Wine & Food

Bruny Island is about 40km south of Hobart. The sparsely populated island, with its sheltered coves and long white sand beaches is, not surprisingly, a popular bolt-hole for Hobartians. Wildlife is fond of the place too. Fur seals, penguins, dolphins and even whales (in October and November usually) cruise the waters just off the coast leaving the white-bellied sea eagles, albatross and peregrine falcons to cruise the skies above Bruny. Locals around Adventure Bay share the southern end of the island with the world’s largest colony of white wallabies.

A somewhat lesser known fact about the island is that, should your self control run off with a dolphin or an albatross, this is also a great place to get fat. Below are some of the best eat-drink servings on the island.

Get Shucked Oysters

Nestled on Great Bay the farm runs on one of the original Bruny Island Oyster leases which may date to the 1940s. While Get Shucked sells their Pacific oysters to some of the best restaurants in the state – Peppermint Bay, Marque IV – and Melbourne and Sydney, live and half-shelled oysters are also kept for visitors. Through winter a mobile oyster van is only open on Monday and Thursdays but it is open every day through summer. Owner Joe Bennett is expanding his repertoire and will be selling the native Angasi oysters for the first time in late 2008. Of course you can always try your hand a collecting other seafood, like rock lobster, yourself.

Bruny Island Cheese Company

Cheese maker Nick Haddow produces hand made farmhouse cheeses and butter and has recently released two new varieties of cheese. One is The Bastard, a six-month-old hard cheese made from equal parts cow and goat milk. “It’s got a delicate flavour. I think it’s unique to Tasmania,” says Haddow. The other cheese is the C2. It’s not brand new but this popular hard cheese has just been re-released. The ‘cellar door’ of the cheesery is open seven days and so is the cafe attached to it. The cafe menu includes cheese platters but also organic sourdough bread straight from the multi-tasking Haddow’s wood-fired oven. From October the cafe will be open Saturday nights for wood-fired pizza night.

www.brunyislandcheese.com.au

Island Produce

Former chef Michael Carnes produces 25 varieties of fudge, as well as truffles, chocolate sauces and chocolate coated nuts. Carnes has traded under the Tasmanian Fudge Company brand but has recently bought the Island Produce business and shifted its operations to Bruny. “We’re a small boutique chocolate making business specialising in fudge. The reason our business has grown is because of the quality of Tasmania’s butter and cream,” says Carnes. Carnes also has a ‘cellar door’. It’s currently open 10am-4pm Friday to Monday but from 1 September will be open seven days. There is also 25 acres of gardens that run all the way to the beach. For a small fee visitors are welcome to wander. The gardens are known as Hiba, Arabic for a gift. Carnes worked for three years as a chef on a Saudi owned yacht and named his extensive gardens after the luscious 52-metre cruiser. Phone: (03) 6293 1456

The Hothouse Cafe

Fiona and Michael Morrison’s eatery is something of an outlet for locally grown produce including berries, lettuces and tomatoes. Fiona takes responsibility for producing the home made steak and Guinness pie, damper and fish soup. There are plenty of other varieties of soups in the colder months. The cafe is open seven days from 9am-5pm. There are breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Bookings are essential for evenings.

Phone: (03) 6293 1131

Wayaree Estate

Bruny Island Premium Wines is on Wayaree Estate at Lunawanna. Wayaree Estate is 120 acres and includes five acres of 10 year old vines. Bernice and Richard Woolley produce bottles of pinot noir and chardonnay and their white, which according to Bernice goes a treat with Get Shucked oysters, won a bronze medal at the 2007 Hobart International Wine Festival. In something of a power-sharing agreement, cheese maker Nick Haddow has been using skins from the winery’s pinot grapes to flavour some of his cheese.

Phone: (03) 6293 1088

Notes from the Island

A ferry service to Bruny Island departs from Kettering, south of Hobart, up to 10 times a day. It costs $25 for a return trip with a car. Passengers in the vehicles travel free of charge. There are no reservations for the ferry.

For a comprehensive guide to Tasmania and Bruny Island: www.discovertasmania.com

The information was correct when published in 2008. Prices and information may have changed.