Blustering Bruny Island

An unforgettable adventure on Bruny Island for the long weekend in June. Why so unforgettable? Because of a little something called ‘Tassie weather!’ The conditions were blustering and changed many plans that we were originally going to do. Then we had the issue of staying in a holiday house and the power going off. 

After traveling to Launceston for an appointment, from the North West coast of the state where I live, we continued on to Hobart making it there at 6pm to check in. We stayed in Kingston as it was nice and close to the ferry terminal to Bruny the following morning. 

We left the next day at 10:30am and made it onto the Island a bit before 11am. Thankfully the crossing was calm and we went when we did as the waves got up mid afternoon. 

Upon arrival we had a fair bit of time to fill in before check-in to our holiday house. We decided to go for a drive to North Bruny and have a look around. We drove down to Dennes Point and went for a walk. It was absolutely freezing but so good to get out of the car and stretch our legs. We started at Jetty Beach and we walked the Dennes Point Walk which takes you around a path with amazing views looking back to the main land of Tasmania. Along the path there were lots of signs with historical and current information of the area. 

After our walk we continued our drive around the northern end of Bruny checking out the bays. 

We then travelled across the neck in the wild weather, we could fill the car rocking in the extreme wind. We decided not to stop in and do the neck lookout as the weather was not the best. At the end of the neck is a campsite so we popped in to take a look. We would like to come back and camp on Bruny during the summer months so wanted to see what the campsites were like. The Neck Beach Camping area was good. There was only one person roughing the weather and camping here. We went onto the beach to take a look at the waves pumping. It was a long beach that would be lovely to stroll along in the warmer months. 

We ventured to Adventure Bay for a look and drove up to the information centre. We then headed to our accommodation for the weekend, situated in Alonnah. We found our holiday house, cranked the heaters up and settled in for the afternoon with some board games. 

As night fell we decided to put some tea on to cook, and with the blustering winds and rain, the power went out. Here we were sitting in absolute complete darkness with no light, heat and electricity. We did a quick search with our phones for candles but to no avail. It was so weird being in an unknown place sitting in the complete darkness. Our host was amazing, sending a neighbour up to us with some candles so at least we could see. We ended up having cheese platters for tea and settled into bed for an early night. The power was off for over three hours. Certainly made for an interesting first night away. 

The next day we woke to miserable, extreme weather. After breakfast we decided to head to the Cape Bruny lighthouse. We could see many trees down on the roads and electrical lines being worked on. Upon arrival at the lighthouse, we put on our winter weather gear and started the small trek up the hill. It started pouring with rain and the wind was so cold and strong it kept taking my breath away. It was not a pleasant experience. I was the last of us to make it to the top and we took cover in the lighthouse. The weather was so extreme we were unable to see the view. 

After hitting the warmth of the car we drove down to the Jetty Beach Campsite to check it out. What a gorgeous little camping place. We went down to the beach and although it was still slightly drizzling, the beach was sheltered from the wind and looked calm and peaceful. 

As we headed back to our accommodation we made a stop at a lookout and took some photos of the fierce ocean with it’s massive waves. 

After lunch, Mick and I went for a drive over to Adventure Bay and then went for a walk along the beach. This seemed to be the most sheltered spot on the island. At the end of the beach was some gorgeous sandstone that had been carved out by the waves.

Although the weather was so terrible we had an enjoyable day out in the fresh open air. We called it a day and relaxed at our holiday house. We watched a parrot explore the deck out the front, played some board games and watched some tv. Amazing what you can do when you have power. 

The next day was pack up day and time to head home. The day looked a lot nicer as the wind had died down. We had one stop left to do and that was the lookout at ‘The Neck.’ Glad we left it to the last day so we didn’t get blown up the stairs. The pictures I took show real contrast between the two sides of The Neck. Wild ocean on one side and quiet calm ocean on the other. 

We headed to the ferry and farewelled Bruny Island. We look forward to heading back in the warmer months and possibly camping in one of the lovely campsites.