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Travelling Australia: CAR AND PASSENGER FERRIES

Australia has only one overnight ferry service - the Spirit of Tasmania - which crosses the Tasman Sea daily between Melbourne, Vic and Devonport, Tas. Numerous private ferry services operate around the coastline of Australia, linking the mainland to many of the offshore islands. Where driving is permitted on these islands, motor vehicle ferries bring cars to and from the islands. Vehicular ferries are also in use throughout NSW to cross wide rivers at places where bridges have not been built, and to allow vehicular crossings of the Murray River in SA, Vic and NSW.
Bass Strait Ferry
The Bass Strait car ferry service, which provides a road link between Tasmania and the mainland, commenced in 1959 with what was then the largest roll-on roll-off ferry in the world, the Australian built Princess of Tasmania. The current Bass Strait ferries, Spirit of Tasmania I and II, are each capable of an 11 hour crossing of Bass Strait, enabling two return services within 24 hours, using both of them on most days, at peak times. The vessels also have a gaming room, a children's playroom, television screens, a cinema screening complimentary movies and a souvenir shop and tourism facility. They each have a carrying capacity of 1,400 passengers, 650 cars and 40 semi-trailers.


Spencer Gulf, SA
A new vehicle and passenger ferry is being readied to recommence the ferry service between the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas. The ferry will cross Spencer Gulf in just over 2 hours between Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and Lucky Bay (near Cowell) on the Eyre Peninsula. It saves drivers around 350 kilometres when travelling from Adelaide to the Eyre Peninsula. The new vessel, the Aurora, is expected to be fully operational by mid 2010. The bus service linking Adelaide and Port Lincoln directly with Sea SA ferry terminals at Wallaroo and Lucky Bay will recommence with the new ferry.

Bruny Island, Tas
The drive-on drive-off car ferry to Bruny Island operates on a regular daily schedule from the wharf near the Bruny D'Entrecasteaux Visitor Information Centre in Ferry Road, Kettering (a 35-minute drive south of Hobart). Foot passengers travel free, but it's a very long walk from the ferry wharf on the island to the nearest town. The ferry Mirambeena makes 9 to 10 crosses in each direction daily. The passage takes around 15 minutes.


Port Phillip Heads, Vic
The Searoad ferry traverses the entrance to Port Phillip, allowing motorists to travel quickly (40 minutes) between Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula and Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula. The service operates daily on the hour every hour 7am to 6pm. This ferry service makes it possible to drive the very pleasant full-day circuit of Port Phillip Bay - leaving Melbourne via Mornington Peninsula and returning via Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, or vice versa.


Magnetic Island, Qld
Magnetic Island is the only island on the Queensland coast enclosed within the Great Barrier Reef to which it is possible to take a motor vehicle and drive around on it. Magnetic Island's outstanding natural beauty and relaxed tropical-island lifestyle is just a short, eight kilometre ferry ride from Townsville. Sealife's MV Riverside Arcadia services the island with drive-on drive-off facilities from South Townsville. There are 14 services daily in each direction.


Kangaroo Island, SA
SeaLink operates the vehicular ferry services between mainland South Australia and Kangaroo Island. Up to ten 45-minute crossings are made each day during peak periods between Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. The ferry Sealion 2000 is a fast luxurious, international standard passenger and vehicle ferry complete with air conditioned lounge, aircraft-type seating and a licensed cafe. A shuttle service on the island operates to the main towns of American River and Kingscote from the arrival port of Penneshaw. Coach tours of the island departing from Adelaide also use the SeaLink ferry.

North Stradbroke Island, Qld
The Big Red Cat provides a modern and sophisticated car & passenger ferry service to North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay, off the coast of Brisbane. The ferry, which has a luxury licensed cafe, provides generous undercover parking for vehicles during the 40 minute journey.
Stradbroke Ferries also operates a vehicular ferry service to North Stradbroke Island from Cleveland. There ferry takes longer, carries trucks as well as smaller vehicles, but is cheaper than the Red Cat. Stradbroke Ferries also operates a small vehicular ferry from Redland Bay to the southern Moreton Bay islands of Macleay, Russell, Lamb and Karragarra.

Fraser Island, Qld
World Heritage-listed Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, and being sand, only 4-wheel drive vehicles are suitable to drive there. Fraser Island Barges and Ferry provides a range of vehicle barge and ferry access to the island. Barges and ferry services run daily via Rainbow Beach from Inskip Point, from River Heads, south of Hervey Bay, and  from Urangan Boat Harbour in Hervey Bay.

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Ferry Services

*denotes vehicle and passenger ferry services. All others are passenger only ferries

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