Rediscovering Tasmania - Bruny Island 2

Our second day on Bruny was also full of happy experiences. Our main activity for the day was to venture on an Adventure Boat trip that would take us from Adventure Bay down to The Friars. We were very much hoping for a beautiful day, like the one the day before. And indeed, we woke up to a gorgeous day with the morning views enticing us to get on the road and make the best of every minute.

'Morning has broken'

Getting down to the jetty set the scene for plenty more photography.Allonah Jetty

We were soon on the road to the island's main settlement, Adventure Bay, which has a bit of history of its own that is worth passing on. My research tells me that while Adventure Bay was first discovered in 1773 by Tobias Furneaux, Abel Tasman tried to land in the vicinity of Adventure Bay in November 1642. It was Furneaux however, who named the bay after his ship, HMS Adventure. Four years after Furneaux's visit, James Cook's two ships, the Resolution and Discovery visited the Bay on 26 January 1777 and stayed for two days. Apparently, Cook carved his initials in a tree that was destroyed in a 1905 bushfire.

In 1788 and again in 1792 William Bligh anchored in Adventure Bay. The island itself however is named after the French explorer Bruni d'Entrecastreau who explored the Channel region in 1792. It was known as Bruni Island until 1918, when the spelling was changed to Bruny. Ref Wikpedia

A visit to the Bligh Museum is most worthwhile and is full of information. We also visited Resolution Creek (named after one of Cook's ships).......... ..........................and found the following information on the tourist info board:

"Known as the 'Watering Place' on the charts of Captain Tobias Furneaux (Adventure 1773) and Captain James Cook (Resolution 1777), this waterway, from which early explorers replenished their supplies of fresh water, was later named Resolution River by Captain William Bligh during his visit on the Bounty in 1788. Bligh had been Sail Master on Cook's ship in 1773.

Accompanying Bligh on his next visit in 1792 was Lieutenant George Tobin, the expedition's Principal Artist. Of the seven paintings executed by Tobin in Adventure Bay, one depicted the area known as 'Two Tree Point'. It is thought that these trees depicted by Tobin are still standing today, making them at least 250 years of age."

This wonderful painting by George Tobias in 1792 of where Resolution Creek (River) enters Adventure Bay was displayed on the information board.

Nearby, we found a model of a ship that gives information about the sailings of early explorers. calling in at Adventure Bay. It was a place we first visited as a family back in 1969 and I was glad Jan and I found it again. So, a photo of me, followed by the 1969 photo of the children at the same place:

Mark, Brenda & Ann. (Don't remember where Vicki was)

Our boat trip was due to leave Adventure Bay at 10 am and we had to be available from 9.30 to be geared up for our trip. We were the only ones that took the trip from Adventure Bay. A busload of people arrived a little late. They had come from Hobart on the catamaran Peppermint Bay II and disembarked at Barnes Bay in order to go on this adventure trip. The guide told us that they were late because as they travelled to Bruny Island, they encountered a pod of dolphins and the captain decided it was too good for his passengers not to enjoy them. That is the spirit of Peppermint Bay II and I like them because of it.

Above: the fast coastal expedition vessel Adventure. It seats up to 48 passengers and travels at a most enjoyable speed, powered by four 350 HP outboard motors!

Whilst it delayed our departure from AB a little, it wasn't a real problem and we were looking forward to a great day. The boat was about 70% full and we had a great guide who loved the geological formations around Bruny and enjoyed telling us about them:

Mighty rock formations - so old!!

The sea was just as we hoped for. We had good views allowing for great photography, including the following:

The 'Totem Pole' through which we sailed.'Nooks & Crannies'

Action at a blow hole.And nature at its best with this small colony of comorants.

Finally, we arrived at the southern most point of our journey at The Friars, the home of a colony of seals:

The seal colony on the left and the far background is where we were yesterday at the lighthouse. Wonderful scenery, calm seas, colourful weather, and an enjoyable travel companion by my side. Can't ask for anything more!Above and below, the seals both sunbaking and frolicking in the water.

If looks could kill!! They are certainly a haughty variety, but looked perfectly at ease with our company. I do wonder however, whether the increased frequency of these boats loaded with tourists will affect them and their habitat in the future. But what a privilege it was for us to see these babies in their natural habitat and content and............very well fed by the looks of them!

A final look before we set off to find other marine wonders.Gorgeous place. We were so glad we went on such a perfect day!

As we headed back to Adventure Bay, the crew thought it would be nice if we could find some dolphins and other marine life. We sailed further east and finally there was the call 'DOLPHIN!' Not only dolphins. We saw effectively a feeding frenzie before our eyes with albatross, gannets, seagulls, seals and dolphins all having, what must have been , an early lunch. Click on the image to give a better appreciation of the number of birds feeding on the fish below that apparently had been herded by the dolphins for a feed:But dolphins there were aplenty. They are such a graceful and beautiful creature and we all delighted in their accompanying us:You have to be quick to catch them at the right moment. It's a bit of a problem with digital cameras as there is just that extra delay in recording the image. But, I am sure you get the idea that it was a pretty special experience - dolphins always are!

This blog chapter is about at its end. It will also be my last offering for 2009. I will leave you with just a couple of photos taken at Adventure Bay that will hopefully entice you to make a point of visiting Bruny Island: