Flinders Island

• Get away from it all.
• Find your very own 'diamond'.
• Walk unspoiled beaches.
• A haven for diving including excellent shipwreck dive sites.

It is an island of dramatic and varied landscapes, from the pink and grey granite cliffs of Mount Strzelecki and Mount Killiecrankie to the gentle, green farmland that rolls through the island.

The main centres on Flinders Island are Whitemark, Lady Barron and Killiecrankie.

• How to get to Flinders Island.
• More local information on Flinders Island.

You can choose to stay in a cosy beachside cottage, cheery pub or bed and breakfast. During the day challenge your skills at game fishing, or relax as you wander the deserted beaches, and then pamper yourself at a health spa, or head out to hunt for a Killiecrankie 'diamond'.

Birdlife and wildlife are prolific: by the eastern lagoons and inlets, thousands of migratory birds rest on their long flights to breeding areas north of the Arctic Circle.

On many nearby islands are the rookeries of the southern hemisphere's most numerous bird species, the amazing shearwaters.

Birdwatchers can seek out the more than 200 species visiting or living on the island's shores every day of the week. They range from the tiny superb wren to the giant wandering albatross. The island's dense coastal scrub shelters wallabies and wombats.

The landscape is similar to Tasmania's eastern coastline, so you will find long white sandy beaches strewn with giant granite boulders dappled with orange lichen. The highest peaks are Mount Strzelecki, part of Strzelecki National Park, on Flinders Island, which rises to 756 metres (2,400 feet), and Mount Munro on Cape Barren Island - 687 metres (2,250 feet). Many other peaks exceed 400 metres (1,300 feet).

The people of Flinders Island are proud of their history, and as a visitor it's easy to become part of the population of around 850 that make up the towns of Whitemark and Lady Barron, and the little settlements of Emita and Killiecrankie. You'll find people who still have time to stop and chat.

It's an island with a rich heritage, both sad and boisterous. The first Europeans were rough and ready sealers who hunted fur seals to near extinction. And the island's rocky shores and hidden reefs caused many a ship to founder and sink.

At Wybalenna, 160 Aboriginal people, relocated from mainland Tasmania in 1833, longed for their homeland. By 1847 the settlement was abandoned and the 45 remaining people were returned to a settlement at Oyster Cove, south of Hobart.

The island was first identified by Europeans when Tobias Furneaux, the commander of Captain Cook's support ship, became separated from the Endeavour in fog and discovered the Furneaux group of islands on 19 March 1773.

How to Get There

Car Hire Options on Flinders Island