Flinders Island's Bass Strait location means this 4216-hectare (10,418-acre) park is a haven for both mainland and Tasmanian species. The park is named after the Polish scientist and explorer who climbed its peaks in 1842.
Strzelecki National Park is popular for bushwalking, sea kayaking, snorkelling, diving among nearby wrecks and rock-climbing.
Unlike the east coast of the main Tasmanian island, it is exposed to westerly winds and you should be prepared for gales and extreme weather. That said, the park contains sheltered beaches that are ideal for gentle water and beach activity.
Although the climb to the top of Strzelecki Peaks is only three kilometres (two miles), it can take four or five hours return, due to the steepness and difficulty of the terrain. Your reward, however, is spectacular views across the southern end of the island.
If you are a bird-watching enthusiast, you'll be in your element here, with 114 species recorded, including a number of endemics. The park is particularly important as a stopover for birds travelling between the Australian mainland and the main Tasmanian island. Threatened or endangered species that frequent the park are the swift parrot, the forty-spotted pardalote, the grey-tailed tattler and the hooded plover.
There is a camping area at the southern end of Trousers Point and commercial accommodation elsewhere on the island.
On the coast north-west of the park is Wybalenna. Established ostensibly to care for Aboriginal people, this is now a site commemorating a period of extreme sadness in the history of their encounters with Europeans. Only 45 of the 135 Aboriginal people forcibly settled at Wybalenna between 1829 and 1834 survived to be returned to mainland Tasmania.
Airlines of Tasmania flies from Launceston in Tasmania and Moorabbin in Melbourne, Victoria, to Whitemark. From here, take the B85 south-east to the C806 turnoff, which leads to the park. There is no public transport on the island but you can hire vehicles and bicycles.
If you are driving from Lady Barron, take the B85 north-west to the C806 turnoff. After travelling six kilometres (3.7 miles) along the C806, you will come to a sign and a stile on the left which marks the start of the walking track to Strzelecki Peaks. A further 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) will bring you to the turnoff to Trousers Point.
Open