Flinders Island

Flinders Island is off the northeast tip of Tasmania.  It and the other islands in the Furneaux Group, one of four archipelagos between Tasmania and Victoria are what's left of the land bridge that once connected the two land masses. The only parts of the land bridge still visible above water are the tops of the ancient mountain range. These tips sticking out of the ocean are now called "Mountains in the Sea."  We stayed on the island for three days and drove on most of the roads.  The west coast is mainly small beaches (there are 120 beaches on the island) divided by rocky arms of granite that extend out into Bass Strait.  The eastern part of the island is flatter and the coast there is almost one continuous beach.  The island was the site of a dark chapter in Tasmanian history. The remaining Aboriginals in Tasmania were rounded up and transported to a settlement at Wybalenna.  Their culture was ignored and they were made to live like white men which they did, dieing very quickly from pneumonia and homesickness until only a handful were left.  The island is also known for its Killiecrankie Diamonds which are really white Topaz which can be found along the west coast beaches and for the paper nautilus shells that wash ashore in the autumn, sometimes in overwhelming numbers.               Castle Rock is a local icon along the west coast at about the midpoint of the island.  It really is an impressive little rock.... Until you get closer and get an idea of how big it really is! The coastline at Settlement Point on the west coast near Wybalenna....     On a hill at Wybalenna, looking across Franklin Sound toward Cape Barren Island....     Another beach at Settlement Point.... We drove to the top of Walker's Lookout in the middle of the island.  This is a view south toward the Strzelecki Range.  Just to prove I'm on this trip.... Looking north from Walker Lookout over the middle of the island where the land slopes gently to the east.  The middle and eastern parts of the island are mostly farmland.  This is the beach at Cameron Inlet.  There isn't actually an inlet most of the year, only at REALLY high tides.    This is the actual inlet.  There is a large lagoon back there and it was full of shore birds.  We took the Trousers Point Track, a short, hour and a half walk along a pretty spectacular coast.  This lacy rock formation is Calcarenite, formed from dissolved seashells over many periods of rising and falling sea levels.  We really wished the water had been warmer as these rocks were just begging to be explored for abalone.  The water was about 15 C, though, and our enthusiasm was dampened a bit.   The track was mostly just above the water on the rocky outcrops. Looking south toward the Strzelecki Range from Trousers Point Beach....  My bride on some sculpted rock at Fotheringate Bay..... At Holloway Point at the northern most tip of the island, Northeast River makes a very wide and pretty treacherous area of strong currents and undertows.  Looking out into Beagle Spit past North East Rock.... Across Sisters Passage out toward Outer Sister Island                   From Palana on the northwest tip of the island we could see both Inner and Outer Sister Island.    At the end of the day, we drove up to the top of Mt. Tanner and watched the sun set.  The ferry from Devonport to Sydney, the one that brought us to Tassie, passed on its way north as we waited.

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This site was last updated 12/10/07