Our tour starts at our Depot at 84 Warwick Street. We make our way to the Brisbane Airport; we are getting ready for check-in for our Flight to Melbourne. Our transfers will be taken to our accommodation. We have time to explore the area and before we meet for dinner. 

After Breakfast we make our way to the Airport; we are getting ready for check-in for our Flight to Flinders Island. Welcome to Flinders Island. 

On arrival at Whitemark Airport, we will meet our/Guide and transfer to our accommodation down on the south Coast at Lady Barron. 

Along the way see prime Flinders Island MSA cattle grazing and keep an eye out for Cape Barren Geese at home in their natural habitat of hillside and heathland. After a short tour of Lady Barron which will take in the Lady Barron Port and Pier, General Store and Yellow Beach we arrive at our accommodation at the Furneaux Tavern. 

Following check-in and a freshen-up, we gather in the tavern for pre-dinner drinks (own cost) before dinner.

For our early risers, why not take an early morning walk along the Lady Barron Foreshore Track, from the Slipway to Yellow Beach? Enjoy the coastline, rocky outcrops, and spectacular views including the sunrise. After breakfast we explore the northwestern corner of the island, pausing at the photogenic Castle Rock.

With patches of red lichen, perched on the pure white sand and overlooking the stunning Marshal Bay - this is a must-do photo stop. We then continue to the remote and spectacular mouth of the Northeast River where it enters Bass Strait. The river is home to a rich variety of seabirds with black swans, pied oystercatchers, ducks, and Cape Barren geese dominating.

This is another area where the contrast between the white sands and the red lichen on the granite foreshores creates a particular beauty, especially against a backdrop of the green shallows and deepest blue waters offshore. The next stop is the far northern area of Palana, a site of WWll coastal surveillance and shelter bunkers. Our lunch will be at beautiful Killiecrankie Bay, famous for the Killiecrankie diamonds.

After lunch, we take in the sad and controversial history of Wybalenna, a small, abandoned settlement established in 1833 – 1847 to house Tasmanian Aboriginal people brought to Flinders Island by George Robinson. 

Following are visits to two stunning beaches for photo opportunities, Lillie’s Beach is home to the remains of Lillie’s Bay Jetty, lichen-coloured boulders and crystal-clear shallow waters. Allport’s Beach again is a pristine 150mt curved beach and popular campsite where we will enjoy afternoon tea at the BBQ area comprising of picnic tables, toilets, and fresh rainwater.

Near Emita, is the Furneaux Museum which contains a wonderful collection of records and exhibits of the island’s natural history, maritime heritage, and island lifestyle, including mementos of stirring days and enterprises.

Our last stop for the day is at Tobias Furneaux Lookout for wonderful views across the farmlands before returning to Lady Barron to our accommodation to freshen up before dinner.
 

After breakfast, we visit the Vinegar Hill Lookout where we are treated to spectacular views out across the sparkling blue waters of Franklin Sound home to numerous smaller islands all set against the backdrop of the much larger and dominating Cape Barren Island. 

Many of these islands are home to the remarkable Short-tailed Shearwater or mutton bird, that migrates from Alaska each year and is a strong part of the local life and culture. Cape Barron is the second largest of the 52 islands in this section of Bass Strait which are known as the Furneaux Group. 

Following the Coast Road past Petrifaction Bay, we arrive in Strzelecki National Park home to Fotheringate Bay and Trousers Point where we will have a chance to explore the stunning beaches. Trousers Point is known for two beautiful beaches, views of offshore islands and the towering granite crags of Mt Strzelecki, and the unusual rock features. 

Trousers Point Beach is the most photographed and celebrated beach on the Island with crystal clear waters, wide expanses of white sand, and a mountain rising from the ocean. On the other side of Trousers Point is Fotheringate Bay with granite caves formed by emerging groundwater, marine erosion, and alveolar weathering of cliffs. 

Lunch awaits us at the stunning Mountain Seas Lodge nestled at the foot of Mount Strzelecki, surrounded by pristine nature it offers stunning ocean and mountain views. 

We then travel across the Darling Range to Patriarchs Wildlife Sanctuary via Walkers Lookout which offers a fantastic view in all 360 degrees, clear views to both coasts as well as along the spine of the Darling Range. 

The Patriarch Wildlife Sanctuary is a habitat for abundant wildlife and bird life including wombats, wallabies, and Cape Barren Geese. Our visit provides opportunities to see, feed and photograph native animals up close. 

Watch wallabies by the dozen as they come out to feed and 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, which stand out like giants from the low, healthy plain. 

Tonight, it’s a big night at the tavern with the locals gathering for raffle night, a great way to meet and mingle with the Flinders Island folk before dinner in the restaurant.
 

Today we travel north to Cameron Inlet, an often-landlocked breeding ground for resident waders and shorebirds and a feeding and resting ground for visiting terns, snipes and shearwaters on their annual migrations. 

Some may just like to take a short stroll along the beautiful east coast beach which offers fantastic views of Babel Island. Others may like to walk 3km south from Cameron Inlet along Planter Beach to the Planter Wreck, timber remains of a wreck believed to be the Brigantine shipwrecked in 1877. 

After morning tea, we head into Whitemark to have a look around the galleries, rose garden, gem shop and Bowman’s History Room, a step back in time as we have a look at the origins of the Island’s oldest continuously trading store E M Bowman & Co. 

With a population of approx. 150, Whitemark is home to the Flinders Island Airport, supermarket, butcher, bakery, cafe, general store, service station, Post Office, and the iconic Interstate Hotel. 

The 9-hole golf course which has only been parred once in its 40-year history and the Flinders Island RSL and Sports Club plus the wharf precinct complete Whitemark. After lunch at the Interstate Hotel we return to Lady Barron, while en-route our guide James will provide an overview of the Flinders Island beef industry as we stop by his cattle property Avondale which produces MSA compliance cattle. 

Our last stop for the day is at Unavale Vineyard which was established in 1999 and now comprises 6000 vines with a production of approx. 17 tonnes of fruit. After a stroll through the vineyard, the unique little Cellar Door provides the perfect finale to our visit to Flinders Island.

Our farewell dinner tonight is TBA.

After breakfast, we make our way to the Whitemark Airport for check-in and our flight to King Island via Launceston. 

On arrival at King Island, we are met by our Guide who will be with us for the duration of our tour of the Island. 

After a true King Island introduction our guide will escort us to the Island Breeze Resort for check-in and to meet our hostess, Julie. 

This evening we have Dinner at the Accommodation. Overnight Currie: Island Breeze Motel.

Today begins with a visit to the iconic King Island Kelp Industries where we will learn about kelp harvesting, refining and what it’s used for today and why King Island is such a major player in the Kelp Industry. 

We Travel through some of the Island’s most productive farming land before stopping for morning tea. Our journey takes us across to the east coast of Naracoopa, where the European explorers first set foot on King Island in this coastal township. 

Our guide will provide some local history before we continue our way down the hill into Grassy Harbour to discuss King Island’s shipping and fishing fleet before our lunch stop at the King Island Boat Club harbour-side. 

The King Island Boat Club is iconic to yachters of the Queenscliff to Grassy Yacht Race, first sailed in the 1970s and since has become a major fixture on the Australian Ocean Racing calendar. Onto Grassy, where we discover the scheelite mining heritage of King Island’s Dolphin Mine which operated between 1917 and 1992 before its closure due to extremely low tungsten prices, rather than a lack of reserves plus hear the news of its possible future.

Discover Surprise Bay, the southernmost settlement of King Island, where our guide will provide us with the history of the first settlement of King Island. Hear the amazing history of the Bowling family, including stories of “Fizz” Bowling and his great-grandmother, Elizabeth Bowling, and three of her sons who were the first people to take up land on King Island for farming and settlement in 1889. 

Visit a very rare forest with views over some of King Island’s most spectacular coastline which has had a chequered history, including the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Australia’s history. It claimed the lives of 400 people, a great many of whom were women and their children when the British barquentine “schooner” Cataraqui was wrecked in a winter storm. 

Move onto the Calcified Forest enjoying a leisurely 30-minute return stroll that takes us to a viewing platform to survey the intriguing, fossilised stumps of ancient rainforest trees. Those not up for the walk can relax and enjoy a cuppa from the coach. Discover one of King Island’s most dramatic parts of the coast, Seal Rocks Lookout, which was used by Dutch and French sealers to spot pods of seals. 

Then we begin our drive back up to our accommodation via Ettrick Bay and Millers Bay with one last stop at the King Island Historical Society Museum. The museum was established in a former lighthouse keeper’s cottage in 1980. 

All aspects of the Island’s history are represented in the displays at the King Island Museum including the original lens from Cape Wickham Lighthouse made from crystal. Relics from the large number of shipwrecks around the coastline of the Island are also featured. 

This evening we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Currie: Island Breeze Motel

This morning after breakfast we begin touring the northern region of King Island. The first destination is Shag Lagoon Bird Hide to view some of King Island’s beautiful waterfowl.

From here we head further north whilst keeping a keen eye out for bird species such as pheasants, peacocks and turkeys which are plentiful in this area and visit King Island Kelp Craft for morning tea. 

Our next stop is Quarantine Bay where we will be taking in the views and interesting history of Christmas Island and New Year Island located just off the coast. Following this we visit the mouth of Yellow Rock River, the wreck site of the Shannon to hear Captain Johnson’s unfortunate story. 

From here, we head to lunch at Pennys Lagoon, a rare, perched lake found in only three locations in the world. Its freshwater is held by compacted sand and organic matter and is a favourite swimming spot for locals and visitors. 

After lunch, we visit Martha Lavinia Beach, a world-class beach break on King Island in Bass Strait. The wave peak has been voted one of the Top 10 Surf Breaks in Australia and is frequented by pro surfers when in the region for the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Classic. 

Next, we travel to Cape Wickham, the most northern point of King Island. We view the Cape Wickham Lighthouse, the tallest granite lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere which overlooks the beautiful Cape Wickham Links Golf Course, one of Australia’s top-ranking golf courses. 

We continue up past Lake Flannigan and on to Disappointment Bay which is anything but a disappointment - it’s one of King Island’s most beautiful locations. We drive through Egg Lagoon, once a massive lagoon and now used for farming. 

Our last stop before returning to our accommodation is at King Island Dairy to sample some of the delicious cheese. With a legacy spanning more than 100 years, King Island Dairy is Australia’s premier specialty cheese producer and has developed an enviable reputation as a maker of some of the world’s finest produce with a range including white, blue and cheddar cheeses.

 All dairy products are made exclusively at the King Island factory using locally sourced milk. From here we return to our accommodation for a short rest to freshen up before heading to a local restaurant for dinner followed by a penguin tour. Overnight Currie: Island Breeze Motel.

With our bags packed full of memories, we say goodbye to King Island. It’s easy to see why this place is so special, with its relaxed atmosphere, beautiful scenery, and friendly locals. We board our flights back to Brisbane via Melbourne and arrive home from a fantastic holiday.