We set off leisurely close to 9am to catch the ferry to Bruny Island. Lucky us as the wait for the ferry was relatively short. Hmm, there's a washroom near the smallish cafe at the ferry wait area but be quick as not to miss the queue! Hence got the e-ticket earlier and one just drives up to the queue. Need to show the e-ticket at the gantry. The ferry to Bruny Island was smaller than the one to Queenscliff.
|
Shermaine looking on with curiosity |
|
peace at sea |
Frankly speaking, I didn't do any research on Bruny Island on the places to visit except to view Chonnyday YT video on what they did there. Hehe.
So I went with the flow and first stop once we reached there, was Bruny Island House of Whisky. Can't imagine we start drinking this early in the morning, but here we were. At 10am. Haha.
Bruny Island House of Whisky
|
let's visit! |
|
cosy classy environment |
|
drinks of choice |
|
feel free to look around |
|
wine is available too |
|
which tasting menu to choose? |
We wandered freely on-premise and staff was friendly but not intrusive. Ask your questions and he will share with you freely. As we were the only visitors that early in the morning, he greeted us with a smile and offered us adequate time to decide on what we would like to do at the shop.
Eventually, we decided on the AUD55 tasting set for 3 selected whisky.
|
3 selection - White Label Sherry, Spellbound Wauss Harbour Bourbon Cask, Overeem Bourbon |
Staff was more than happy to share his knowledge if you're interested. Being a whisky noob, I asked him if there's any particular sequence in enjoying the whisky flight. He shared his thoughts and seemed like it is pretty much up to individual preferences.
I learnt alot from the staff that day. He shared snippets on the 4 of the oldest distilleries in Tasmania, the whisky that they produced. He even voluntarily brought out bottles stored high up on the shelves for me to take a look.
Well known distilleries in Tasmania includes Hellyer's Road, Lark, Sullivan's Cove, Overeem, Old Kempton.
|
March 2021 release edition - sold out |
|
raw, unfinished product before becoming whisky |
|
there's some interesting stories here |
Loved the time spent at this first spot and hearing all the stories from the staff there. Very interesting and educational. Thank you!
We left for the next destination once the next group of visitors arrived.
Bruny Island House of Whisky
Address: 360 Lennon Rd, North Bruny TAS 7150, Australia
Website: http://www.tasmanianhouseofwhisky.com.au/
Business Hours:
Daily 10 am–5 pm
Get Shucked
It wasn't a good idea to drink on fairly empty tummies, so off we went to the next spot to fill up our tummies. It was pretty nearby so we reached within minutes.
|
strolling in |
|
the question was not on which to get, but how many |
Yes, one of the must do at Bruny Island? Eating oysters. The place was comfortably spacious as it was less busy that day. We went up to the counter, placed our orders and brought back drinks or prepacked stuffs to our table while staff prepped the oysters.
We only got a dozen natural, and half a dozen Kilpatrick. Am going to enjoy mine with a glass of Chardonnay.
|
Natural Oysters (12) @AUD29 |
|
Devil's Corner Chardonnay @AUD10 |
The fresh oysters were plump, not too briny and tasted good. Plus, I was hungry.
|
closer view |
The Kilpatrick version needed quite some time before it arrives. An additional 15-20 minutes if not wrong. There's a sign to inform visitors on their menu pertaining to the longer time required for cooked food. So not an issue. Meanwhile, we placed additional order for fries to try try.
|
view from our table |
|
Oyster Kilpatrick @AUD19 |
Oyster Kilpatrick has bacon and worchestershire sauce. Served piping hot, so be careful! While it was tasty, the oysters had shriveled up from the baking. Give me more of the natural ones! No, we didn't get more as we will be visiting the cheese and breadshop after strolling around.
|
have a bite |
Tracy went all ninja and bought a tub of chili lime salmon pate. Foie gras pate, liver pate, pork pate and for the first time, having salmon pate.
|
scoop it and try it |
What were we going to eat the salmon pate with? Aint got no bread with us. Then, aha! Just use the fries to scoop it up. It was good. Super good!
The chips were in the form of shoestring fries style and tasted good on its own. Salted of course and served hot. It was an elevated experience to have the chips with salmon pate. Yummy!
|
Chips @AUD8 |
Get Shucked
Address: Lease 204, 1735 Bruny Island Main Road, Great Bay, North Bruny TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:
Daily: 9:30 am–4:30 pm
Bruny Island Cheese Company
Ok, it was now closer to lunch time. Wait, what... after all the whisky, oysters and it was only noon? Keke, we're fast!
|
car parked and in the mood for some cheese, beer and bread |
The place has dining tables on-premise and visitors could see which table or section they would like to be seated, go inside the cheese shop to place order and there's a bar counter to order up some beer or ginger ale. Adjacent to this area, was the cottage/area where they make the cheeses.
One could get small taste of the cheeses first, order ala-carte or order to dine-in, or do all of the above!
|
Beer Paddle (bottom to top) - Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay Pale Ale, Oxymoron, Whey Stout |
The Farm Ale, Cloudy Bay Pale Ale were both refreshing and thirst quenching. Oxymoron was interesting but after some months had passed, I can't really remember how it tasted. But somehow I ended up with the entire glass of whey stout since Ivan preferred the more refreshing ones. Strong flavours yet with hint of sweetness.
|
cheese, bread platter with added wallaby meat |
The cheeses served for the platter, if I still remember correctly were C2, George and O.D.O. Loved the bread though the crumbs would be everywhere. For cheeses, all were nice. O.D.O (One Day Old) was soft and pliant to spread on the bread. Topped it with wallaby meat which, hmm does sound exotic. No funky taste and just lean meat.
|
wallaby meat |
I love C2 as it had a stronger taste initially but after a while, both George and C2 tasted pretty similar.
|
O.D.O and pickles |
|
George |
|
C2 |
One question though, do you or do you not eat the cheese rind?
The relishes were interesting as well. There's one that tasted like pickles that one usually eat with porridge. One that tasted a tad like curry. Very interesting to jazz up the experience.
Bruny Island Cheese Company
Address: 1807 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:
Daily: 10 am–4 pm
Let's go walk walk and do some sightseeing after this.
|
Bruny Island Lighthouse |
|
zoom-in view |
|
wild chooks |
Going to the public washroom at the place near the lighthouse was an adventure on its own. The toilet was connected to a seemingly endless hole into the ground. Going back into the nature.
Bruny Island Honey
Didn't have much time as we have a ferry to catch to go back to Hobart. So, grabbed a small tub of ice-cream to try. It was lovely. The shop has a house-dog and he came to sit beside us.
|
leatherwood honey ice-cream @AUD6 |
|
peekaboo |
All in all, it was a fruitful trip enjoyed with beautiful people. Thank you Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Shermaine for being in this journey!
Bruny Island Honey
Address: 2184 Bruny Island Main Rd, Great Bay TAS 7150, Australia
Business Hours:
Daily: 9 am–4:30 pm