A forty minute drive from Hobart and a fifteen minute ferry ride took us to Bruny Island. It is an island of spectacular landscapes, wildlife and history.

North Bruny and South Bruny are joined by a narrow strip of land, known as the neck. Steps lead up to a lookout with amazing views. Little penguins come ashore on the ocean side of this neck and nest in the dunes. We will go back to see the penguin walk at dusk. Each week we seem to find another deserted Tasmanian beach.

Adventure Bay was first noted by Abel Tasman and became a popular anchorage for European explorers. James Cook and William Bligh landed here and have rivulets and roads named after them. It is said that William Bligh planted the first apple tree in the southern hemisphere here. For several decades it was the site of intense whaling which pushed several branches of the whale family almost to extinction. Now it is tourist location for camping, walking, whale and dolphin watching boat trips.

We walked from the end of Adventure Bay to Grass Point. The path started at the end of the beach, over the stream and onto a track which gradually evolved into a bush path. Were there snakes on the path or just twigs and tree roots?

The only sounds were birds and the gentle lapping of water in the bay below. A surprise awaited us as the path opened out into grass and low scrub with wallabies grazing, quite unperturbed by our presence.

Another few paces took us out to a pebble beach, looking at Penguin Island, an island off an island, off an island, off mainland Australia.

This walk was delightful and full of surprises. It was within the South Bruny National Park so there were information boards explaining the history of the area. At one point the path dipped to a stony beach. Someone had spent time stacking and balancing hundreds of stones and pebbles. What a beautiful peaceful zen image.

Several gourmet foods come from the island, with wine, whiskey, cheeses and oysters having specific shops on the main road. I have seen many different “take away” and “drive through” opportunities in this country but this was a first.