Bruny Island Cruises. Hold Onto Your Pants!!!

 We purchased our tickets online or you can actually buy your tickets in person at their Hobart Waterfront Booking Centre (nearby ‘Constitution Dock Marina’ – you can’t miss it). Purchase price with Kettering pickup is $150 pp but it also includes your return fare on vehicle ferries. Received a confirmation email and a link on Google Maps to drive to ‘Kettering Meeting Point’ (Oyster Cove Marina), easy to get to with the provided Google Maps link and plenty of free parking available at meeting point.

‘Mitch’ our bus driver / tour guide arrived punctually – a very friendly, happy guy with a terrific sense of humour and lots of ‘dad jokes’ to be shared. He introduced himself to the group and made sure he had everybody that’s on his list before we headed off to the ferry terminal. 

Once the bus was on the ferry, if needed, you may take the opportunity to have a toilet break – don’t worry, there are other opportunities to use the toilet. Mitch showed us the highlights of Bruny Island during our travels until we arrived at ‘Adventure Bay’. 

Another opportunity for a toilet break, get your tickets at reception (even if you have already purchased online) and if you wish, pre-order your lunch at their restaurant ‘Bruny Island Cruises Seafood Restaurant’, so your meal is ready for when you return from the cruise – no fuss or time wasted and back on the bus in no time. Or you can bring your own lunch – which is what we did. Oh… Mitch highly recommended to use the toilets at this stop because he rated the toilet on cruise boat pretty poorly… like a one-star rating. I’m not too sure of the condition of their toilets but I sure didn’t want to risk it either. 

There were lots of other guests waiting at Adventure Bay but don’t worry, you will definitely have a seat on their boat as they have three going at the same time. The day we went on the cruise, was a glorious hot day but as mentioned in the email ‘Important Information’, it is recommended to dress warmly (warm jackets, scarves, beanies, gloves) regardless of weather, as the temperature would drop dramatically when out in the sea. We were also given head-to-toe, heavy raincoats to wear to protect yourself from getting wet and perhaps added protection from the freezing weather we were going to encounter. 

We boarded the boat, which we so happened to have Mitch and his companion ‘Nick’ as our tour guides. Before our adventures started, the duo reassured us that they have never had a person sick on their boat and offered ‘Blackmores Travel Calm Ginger’ tablets if you’re prone to motion sickness – I’m guessing that’s their secret to their success. My daughter who does experience travel sickness and not so good on boats, took two tablets – I guarantee you that it actually worked, so please do not hesitate to take the tablets when offered not when it’s too late. 

The best seat to be seated on the boat, should you be prone to travel sickness is in the middle or the back of the boat – less motion. Mitch and Nick worked well together, bouncing off each other with more jokes to be shared and commentaries. Nick’s added task was to navigate the boat which he did so amazingly, he is extremely skilful and capable of manoeuvring the boat in and around tight spots and make a 360 degree-turn so the others on the other side of the boat get a chance to see the same view and opportunities to take photographs and Mitch ensured the safety of the crew while the boat is in motion as well as attending to crew’s queries or requests. 

The highlights of seeing rock formations or caves is the ingenious names they came up with – you will see what I mean… such a crack up. I will share one with you, there are two caves, the first cave was named ‘First Cave’ and of course no brainer what the second cave was named. Nick kept his two-way radio close-by, communicating with the other two navigators on their boats, to see if they had any sightings of wildlife so we won’t miss out on any opportunities. 

You are guaranteed in seeing spectacular landscapes and rock formations and yes… we did see wildlife. We saw dolphins who came out to play with us, a baby whale humpback… well, sort of, it was under water, you could see the silhouette of the whale and it spurting water out, seals and sea eagles. By the time we got to see the seals, I felt like I formed into an icicle, not even my warm clothes and the provided raincoat I was wearing was enough. 

I do like Mitch’s idea when I saw him wearing some clothing to cover his bottom half of his face – much needed as my nose was extremely cold. Mitch and Nick put the ‘fun’ in cruise and made sure we had an amazing but an unforgettable cruise experience - this tour is worth every cent and not one crew member was sick. As we were cruising back to shore, Mitch handed out some snacks to the crew – that was a sweet gesture and unexpected. 

Then we returned to ‘Adventure Bay’ where we thawed out and had our lunch – those who ordered their lunches were ready for collection. I’m glad that the cruise didn’t go any longer, I was busting to go to the toilet due to the freezing temperature – even though I used the toilet facilities just before we boarded the boat. 

There is no doubt that you are safe under Mitch’s and Nick’s care and guaranteed to have an amazing life experience, I do not believe this cruise is suitable for young children. Mitch and Nick gave us a ‘waves’ rating ‘1’ being the lowest and ‘10’ being the highest, the waves that day scored a ‘1.5’ rating. 

I can assure you that we were rocking and rolling in that boat – I would not have liked to experience the waves rating at a ‘5’, I don’t think I would have coped. Then we hopped back onto our bus, Mitch did a headcount to be sure he had everyone and as promised earlier on our bus travels (if we had some time to spare), a quick stop to purchase fresh cherries from a local whom Mitch affectionately named him ‘Simon the Cherry Man’. 

But just before ‘Simon the Cherry Man’, Mitch noticed an echidna on the side of the road, ready to cross. He was kind enough to back the bus up, so we could watch the echidna waddle across the road – put a smile on our faces and hence… another wildlife added to the list. And yes, we did have time to purchase cherries, Simon was waiting where the vehicles stop to board the ferry. 

The cherries were amazing and lovely ending to our adventures – if you love cherries and have the opportunity, be sure to purchase some cherries, they were packed in 500g or 1kg bags. 

Thank you so much Mitch and Nick – you guys are a great duo.