Burny Island

On day 2 in Hobart, it was an early start, having to be down at the wharf by 7:45am in order to catch the tour bus to Burny Island. It was a good group of 40 or so people split into two buses. After checking in, the bus departed at 8:30am and we couldn't have asked for better sunny weather! The ride to Burny was the better part of an hour, mainly due to having to wait for the ferry to cross over. On the way down, our driver and guide was really great, pointing out and talking about the culture on the island etc.

When we arrived in Adventure Bay, the southern tip of Burny Island, we had a choice of tea or coffee and a blueberry muffin while waiting for the boats to get ready at the docks. I gotta say, these guys with Wildlife Tours were really organized! After tea, we walked along the beach of the bay to the docks. We got the low-down on the boats and where to sit. Anyone wanting to brave the front 5-rows were told to have good stomachs lol. Having experienced ocean swell before, and generally being ok on the sea, I opted for the 4th row (ie a little bit of caution lol). We were also given ginger tablets if we wanted, a full-length poncho for the wind/water, and all had to buckle our seat belts while in full motion. I was set! :)

The boat ride lasted about an hour and a half, we followed the coast of South Burny Island all the way to the little rocky isles off the southern coast. We saw amazing dolomite rock formations which made the coast look like cathedral walls (one was even named such). We also paused at several sea-caves, going up within a couple meters. We couldn't go all the way through, as the boat was a little too big. However, we did go in through some impressive dolomite stacks, quoted to be the 'king and his lama' as that's what it looked like. We sped through at full speed and everyone let out excited screams! After that, we paused at a natural blowhole, and watched every 10secs or so for a huge plume of water to spray out of the little cave, and then hear the air whooshing back in... it was kinda eerie! Interesting to think that no one has ever seen inside that cave, as obviously you would never get out! Here is a link to a video I took: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neptune_v32/5379208549/in/set-72157625758996191/ 

After the landscape site-seeing, we made it to the southern most rocky shores where there were hundreds of seals!! Sunbathing, playing, swimming, all along the coast! Pretty amazing. It was cool to think too, that looking south from where we were, the next bit of land you would come to would be Antarctica!
Here's a video of the seals: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neptune_v32/5379250977/in/set-72157625758996191/


The seals were the midpoint of the trip, and we sped our way back, slightly further out from the coast to see if we spotted any sea life. Unfortunately there were no dolphin spotting, however we did spot an Albatross which was impressive! Man those things have massive wingspan! (no picture captured of the bird unfortunately. All in all, the boat ride was AMAZING! I gotta pretty sore butt afterwards from all the bumping around lol.. that day they said the ocean swell was 3m, pretty mild apparently, but even at full speed it felt like you were on a roller coaster at times! You'd feel your stomach go up in your throat lol... I gradually figured out how to 'feel them out' which is the best advice I can give on that sort of ride... just don't fight the natural motion of the boat and you're fine lol. Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time, and enjoyed the fast ride!

Back in Adventure Bay, everyone had a ham or salmon salad sandwich (which was HUGE) and a wonderful bowl of spicy pumpkin soup! I wish I could have gotten the recipe for that soup! The soup was perfect after the breezy ride (my fingers did get a little cold holding the camera) it felt very homemade! On top of the food we got to pick a non-alcoholic drink from the 'Cascade' selection, I tried a guava apple selection... pretty good.

After a long day on the water, it was easy to catch a few zzz's riding back into Hobart. Luckily I woke up when we were coming in with a great view of downtown. That evening, it was pretty laid back, Patrick and I decided to go back to Irish Murphy's since we really liked the venue, and wanted to try some other stuff on the their menu. They also had a wifi spot there, and we were able to schedule a visit to the Hobart weather office the next day...

On our last day in Hobart, first thing we did was check out the weather office. It was interesting to find out that our tour guide and supervisor of the workers that day was a Quebecer. He told us all about the office, and the connection they have with the Antarctic division. We would have loved to stay longer, but it was our last day, and he had to get back to work. Hopefully we'll keep in touch with him.

I spent my final hours doing a little bit of shopping, and just enjoying downtown. I did go back to the bakery I mentioned in my previous post and really enjoyed my cinnamon roll for breakfast! I also picked up a little painting print as a souvenir showing all of downtown Hobart and the places I had been to!

All in all, it was a great trip to Tasmania and I definitely hope to go back one day! I posted all my pictures from Tasmania on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neptune_v32/sets/72157625758996191/with/5380199010/