Paradise island
Not too far from Hobart, Bruny Island is a natural wonderland with a catered walking program that brings luxury to the outdoors
The man strides through the shallows of Tasmania’s Great Bay, hand outstretched in greeting. “Welcome,” he smiles, reaching into a small Esky, “Would you like a fresh oyster?”
Why, yes I would – and oysters don’t get any fresher than this, plucked straight out of the salty waters of a local oyster farm, shucked right there and then on the beach, and served with a squeeze of lemon.
It’s day one of my three-day, two-night, Bruny Island Long Weekend Walk, hosted by the Tasmanian Walking Company and, honestly, it’s hard to see how things could get any better than this.
But they do. So far, we’ve enjoyed a private boat transfer to Bruny from Hobart’s picture perfect harbour, sailing along the Derwent River and passing by spectacular cliffs, hidden coves, and the high school Mary Donaldson attended before she met a prince in a pub and became Denmark’s future queen.
Then, after disembarking on the 50kmlong wonder that is Bruny, our small group is driven to the start of a 14km trail along the Island’s east coast. This walk takes in white gum forests, sweeping coastlines, bracken-dotted sand dunes, and the stunning vista from Cape Queen
Elizabeth. Finishing the walk with those magnificent Pacific oysters, we’re picked up by van to head to our campsite; somewhat of a wonder in itself.
Nestled at the base of Mt Mangana, it’s very pretty with a smattering of purposebuilt, glamping-style tents on 40ha of private land. While some of the group retires to their tents for a snooze on the king-size, cotton-sheeted beds, I opt to do a little forest bathing, or showering, walking down a shady track to a little wooden bathroom with a spectacular, open-window forest view. It really doesn’t get much better than having a hot shower surrounded by the sights and scents of a eucalypt forest – until it does.
While we’ve been relaxing, our guide, Sam, and camp host, Simon, have been creating a three-course meal (think honeyed scallops, saffron and white wine rice, sauteed lamb rump with roasted seasonal vegetables, fresh strawberry crepes with cream and forest berries) all sourced from Bruny Island.
Day two brings another excellent culinary effort from Sam and Simon before we set off, with Sam to guide us, on a 14km walk to East Cloudy Head.
We begin on the pristine Cloudy Bay beach, tramping past nesting Pacific gulls and twisted driftwood, before winding our way up the Cloudy Head walking track.
This one takes us past wildflowers and native bushland to a crest and spectacular views of the island’s south coast. It’s a round trip of about five hours, including a lunch stop and an ocean dip.
Simon is at the start of the trail to pick us up and take us back to camp for dinner. I can’t imagine this could be any better than the night before, and then, again, it is, so I decide to just expect the best from now on – and day three delivers.
I’m woken by a family of pademelons grazing outside my tent, and after breakfast we pack up our things for our last walk together.
Simon drives us to the trailhead of Mt Mangana, and probably my favourite walk of the trip. It’s uphill all the way, so it’s also the hardest, but the ascent is through a lush, Gondwanan rainforest, an emerald-green wilderness filled with iridescent fungi and ancient, towering trees. We scramble over rocks and duck our heads under vines and we don’t see or hear another soul along the way.
I listen instead to the sounds of the forest, and feel the magic of it all. This walk is about three hours, and then it’s back to the van and a quick lunch at the
Jetty Cafe before our boat carries us, once more, across the waters to Hobart.
It feels like we’ve been away for far longer than three days because we’ve seen so many diverse landscapes – and that’s exactly what they say about Bruny. That you can see the whole of Tasmania in one day there. And yet, at the end of my three days, I wanted to go straight back again and see much more.
It really doesn’t get much better than having a hot shower surrounded by the sights and scents of a eucalypt forest