East Coast Islands

Made up of The Nuggets, Schouten Island, Diamond Island, Governor Island, Picnic Island, Trailefer Rocks, Ile des Phoques, Refuge Island and Little Christmas Island.

Schouten Island was named in 1642 by Abel Tasman after a member of the Council of the Dutch East India Company. During the 1800s, after the arrival of the British, the area was a whaling and sealing centre. In 1905, the Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island were declared game reserves and in 1916 the peninsula became Freycinet National Park; Schouten was included in 1977. The island is mostly sand and is popular with campers and kayakers.

Ille des Phoques was named by Captain Nicolas Boudin in 1802. It is currently used as a site for ecotourism experiences such as diving and seal-watching. The flowstone and submarine sea caves and tunnels on the island are considered of outstanding geological significance.

Maria Island Group

Made up of Ile du Nordm, Maria Island and Lachlan Island

Ile Du Nord is a small island (9.65 hectares/24 acres) and a significant little penguin breeding site for the region and it is believed that white-faced storm petrels are breeding here in low numbers.

Maria Island, which sits off the east coast just north of Orford, became a national park in its entirety in 1982.

Maria (pronounced Mariah) is in some ways a microcosm of Tasmania's colourful and dramatic history.

The island was a favoured winter hunting ground for the Oyster Bay Aboriginal tribe, and when French explorer Nicolas Baudin landed in 1802 he found an Aboriginal burial mound and established that the Island’s inhabitants cremated their dead.

By 1825 the island was a convict prison and today you can stay in the former penitentiary and visit the Commissariat Store. In the late 1880s an exuberant Italian immigrant, Diego Bernacchi, convinced the government of the day he could grow Chateau Lafitte vines, and mulberry trees for silk worms. Over time he created the eponymous village of San Diego. He built a guesthouse and the Coffee Palace – which still stands today. After the collapse of the vineyards Bernacchi left Tasmania only to return in the early 1900s to establish a cement works. You will see remains of the cement silos still today.

Maria is one of the best places to observe wildlife in the wild: Forester kangaroos, pademelons, Bennetts wallabies and Cape Barren geese. No cars are allowed and there are no shops, so bring all food and water for your visit. There are many wonderful walks: to the Fossil Cliffs, Painted Cliffs and Bishop and Clerk Mountain, or the longer walks to Chinamans Bay and beyond. Backpacker accommodation and camp sites are available at Darlington. Ferry bookings are essential.

Maria Island Walks offers a four-day trek staying in luxury standing camps and one of the Bernacchi family homes.

Made up of Hippolyte Rocks, The Lanterns, The Thumbs, Tasman Island and Wedge Island.

These islands are offshore of the Tasman Peninsula. Hippolyte Rocks is accessible by boat from neaby fishing wharfs and the Fortescue Bay camp ground. The island is becoming a popular site for travellers, with charter boats taking tourists to view the seals, birds and spectacular scenery. It is home to a large colongy of black-faced cormorants. Australasian gannets regularly use the island as a landing site, indicating that they may form a new breeding site there.

Made up of Courts Island, The Friars, Southport Island and Southport Island Reef, Blanche Rock, Actaeon Island, Sterile Island and The Images.

The Friars are four steep dolerite rocks off South Bruny Island, forming part of the national park. Australian fur seals use the rocks as a regular haul-out site. You can get spectacular views of the seals and the island on a Bruny Island Charters tour.