Many will agree that the best way to discover Bruny Island is on foot. It’s the ideal way to explore lesser-known places, feel the cool of a temperate rainforest or meet the curious eyes of a white wallaby. Bruny is remote though, so take care out there.
Daniel Sprod has lived on Bruny Island 20 years. He’s an avid walker, sailor and rider. He acknowledges the many people who have contributed to the walks across Bruny.
Let’s ‘go for a walk with Daniel’ to discover some of Bruny’s finest nature experiences. We’ve had a chat with him to get the insider tips on his favourite walks, fauna and flora highlights, the importance of taking care in a remote environment, and more.
By the way, you can read more about Bruny’s walks on our listings page (thanks to help from the Bruny Island Environment Network).
Bev’s Lookout along the northern end of the Slide Track is a favourite of mine. The 8-kilometre return walk can be accessed from Sawdust Road in Adventure Bay. About two kilometres into the track are huge, magnificent eucalypts and about 3.5 kilometres in, cool rainforest. Particularly where they were never logged, some trees are giants towering more than 80 metres. They’re quite accessible and the track is well graded because it follows a former tramway that was used to transport big logs by tramway into Adventure Bay. Do note, this is one of the more challenging walks on Bruny and you’ll likely come across leeches!
Another walk that’s pretty magical is Murrays Track that goes over the spine of Bruny. It starts just behind Adventure Bay about 100m south of the Mavista Nature Trail on Coolangata Road. At the highest point of the track, there’s huge Callistemon pallidus. They’re over 12 metres tall and usually only grow to the size of a shrub so these are very special. It’s about 4.5 kilometres, and best done by having transport at either end of the trail. It comes out on the Lockley’s Link Road.
There are great walks right across Bruny Island. The top of North Bruny (Apollo Bay, Dennes Point and Barnes Bay) is predominantly privately owned, so if you want something more challenging than the interesting (but short) Dennes Point Heritage Trail and strolls around the Bruny Island Quarantine Station, you’ll need permission from private land owners.
North Bruny is mainly open woodland and beach walks. Views abound because it is open.
South Bruny has lots of wet forest and is a magnet for tree lovers. The Slide Track and Murrays Track, as mentioned, are fantastic for this. For great views, East Cloudy and Fluted Cape win hands down, but Cape Labillardiere gives quite different vistas to the Southern Ranges and has great intimate heath-field experiences.
Cape Queen Elizabeth (at the bottom of the North Island, past Great Bay) is gorgeous, varied and can be exciting. The beach part (Moorina Bay) feels wild and lonely: with heaped dunes and the beach stretching on ahead. Then there’s an amble through woodland to the stupendous cliffs at the Houndstooth. I have done this so many times with and without company. I will do it many times again.
The Slide Track is difficult, but so rewarding. It can be done in inclement weather, as you are under the canopy most of the time. It gives fantastic insight into previous, more rugged generations. The track mostly follows the old tramway, built mainly by hand through magnificent tall forest. The structures that they built to transport the logs are extant and it is humbling to appreciate how they used their ingenuity and brawn. The swamp forest towards the end is astounding – this time about the force of nature and how she can produce such monstrous trees.
Another favourite is the lovely beach ramble to Fancy Bay via Porpoise Head. There are great fossil cliffs along the way.
The Neck Lookout is a short upwards climb of 200+ steps that offers incredible views of The Neck, Tasman Sea and D’Entrecasteaux Channel. There are also steps that lead down onto the beach for an easy stroll. Grass Point is another excellent 2km wander along the foreshore to Penguin Island, and is easily accessed at the end of Adventure Bay Road near the Bruny Island Cruises Restaurant.
Hanssons Beach and Two Tree Point feature picnic tables and offer another great location for walking. Take your time and enjoy some beach combing, too.
Generally, flora is easier to spot when walking as the tread of boots scares many animals away. Bruny’s plants are varied and the heaths are probably the richest for flowers and little marvels. A great way to really immerse yourself in the landscape is to download a bird app and listen for the bird calls. Having all 12 endemic birds on Bruny, these are such a highlight to any walk.
Expect the unexpected. I was walking to Penguin Island one day and whilst standing quietly, a swamp antechinus nosed along, eventually climbing over my boot on his way to ‘who knows where’?
Loads of people come to Bruny expecting to see a white wallaby. They are actually quite hard to find so it’s best to consider a sighting more of a gift than a guarantee. As with any wildlife, despite your excitement, give the little fellas space and don’t hassle them.
As a tip, there are usually a few around the Adventure Bay area so keep an eye out!
Many places across Bruny – especially when walking – do not have mobile coverage. And even apps like Maps.Me (which works offline) seldom have tracks marked, and thus can be useless.
Many Bruny tracks are tagged routes, rather than footpads, so always keep a tag or the track in sight. If you stray, it may take hours, or even days to return to known haunts.
Use common sense when walking. Be prepared for any weather, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. Emergency services on Bruny are all volunteers. Imagine if you are an SES vollie at a BBQ and the call comes in that someone has not returned! Being prepared with the right clothing and supplies reduces the potential for things going wrong.
There’s an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquillity that comes with Bruny’s remote nature. It also comes with challenge, self-reliance, accomplishment, and often just pure unadulterated joy of being!
Bike-riding the forest tracks of South Bruny and ending up at the pub for a beer sounds good to me! Or up north, head out on one of the beach walks mentioned earlier and end up at the Big Cheese for a beery wind-down.
Another great option is to take two days doing Labillardiere and camping overnight at Butlers Beach. This is more easily done in a sea kayak or similar.
