Activity Archives - Page 8 of 14 - Destination's Journey

16 June 202116 July 2021

Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise

How to Get There

The Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise leaves from Adventure Bay on Bruny Island. On arrival, park your car in the large carpark and make your way to the large building, where you check in and wait for the tour to start. From here, the guides will walk you to the boats tied up at a nearby pier.

What to Wear and Take

The weather in this part of Tasmania is very changeable, meaning that although it may be warm before you start, it may be cold or raining later. The tour recommends warm clothing, as the temperature out on the water may be cold. A waterproof jacket is provided, which is ankle length, but you may still get wet. We wore woollen jumpers and jackets, but still used the jackets provided. Gloves and something warm for your head, like a beanie and a scarf are also recommended.

There is room in the overhead nets for bags and backpacks to keep them dry, but anything on the floor will get wet. To avoid water damage photos are best taken when the boat stops. We kept cameras inside our jackets when not being used and they did not get wet.

Prior to the boat leaving the dock, the crew provide a safety briefing and distributed ginger seasick tablets. Fortunately, no one became sick during our cruise.

The Bruny Island Adventure Cruise Boat Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise — The Bruny Island Adventure Cruise Boat

The Coastline

One of the main attractions for the cruise is the rugged coastline which provides a fantastic backdrop throughout the three hours you are on the water. Whether it is towering cliffs, blow holes, sea caves or arches, there was always something to look at. The boat stopped regularly, which allowed us to take pictures. Taking pictures while moving was impossible, as we moved too fast, and it was too bumpy and wet.

Cliffs

The towering dolerite cliffs dominate the coastline, throughout the trip, reminding you of how rugged the coastline is. One of the best sights is the monument, an eroded spire standing out of the sea watching over the coast.

Opening to a Sea Cave — Dolerite Cliff Face

Sea Caves and Blow Holes

Wave action has cut caves and fissures into the cliffs in many places, producing caves and blow holes. As the water enters the fissures and is forced out by air pressure, huge spouts of water erupt into the air. The boat got close enough so that we were often covered by the spray.

Blow Hole on a Cliff Face Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise — Blow Hole on a Cliff Face

Arches

Over time erosion around the sea caves turns them into arches. These look magnificent standing above the sea, with waves crashing around their base.

Islands

The Friars, several small islands are home to seals and sea birds. The tour takes you out to them, but they also look good by themselves.

The Friars Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise — The Friars

Wildlife to See on The Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise

Although a major highlight of the tour, there is no guarantee that wildlife will be seen during the cruise. We were lucky, because seals and seabirds were basking on the rocks and dolphins put on a show for the return journey.

Birds

During the cruise we were able to see many sea birds, most of which were drying their feathers on rocks off the coast. We managed to see a sea eagle, but it was too far away for a good photo.

Black-faced Cormorants and a White Faced Heron — Black-faced Cormorants

Seals

New Zealand and Australian fur seals were basking on rock ledges when we were there, making for great photo opportunities. At the Friars, the boat was able to get close inshore where we saw them up close. This was very special and a highlight of the trip, although the smell was overpowering.

Dolphins

During the return trip dolphins swam next to the boat, putting on a great show.

Whales

Sometime during trips whales are visible as they migrate to and from the Antarctic. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any, but the other wildlife we saw was great.

Back on Shore

After returning our wet weather jackets and thanking the crew, we made our way to the restaurant where we had a hot meal and a drink from the bar.

What Did We Think of The Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise

This was the highlight of our visit to Bruny Island with the coastline and wildlife being amazing to see. Remember to wear warm waterproof clothing and don’t forget your camera.

To read other posts about Tasmania, click here.

Our photos are available for purchase on

12 April 202118 May 2021

Bourke Gateway to the Australian Outback

Bourke

Located in the Orana Region of western New South Wales, Bourke is the edge of the Outback. To many Australian, the saying Back O’ Bourke means in the middle of nowhere.

Visitor Centre

Our first stop was the Back O’ Bourke Tourist Information Centre, so that we could find out if there was anything new in the area to see. The friendly staff told us about a local artist’s gallery, a display at the airport and a riverboat cruise. They also gave us a map of the local cemetery, which had graves of interest marked, which was very helpful.

Outside the main building, an excellent sculpture artwork, The Dance of the Echidnas combines aboriginal culture and local flora, to form a great display.

Bourke Airport

As suggested by the tourist visitor centre, we dropped into the local airport, where the terminal is named after famous Australian aviator Nancy Bird-Walton. Nancy Bird-Walton, was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as “The Angel of the Outback”, and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots’ Association. In the 1930s, she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of 19 becoming the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot’s licence.

In addition to information and photos on Nancy Bird Walton, the airport terminal shows the history of aviation at Bourke and how important it was to Australia’s development of aviation. Many air races and original air routes passed through Bourke, before flying became what it is today.

MV Janda Riverboat

Heavy rain in the previous month meant that the Darling River was rising. We were lucky to get on the last river cruise because of the river’s height. The amount of silt washed down stream due to flooding meant that the river was brown.

The peaceful and relaxing 90-minute trip took us passed river red gums and farm land before returning.

Darling River From the Jandra — Jandra Riverboat

Bourke Wharf

The wharf is a reconstruction of the original and is primarily a tourist attraction. However, it still shows how it operated, even as the river rose and fell seasonally, with multiple levels available to access the ships.

Wharf on the Darling River with lowest level submerged

Crossley Engine

Sitting undercover near the wharf, the Crossley engine was donated by Bob Crawford and family from Narromine in 2001. Operated on weekdays for an hour by volunteers, and fully restored to working condition it is worth seeing.

Originally used from 1923 to 1938 in the Sydney Power House to generate electricity for Sydney it moved to the Allowrie Butter Factory in Coffs Harbour until 1949. It then went to a property in Narromine in 1949 to pump water for irrigation until 1964.

Historic Buildings

The centre of town has many lovely old buildings, which makes a walk through the main streets interesting, as you are constantly looking to see what is around.

Bourke Corner of Sturt and Oxley Streets — Corner of Sturt and Oxley Streets The Old London Banking Company

Bourke Fitzgerald's Post Office Hotel — Corner of Sturt and Oxley Streets The Old London Banking Company

Bourke Cemetery

Many people were visiting the cemetery when we arrived, mostly to see the grave of Fred Hollows. Fred was an ophthalmologist became known for his work in restoring eyesight for thousands of people in Australia and many other countries.

Our map from the Tourist Information Centre showed several other interesting graves. We found the most interesting to be the Afghan graves and associated mosque. Camels carried freight in the early days of colonial Australia, until replaced by trucks in the 1930s.

Bourke Cemetery Fred Hollow's Grave — Fred Hollow’s Grave

What did We Think of Bourke?

We found Bourke to be a very relaxed town, easy to find your way around, with plenty to see and do.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Our photos are available for purchase on

26 January 20217 August 2021

Bison Encounter in Morpeth

Bison Encounter in Morpeth

Something you would no expect to do in The Hunter Valley town of Morpeth is have an encounter with Bison. Located just outside town a 100 hectare hobby farm has a small herd of American Bison, which you can arrange to see. Over the one-hour visit, you get to meet the animals, feed them and learn about their history.

On arrival at the farm, you are greeted by your hosts who explain the safety aspects of your visit, because bison are big and can be dangerous. The main rule: do not pat the bison because this upsets them. Also important to know is that the bison and visitors are separated by a fence at all times. This stops any unfortunate accidents.

The farm provides hay to hand feed the animals, but you are welcome to bring apples and carrots yourself, because they find these delicious.

While you feed the bison and take pictures, your hosts explain about their herd and bison history and hierarchy in general. We found this interesting, because we didn’t know much about them. Currently only around 500 bison call Australia home, so the national herd is small. This farm has nine bison, a large bull, named Tank, three adult females, two yearlings and three calves (as of January 2021).

We had a great time here and loved seeing and feeding the bison and meeting the friendly hosts.

Our photos are available for purchase on

Category: Activity

Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise

Bruny Island Wilderness Cruise

How to Get There

What to Wear and Take