Bruny Island from the water

It's been on the list of "things to do when friends or family visit" for years, but this year David gave me a Bruny Island Cruise for my birthday. Awesome gift! One of the multi award-winning Pennicott Wilderness Journeys, this one takes you around the towering dolerite cliffs of southern Bruny Island.

We were collected by bus at Kettering just near the ferry terminal, and taken across on the Mirambeena to Bruny Island. Our guide (we were soon to discover they are all masters of the truly dreadful 'dad joke') told stories of the island and its characters past and present on the 45 minute drive south. On the way to Adventure Bay we stopped at The Neck to climb the stairs to the lookout and that fantastic view of the isthmus and South Bruny.

Once we'd checked in at Bruny Island Cruises HQ in Adventure Bay, there was time for a muffin and a coffee before walking to the wharf to board one of the famous yellow boats. There were people from all around the world in our group - Minnesota, Belgium, China, Malaysia - and we all donned huge red capes the covered me from head to toe to keep out water and wind.

We cruised past beautiful headlands, rugged cliffs and caves, including the magical Breathing Rock that appears to suck air and water in before blowing it out in spectacular fashion. Some cray fishermen checking their cray pots kindly entertained the boatload of tourists by holding up a fresh cray along with a young Port Jackson shark that was released back into the water.

Next came a thrilling spin around The Monument, a 30-odd metre high dolerite stack, before heading to the southern tip on the island where the Tasman Sea meets the Southern Ocean. The swell made for some interesting rises and falls on the boat and the odd exciting drenching by sea spray and rain!

We saw male Australian fur seals basking on The Friars, a group of islands at the southern tip of Bruny Island, then a group of New Zealand fur seals, before the high-speed, wet and windy ride back to Adventure Bay for our pre-ordered lunch and a hot chocolate. On the way back to the ferry, our guide stopped the bus at Get Shucked oysters where I picked up a dozen for Christmas Day, then at the Black Devil Cherries shed near the ferry terminal where I bought a kilo of these huge, juicy beauties. Such a brilliant day out, highly recommend it.