Views from Buny Island

During our visit to the island, we stayed in one of the two key towns, Alonnah at Bruny Backpackers. Bernie and Julie were great company and are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

The location was perfect, an easy drive to most attractions, right on a beautiful beach, and not forgetting the three minute walk to the (only) pub!

We got to know the local residents...

and were so excited to be able to see one of the rare sights of Bruny Island, from the back garden! - the Bennetts White Wallaby.

It is known as a painted wallaby, as it is a few genes short of being pure albino. Albino or painted species are usually very vulnerable to natural predators. However as the White Wallabies have few predators on Bruny Island, they have managed to breed and increase their numbers. This is fantastic for all who would like to get a glimpse of this rare species.

and explored along the beach...

enjoying some particularly good views whilst the sun set...

The Neck
About a 10 min drive north of Alannoh, is possibly my favourite place in the world.
Bruny Island Neck is an isthmus of land connecting north and south Bruny Island, southern Tasmania.

Timber stairs lead from the dunes to the Neck lookout, offering stunning 360 degree views.

It's worth the 235 steps to climb to the top to see views looking across to the south island.



The Neck is an important habitat for Bruny’s native wildlife, and here you’ll find the Neck Game Reserve. Boardwalks and viewing platforms enable you to observe short-tailed shearwaters and little penguins (also known as fairy penguins). You can see these remarkable birds returning to their burrows in the sand dunes at dusk—little penguins making their way up the beach in tight groups and the shearwaters gliding in from the sea.

Cape Bruny Lighthouse

At the far south west tip of the island is Tasmania’s third lighthouse, and Australia’s fourth. It is now the country’s second oldest and longest continually staffed extant lighthouse.

Governor George Arthur ordered the construction of this lighthouse after several ships were wrecked at the entrance to the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Colonial architect John Lee Archer designed the tower and a gang of twelve convicts began quarrying local rock in 1836. Eighteen months later the first second-interval flashes shone out.

The first lantern, visible for 30 nautical miles to seaward, burned a pint of sperm whale oil per hous in 15 lamps with concave silvered reflectors. Later lanterns used Kerosene and 110 volt electric power. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1996.

The new solar-powered automatic light is located on a hill east of the lighthouse.