This was one of the highlights of my 6-week long stay down under.
Depending on the weather and season, you may be lucky to view different species of marine mammals and seabirds.
I was unlucky to miss the migration season of the whales in all of Australia, but I was treated with my very first albatross (the white-capped albatross, formerly Shy albatross) – and even 8 of them in total!
All us tourists were offered ginger tablets from the crew shortly before departure, that help prevent nausea. I also had some sea-sickness tablets beforehand. If you are prone to seasickness, this cruise may not be something to enjoy for you.

Must see #3: Fluted Cape and Grass Point Hike – a moderate hike of 2-2.5 hours.

If you only have a short time on Bruny Island like me (unlucky us!!), this may be your best choice of an easily accessible hike, reachable within 40 minutes from the ferry.

Located near Adventure Bay, the hike is situated in one of the most populated place on Bruny Island. You can park your vehicle nearby, and you can begin the hike by walking down to the beach and follow it until you see a small sign marking the beginning/entrance.

I recommend heading north along the Grass Point where the trail meets the waves, then head up along the steep cliffs to make the loop back to the parking spot.

The views on the Fluted Cape are phenomenal!

Sea view from a hiking path on Bruny Island

Fluted Cape and Grass Point is also a great place for wildlife spotting in the forest and along the coastline. I recommend bringing binoculars and camera for this 🙂

There are no bathrooms, shops or water posts on the route.

Remember to be prepared (as for any bush walking!) for the trip and bring practical clothes including rain coat, hiking boots/shoes, cap/sunhat, water, snack with high energy content, charged phone etc. Check up on local weather conditions beforehand and make sure you send your itinerary or location of the hike to a friend or family member.

Green rosella: A colorful green parrot restricted to Tasmania

Bennets wallaby — A wallaby with an itch from one of my hikes to Fluted Cape

Good to know when visiting the national parks in Tasmania

In the national parks it is required to have a pass purchased. This can be done online on the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service website, where you can also read more about the hikes, history and where to camp on Bruny Island.
One awesome thing about national parks is that you can camp in the designated camp areas for a small fee. If I am fortunate enough to return one day, I would love to try and camp there.
If you happen to explore the island with your rented autocamper, head to my post of tips on do’s and don’ts including our actual expenses (from Western Australia).

Excellent dining can be found on Bruny Island

I found myself a table at Hotel Bruny in Alonnah, and it was conveniently on my way to the apartment I had rented for the night in Lunawanna.

Here I enjoyed a healthy meal and a locally brewed cider, while watching the sun setting in a beautiful light and background with a view of mountains and the sea. I could not have had a better way to end my adventurous day on Bruny Island!

Places I did not visit but would have loved to see

If you glance at a satellite map of Tasmania you will realize just how much intact nature and wilderness that still exists on the islands. This is one of the wonderful things about Tasmania.

Regardless, pressures do exist on the local wildlife from habitat destruction, habitat degradation, risks for wildlife to end as roadkill and changed conditions due to climatic changes from global warming.

There are lots of wildlife reserves, game reserves, nature conservation areas and forest reserves on Bruny Island. It can be tricky to tell the different protected areas apart, and different rules and restrictions apply.

These are some of the recommended hikes in South Bruny National Park:

Labillardiere Peninsula – 5.5-6.5 hour circuit, 18km return, Grade 4
East Cloudy Head – 4 hours return, 12km, Grade 4

Cheese tasting: I would have loved to do a cheese tasting at the Bruny Island Cheese Co. It seemed like an immensely popular place to go, the parking lot was packed with cars when I passed by!

Guided bird tour at Inala Private Reserve: Next time I would take a guided tour at Inala Private Reserve and have a higher chance of seeing the endemic birds of Tasmania, such as the forty-spotted pardalote.