“Hi, I'm Shannon, during the summer of 2011 as a bursary student with Forestry Tasmania, I took the challenge to visit Forestry Tamania's 52 visitor sites.
Bruny Island is only an hour’s travel time from Hobart; 40 minutes drive to Kettering and then a 20 minute ferry ride. This great location deserves at least one day of your time. There is plenty to do, particularly in relation to exploring the forests in the area. I will share with you some of the great things that I found to do, and let you know how to reach them, and how long they take so you can plan out an itinerary of your own.
From the ferry terminal, I just drove straight down until I reached a sign that directed me to Adventure Bay. I hadn’t been to Bruny before, so I had a bit of a sticky beak around Adventure Bay, before heading off to find Lockley’s Road which is just past Adventure Bay on the main road. Lockley’s Road takes you up to Mavista Picnic Area and Nature Walk. Here you will find a picnic area as well as the nature walk which takes you through the eucalypt forest, alongside Waterfall Creek. From what I can gather, the walk eventually leads to Mavista Falls, however at this time the track had been blocked off, as I thinking some maintenance was in order. The nature walk is still worth doing and is suitable for all ages. The path is relatively wide and flat, and it is about 20 minutes return. There are also lots of colourful fungi growing along the track, and species signs are evident to give you a better understanding of what you are walking through.
From here I went to find Coolangatta Road. I went back down Lockley’s Road, and then headed left on the main road. Funnily enough though, Coolangatta Road joins onto Resolution Road (where Mavista Picnic area is) so if you are already at Mavista, follow this road to the end and turn left, which will take you on a lovely scenic drive through the forests. Located on Coolangatta Road are several great sites.
The first stop is a lookout which gives you great views over the coast and surrounding forests. Then if you continue along Coolangatta Road, you will come to a sign for Mt Mangana. If you pull off onto the left, you will see the start of a walk, which will take you up to the highest point on Bruny, Mt Mangana at 571m. The track is uphill on the way (which makes sense since it takes you to the highest point), and it can be rough in spots, with most of the path being large rocks. Don’t let this put you off however, I passed a family with 3 young children, and also a younger couple while I walked up. I figured if 3 young children can do it, I can definitely make it up.
After a few false hopes (me thinking that the vegetation was changing so I must be nearly there) I eventually made it up, and the views from the top are fantastic. You sort of have to beat your way through the bush a bit, as the vegetation has begun to take over the paths; however, you can see views of South Bruny, D’Entrecasteaux Channel, the Tasman Penninsular and the Southern Ranges from the top. After having a rest and taking in the views, I headed back down to the car.
The walk took me about an hour and a quarter return, which was just short of the hour and a half recommended time.
I kept going along Coolangatta Road, to the second lookout, which gives you another perspective of the surrounding forests and you can also see some coastline. Not much further on is Clennetts Top Mill Site. Here a ten minute walk through the forest, gives you a great interpretation of the forest history in this area. Most of the timber cut here was Blue Gum and used for building ships.
Bruny has a great history of timber milling which began in the early 19th century. With the introduction of steam power technology in the 1890’s the industry went through a boom period. According to the interpretive signs, the mill here closed down about 50 years ago, after over 100 years of milling timber in the area.
I am sure there is plenty more to do on Bruny Island, but that was all I had time for. It was a great day and gave a great insight into the history of the forests.
GPS Coordinates :
LAT : 43°18'33.65"S
LON : 147°17'19.55"E
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52 Places to Visit
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