Bruny Island

6th – 14th April 2026

With a very good rap about this island and having enjoyed camping here many years ago we were looking forward to Bruny Island. On the whole we were disappointed. Perhaps our final assessment was coloured by our need for a rapid departure. Read on …

On the car ferry, with the ‘other’ ferry going the opposite direction.

Bruny Island is just off the south east coast. We caught the car ferry from the pretty little village of Kettering for the 20 minute transfer to be landed at north Bruny. Most of the action happens in south Bruny. North and south sections are joined by a very narrow isthmus.

The isthmus, called ‘The Neck’ and south Bruny from the lookout.

All around The Neck is conservation land, reserved to protect the Little Penguins’ and the Shearwaters’ nests. Of an evening in the warmer months you can watch hundreds of them returning from a day fishing.

There’s a memorial here to Truganini, one of the last full-blood lutruwita people. Her life and that of her people at the hands of the white settlers is horrific and shameful.

Everyone should take a moment to reflect here.
What a beautiful day for sailing. Sykes Cove, Bruny Island.

Camping spots are few on Bruny. We headed over to the western side to camp beside the Bruny Hotel.

A stunning sunset from the beer garden of the Bruny Hotel. The amazing colour attributed to the smoke from a fire on the mainland.

We were lucky enough to see the very cute albino wallaby. The snow white wallaby is a genetic mutation and is found nowhere else in the world – only Bruny Island. There are at least 200 of them on the island.

I found it interesting that this albino mother has a normal coloured Joey.

Next day a drive around north Bruny proved underwhelming. It was raining so a stop at the cheese and beer tourist drawcard filled in a little while. Tomorrow we want to walk the Fluted Cape track but the closest campsite we could find to the trailhead is at The Neck. Camping here is amongst the bush, no views.

Tassie has an excellent initiative with their “60 Great Short Walks” book.
It started with an easy walk alongside the coastline.
But the peak of this sea cliff is where we’re headed. It wasn’t long before the climb became quite steep on a very uneven track.
The views were stunning.
So beautiful.
At the top.
The descent was inland a little on a very steep and poorly maintained track. This photo is where it’s pretty good.

Anyway safely down we returned to our campsite at The Neck. That night my right knee started getting painful. By morning I was unable to walk on it. Not a big deal if I could rest it, but we’re booked onto another multi-day walk at the end of the week. Panic stations ensued! An appointment with a sports physio in Hobart was made for that afternoon, so we packed up and headed to the ferry.

But not before dropping in here. (Just another retail outlet – nothing to see).
And here – a little-known cure for sore knees.
The lovely physio examined my knee and diagnosed a ‘grumbling medial meniscus’, strapped it and strongly advised me not to do the multi-day hike. Sorry physio – I’m not missing this hike for anything.

Having cut our Bruny Island trip short (though I don’t think we missed much) we camped beside the Huon River at Franklin. What a gem that is!

The view out of our lounge room window
There we are just beside the smallest tree. Isn’t it a pretty town!
Just a little further on.

But we didn’t spend all our time in the van. Coffee and a treat was partaken every day at Cinnamon and Cherry, a middle-eastern cafe. A short walk along the river kept ‘the knee’ mobile.

The Huon being the centre of Apple growing on this island which has been known as The Apple Isle of course we had to visit an Apple orchard and cidery.
We celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary at this excellent Italian restaurant just a very short walk from our campsite.

All that remains now is to drive into Hobart where we’ll meet our next multi-day hiking tour. This one though has a difference …