Bruny Island Acrobatics

When I was planning the holiday, something that caught my eye early on for my trip to Tasmania was the Bruny Island Cruise. It does what it says on the tin... in a fast boat.

Gitama and I arrived at Franklin Wharf for the journey down to Bruny just after half seven. Three quarters of an hour later we were on the ferry from Kettering to Bruny and a little under an hour later we stopped off at the neck, the thin stretch of land that connects north and south Bruny. It's my extra today. Adventure Bay is to the left and Isthmus Bay to the right. The road is nothing more than a track on the Isthmus Bay side.

We were given morning tea and blueberry muffin before setting out on the boats which were more akin to large speedboats than cruisers and they could go when they needed to. It was bouncy but pretty dry. We had the absolute perfect day for it though and I'm sure that played a big part in the smoothish ride. That's not to say it didn't get exciting in parts and alas it was all too much for one woman and we had to turn back to the jetty when she got extremely ill. That knocked a little time off the trip and I think we missed a few things. Certainly I would have had the guys stop a lot more often. :-) The landscape was amazing. Think the Jurassic Park/World islands. Towering cliff faces, forested headlands and the most wonderful coastal features such as sea caves and stacks. But ultimately it was the wildlife that stole the show. We were treated to the most wonderful sight on our way out.

A huge pod of bottle nose dolphins, many tens of mammals large, playing and cavorting in the Tasman Sea. As we approached they came alongside, riding the waves and wakes of the boat. Those at the very front were treated to the most amazing display of seagoing dexterity as a few of the dolphins leapt and crisscrossed in front of the boat. And this wasn't just small arcs. They really were going for it. No matter where you sat you were to be treated to the most wonderful displays as my shot today shows. To be honest it hardly conveys at all the acrobatics we saw.

As we crossed over into the Southern Ocean the swells deepened and before long we were down at The Friars where we were able to get alongside a couple of colonies of seals. The first was an all male Australian fur seal colony, the boys fattening themselves up for the mating season ahead. The second was a mixed colony of New Zealand fur seals. The big alpha male was lording it over everyone but generally, aside from a few testy moments, everyone was just chilling on the rocks.

Our bottle nose friends gave us an escort back along the coast as we returned to Bruny for lunch before it was time to head back to the bus and off up to the ferry and back to Hobart. All in all a fabulous day which I haven't really given justice to in this entry but I can't recommend enough the cruise if you ever find yourself down in this neck of the woods. As well as the obviously amazing experience, the staff are both friendly and knowledgable as well as a great laugh.

As I type it's still a couple of hours to go before the eleventh hour back home but before I go, it would be remiss of me not to mention on Armistace Day, all those who have served and continue to do so, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice that allows us all to enjoy these sort of days. We are forever in your debt.