Echo Hills, Flinders Island

The Patriarch Wildlife Sanctuary is located on Lees Road (4WD access) in Lackrana, on the east coast of Flinders Island. Situated between Middle and South Patriarch, it is run by a trust and maintained by volunteers and offers visitors the opportunity to observe the diverse wildlife close-up. The A-frame building has bunk beds and a shaded free gas barbecue area making it ideal for a picnic or camping location, however, bring your own drinking water and firewood. The sanctuary is a habitat for abundant wildlife and birdlife including wombats, wallabies and Cape Barren Geese (donations are appreciated) Patriarch Sanctuary offers up-close daytime opportunities to see and photograph native animals. You can watch wallabies by the dozen as they come out to feed as they roam free but are tame enough to eat right out of your palm. The Patriarchs are three granite mountains on the mid-east coast of Flinders Island. They stand out like giants from the low, healthy plain. When Matthew Flinders first saw them, he delightedly called them the Three Patriarchs.

Drive to Walkers Lookout for sunrise over the Darling Range or take an early morning beach walk near Whitemark. In Whitemark take a stroll along the Bluff Fitness Track to allow an hour for the easy coastal walk. Or drive just north of the town and take Bluff Road to view the birdlife in this tidal salt marsh. Continuing north, stop in at Long Point or Sawyers Bay beaches before making your way to the coastal townships of Emita and Settlement Point. Spend time at the historic site of Wybalenna. Picnic and discover the secluded coves and sandy beaches at Allports, Emita and Lillies. With safe swimming and crystal clear waters they are all ideal for snorkeling. Call into the Furneaux Museum in the afternoon (check opening days). Do the coastal walk to Castle Rock from Allports Beach to Marshall Bay. On dusk head to the Shearwater viewing Platform near Port Davies and watch mutton birds return to their burrows to feed their young chicks. Return to Whitemark via Walkers Lookout – magnificent sunset colours along the face of the Darling Range and looking back towards Mt Strzelecki. Remember to wave at passing motorists.

From November to March yearly, watch mutton birds return to the islands of the Furneax Group. Also known as short-tailed shearwaters, millions of these birds return from the Northern Hemisphere to nest and raise their young. This tour takes you on 'Strait Lady,' a 10-metre luxury cruiser, out among the off-shore islands. From here, you will have the perfect view of mutton birds coming in. Thousands will return to their nests at dusk with food they have gathered to feed their young.