Bruny Island is one of my favourite nature destinations in Tasmania. From its famous white wallabies and little penguins to fur seals, dolphins and all 12 Tasmanian endemic birds, it’s an extraordinary amount of wildlife packed onto a relatively small island.
This guide covers my top Bruny Island wildlife experiences, including tips on where and when to look for particular species and the best ways to see them.
And if you’re lucky, the wildlife watching can start before you even reach the island. Keep an eye out for dolphins during the 20-minute ferry crossing from Kettering.
Spot the White wallabies of Bruny Island
My first trip to Bruny Island was primarily to see the white wallabies. These wallabies are Bennett wallabies, which are common in Tasmania. But on Bruny Island, some of the wallabies carry a rare genetic abnormality which gives them their striking white fur. Some are true albinos, with white fur and pink noses, ears and eyes, while others have white fur but retain pigment elsewhere.
Despite their fame, the white wallabies are surprisingly rare. They make up only a small proportion of Bruny Island’s Bennett’s wallaby population, so every encounter with one is a special event.
Where can you see white wallabies on Bruny Island?
The best place to look for white wallabies on Bruny Island is around Adventure Bay, particularly towards the southern end of the bay. The main search area stretches from Captain Cook Holiday Park and nearby Lockleys Road, through the grassy paddocks and roadside verges along Adventure Bay Road, to the area around Bruny Island Cruises and East Cove at the end of the road. From there, you can continue on foot along the Grass Point Track, keeping an eye on the open grassland beside the track.
We found a white wallaby contentedly browsing among its grey-coloured conspecifics in a paddock off Adventure Bay Road, near where the road terminates beside Bruny Island Cruises. The wallabies were quite unfazed by our presence, and we spent 10–15 minutes watching them.
I only wish we’d had more time to look for them around the national park entrance instead. Many of the grassy paddocks around Adventure Bay are private property, and you have to be careful not to enter private driveways, lean on fences or otherwise intrude while trying to get a better view of the animals. Understandably, local people may be less than enthusiastic about busloads of tourists gathering outside their properties to see the wallabies.
When is the best time to see them?
Like most macropods, Bennett wallabies are more active around dawn and dusk. Generally, if you missed the early morning, late afternoon is a good time to search. That doesn’t mean you won’t see them during the day, though. We saw our white wallaby quite early in the afternoon, at around 2 pm.
Can you see white wallabies on a Bruny Island day tour?
Yes. I did. I specifically chose a tour that included searching for white wallabies. We arrived at Adventure Bay for lunch and went for a drive looking for wallabies around 2 pm.
As I described above, we spotted one fairly quickly. They really do stand out against their darker colored cousins.
Also, depending on the specific itinerary of the tour, taking a walk towards the start of the Fluted Cape walk during your lunch stop in Adventure Bay is a good opportunity to double your wallaby-spotting chances.
See Australian fur seals on a Bruny Island wilderness cruise
One of the most adventurous things to do on Bruny Island is the 3-hr wilderness cruise operated by Pennicott Wilderness Journeys – the same company that runs my favourite Tasman Peninsula Cruises.
Their Bruny Island day tour from Hobart includes the wilderness cruise. If you are visiting the island independently, the cruise departs from their base in Adventure Bay. And remember that the grassy areas around this end of Adventure Bay are also a good place to look for white wallabies, so keep an eye out for them while you’re there.
The cruise itself is wild – both in terms of being battered by the elements and spotting animals seemingly unbothered by them. It takes you along the rugged coastline of South Bruny, with its towering dolerite cliffs and deep-sea caves carved by the swells beneath them. The caves are big enough for the boat to enter.
The main wildlife highlights of the cruise are a huge colony of Australian fur seals and seabird rookeries. You can also encounter dolphins and humpback whales during their migration. And of course, you never know what other creatures you may encounter at sea.
Watch Little penguins return to their burrows at the Neck
Here is a wildlife adventure in a spectacular spot – a penguin colony at the Neck, which is the narrow strip of land that connects north and south Bruny. Between September and February, you can catch the golden hour view from the Truganini Lookout and then walk down to the designated penguin-watching area and watch little penguins waddle from the surf onto the shore.
Penguins deliberately wait for darkness before leaving the water because it reduces their exposure to predators. So aim to arrive 30–45 minutes before sunset.
In summer, the Neck is also home to a breeding colony for short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds). They also return from the ocean around dusk, so you can potentially watch both species arriving.
Do you need to book a tour to see penguins on Bruny Island?
No, you don’t need a tour to see the penguins and shearwaters at the Neck. The penguin watching boardwalk and viewing area are open to the public. But if you visit independently, you have to bring a red-light torch.
Ordinary white torches and phone lights can delay penguins coming ashore. Think of it from a penguin’s perspective: they need the cover of darkness to feel safe to emerge onto the open beach. If there is too much bright light, the penguin may wait offshore, unable to get back to its chicks waiting in the burrow. There’s a strong etiquette among penguin watchers, and people tend to make sure others observe it.
Look for Tasmania’s endemic birds
Remarkably, all 12 of Tasmania’s endemic bird species can be found on Bruny Island, making it one of the best places in Tasmania for endemic birdwatching. The 12 species are: Forty-spotted pardalote, Tasmanian native hen, Green rosella, Black currawong, Yellow wattlebird, Dusky robin, Tasmanian thornbill, Yellow-throated honeyeater, Tasmanian scrubwren, Scrubtit, Strong-billed honeyeater, Black-headed honeyeater.
The Forty-spotted pardalote is particularly special but for a sad reason. Bruny Island is home to one of the species’ three remaining populations.
You’ll see many of these endemics simply moving about the island. Without looking, I spotted Tasmanian native hen, Green rosella, Black currawong and Yellow wattlebird, and plenty of other non-endemic species.
But if you are serious about spotting as many of the 12 endemics as you can, check out the wonderful Inala Nature Tours, which offers specialist birdwatching tours on Bruny Island ranging from day trips to multi-day experiences. Finding Forty-spotted pardalotes is one of their specialties.
Walk in search of echidnas, pademelons and other Bruny Island wildlife
Beyond Bruny Island’s famous white wallabies, there are plenty of other species of Bruny Island wildlife to look out for as you explore the island, including Tasmanian pademelons, short-beaked echidnas, wombats and brushtail possums. Exploring the island on foot gives you more opportunities to slow down and look for them, particularly early in the morning and towards dusk.
These are the walks I’m considering for my upcoming trip to Bruny Island, specifically for wildlife watching.
Grass Point and Fluted Cape is my obvious first choice. The track initially follows the coast through open grassland to Grass Point, already one of the best areas on the island for spotting white wallabies. The full Fluted Cape circuit is about 4 km and takes around 2.5 hours, with a steep climb and exposed cliff edges. I’m particularly keen to spend more time searching the grasslands here for white wallabies rather than relying on sightings from the roadside paddocks.
Cape Queen Elizabeth is also high on my list, particularly for birdlife. The 13 km return walk takes around four hours and passes through lagoons, heath and coastal vegetation before reaching Mars Bluff and the spectacular rock arch on Miles Beach. It’s the variety of habitats along this walk that makes it particularly interesting to me from a wildlife perspective.
For something more forested, I love the look of Mavista Nature Walk near Adventure Bay. That dreamy, mossy temperate rainforest is my favourite environment in Tasmania, and I’ve seen echidnas, pademelons and wallabies in this type of habitat elsewhere in the state. It’s only a short walk, but it’s the kind of place I can really immerse myself in and spend an inordinate amount of time exploring – which, of course, increases the chances of unexpected wildlife encounters.
How to plan a Bruny Island wildlife trip
The best way to explore Bruny Island is by car. Kettering is about a 30–35 minute drive south of Hobart, and from there a car ferry takes you across to Bruny Island in around 20 minutes. Bruny itself stretches more than 50 km from north to south, so having your own car gives you much more freedom to explore and, importantly for wildlife watching, to be in the right places at the right times.
Ideally, I’d recommend spending at least two days on the island. You could devote one day to the wilderness cruise, watching the penguins at The Neck and familiarising yourself with the island. On the second day, go birdwatching in the morning and spend the afternoon searching for white wallabies – with plenty of time for one of the wildlife walks described above.
If self-driving isn’t an option, it is still possible to see a surprising amount of Bruny Island wildlife on a day tour from Hobart. My first choice would be the Wilderness Cruise Day Tour from Hobart. It gives you an opportunity to see marine wildlife, and you have a decent chance of spotting white wallabies because the cruise departure point in Adventure Bay sits right inside the main white-wallaby hotspot. You’ll also likely spot a few of Tasmania’s endemic birds as you explore the island.
If you don’t fancy a boat ride in the Southern Ocean swells, choose a Bruny Island day tour that specifically includes searching for white wallabies.
These are my top wildlife experiences on Bruny Island. I will leave you with a last suggestion – go for a spotlighting drive around the paddocks of North Bruny at night for a chance of spotting eastern quolls. They are frequently seen in this drier part of the island.
More Wildlife Destinations in Tasmania
- Best Places to See Wildlife in Tasmania: My 5 Most Reliable Spots
- Tasman Peninsula Cruise from Hobart: What to Expect
- Freycinet Day Tour from Hobart: Is It Worth It?
- The Best Place to See Wild Tasmanian Devils in Tasmania – From Your Cabin
- 14 Things to Do in Stanley – Tasmania’s Prettiest Small Town
- Maria Island Wombats: Where to See Them & How to Have the Best Encounter
- Mount Field National Park: One Walk – Three Waterfalls
- How to Plan a 1-2 Week North West Tasmania Itinerary for Nature and Wildlife
- Tarkine Drive in 2 Days: Itinerary, Attractions & Wildlife
- Best Things to Do in Cradle Mountain in 2 Days: Walks & Wildlife
Wonderful! There is so much to do there. It’s the beer and cheese factory for me 😊
What an incredible place! I’ve never heard of Bruny Island before but the scenery and wildlife look incredible! What a wonderful place to visit! I’d especially love to take a tour of the lighthouse, I find them such interesting places! Thanks for the great guide!