​King island 20-22 February

King Island was a total surprise and we loved it. Again we drove most of the roads (nearly all gravel - some sand) over 450 Ks and saw all the accessible beaches. The island is rather different to Flinders Island - no mountains but plenty of heavily vegetated sand dunes. It's rocky, wild and craggy on the west coast and calmer on the east which makes sense given the prevailing westerlies - der!

First day out we drove to the most northern point to see the huge lighthouse at Cape Wickham.  At 50 odd metres high it's the tallest lighthouse in Australia - it's monumental! Across the small Victoria Cove right near the tip of the island is a huge golf course which attracts lots of people many of whom seem to be flown in by helicopter. You'd have to be keen as it is probably the world's windiest course. Incidentally, Australia also has the world's longest fairway - 1,365 km along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia.  Go Australia!

We enjoyed lots of King Island 'cloud juice' - as well as some delicious King Island lovely edibles. Prices were sky high, for us,  e.g., $180 for a lobster dinner for 2), but we tasted as many cheeses as we could and bought some - of course!

Calcified forest - quite other worldly

On the southern end of the island is a calcified forest reminiscent of those along the coasts of Victoria and SA. We were captivated by Penny's Lagoon, a suspended lake - one of only three in the world. It sits on silt and packed sand. The island is a haven for many birds and is home to a large Ramsar site at Martha Lavinia Conservation Area (for those who don't know about Ramsar, it is an international intergovernmental treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources signed in Ramsar, Iran).

We found sand flies at Sandfly beach, hello!  In fact they found me - Heather the insect magnet! I was bitten by loads of big and small insects AND right through my pants - ouch!
The beaches are strewn with washed up bull kelp which is hauled in and dried before packaging for export it to a surprisingly large and diverse range of industries.  We found huge oysters, brightly coloured cockles/pippies and numerous ship wrecks. This piece of coastline, which seems to be a ship graveyard, claimed the lives of 100s but which generated heroic rescue attempts by the locals. One such wreck, the Cataraqui lost 400 people! Its hard to imagine the bravery or desperation that drove people to explore/sail these treacherous waters.

long streamers of bull kelp drying

Wild life came in all shapes, sizes and colours. Brown butterflies with white and orange spots, tiny caterpillars, echidna, wallabies, birds. We sighted and identified 97 different bird species including 14 new ones - 13 endemic to Tasmania plus feral populations of turkey, peacock and pheasant - astonish! Flame and dusky robins as well as wrens played 'chicken' with us along the roads and a juvenile wedge-tail eagle startled us almost out of our seats as it launched itself into the air out of trees not many feet above our van. Tiny brown grasshoppers with bright yellow wings flashed over and through masses of yellow flowers. The colours of the flowers were just too varied to describe. Needless to say I have loads of photos! Just be thankful I have spared you my not-insignificant collection of plants and fungi pix.
The trip was well worth it. Three full days was long enough to get a good look at this tiny piece of quiet paradise.