But the most pleasant surprise is the warm King Island welcome - in Currie's motel and friendly pub, in Grassy's local store and craft shop, in cottages and bed and breakfast and from everyone you pass on country roads. King Island's wildlife, both native and exotic, can sometimes surprise - yes, that was a pheasant you saw in the roadside hedge.Īnd yes, it is a paddock of grazing turkeys. Reid Rocks, 12 kilometres offshore, is home to a major breeding colony of Australian fur seals. Today, Cape Wickham lighthouse - the tallest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere - guides mariners safely into Bass Strait but you can still explore the island's most important historic sites on the Shipwreck Trail. Shearwater rookeries pepper tussocky coastal hillsides, and you may sight albatrosses and mighty sea eagles riding the updraughts.Īustralia's worst maritime disaster occurred here in 1845 when the Cataraqui grounded. Wallabies and peacocks abound - be careful driving at dusk. You can visit the King Island Dairies shop next to the cheese factory, taste the cheeses and select your favourites to take home. On King Island's flat farmlands, beef and dairy cattle shelter behind thick ti-tree hedges - the lush grass is the secret to the succulent local beef, rich cream and wonderful hand-made cheeses. The island's kelpies gather bull kelp tossed ashore by storms, while cray fishermen and abalone divers harvest rich catches from beneath the surface. King Islanders have a special relationship with the sea. It is renowned for award-winning creamy cheeses, succulent beef produced on lush pastures, and fresh seafood. It's an island of long, empty beaches and clean, fresh air, of offshore reefs, rocky coasts, dairy farms, lighthouses and shipwrecks. King Island lies north-west of Tasmania in the path of the Roaring Forties, the ever-present westerlies that circle the world's southern latitudes. Bicheno is a 2 hr 30 min-drive (182 km) north-east of Hobart. Also within easy reach is Freycinet National Park, home to Wineglass Bay - perhaps the world's most photographed beach. Nearby is Douglas-Apsley National Park with waterfalls, tranquil lakes and river ravines. You'll also find the impressive Blowhole and Rocking Rock - a huge 80 tonne piece of granite naturally balanced that rocks with the movement of the tide. Whalers Lookout, on the edge of town, offers good views and in October and November, you'll find beautiful rock orchids native to the East Coast. For those interested in nature, a walk out from the main beach at low tide to Diamond Island Nature Reserve, a small low granite island, will reveal a colony of fairy penguins while at the local wildlife park there's a wide array of fauna including Tasmanian devils.
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You can also experience this water wonderland by kayak or glass-bottomed boat. Offshore, Governor Island Marine Reserve has some of the best dive spots in Australia with kelp-covered reefs and spectacular sponge gardens. Since its early days, fishing has been the lifeblood of the town with catches including crayfish, abalone, scallops and trevally and for fishing enthusiasts there is excellent surf, rock, sea and estuary fishing. Just north of Freycinet Peninsula on Tasmania's stunning East Coast, the town has lots to see and do, good accommodation, excellent fishing and is close to wildlife.
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Bicheno is a seaside holiday town known for its laid-back lifestyle and outdoor activities.