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Tasmania (Northern Region) |
| King Island | |
| The
smaller, more heavily populated island of the Bass Strait Islands, King
Island is chiefly known for its rich dairy produce, with crayfish and
kelp as secondary industries; green, low and windswept, it can’t offer
anything like Flinders Island’s dramatic landscape, nor its history,
though it did witness around sixty shipwrecks between 1801 and
1995.
There are several working lighthouses – Cape Wickham Lighthouse in the north is one of the tallest in the southern hemisphere – and many of the wreck sites can be dived with King Island Dive Charters (tel 03/6461 1133, fax 6461 1293; three-day package including flights from Melbourne, accommodation, diving and on-board lunches $530). If you want to get out onto the water without getting wet, you can arrange to go out with a local fisherman, who may expect a few beers in return. |
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| The
island’s main town is CURRIE, which has a simple museum
(Mon–Fri 1–4pm). But the best thing about King Island is the food,
with free range lamb and pork and local beef and wallaby, as well as
seafood and delicious creamy milk, which you can drink unpasteurized while
on the island – a rare treat. Indeed, top of the list of things to do on
the island is a visit to the King Island Dairy (Mon–Fri
9am–4.30pm, Sun 12.30–4pm; free), 8km north of Currie, for free
tastings of the rich local dairy produce; the brie and the thick cream in
particular have legendary gourmet status around Australia.
The island’s kelp factory is near Currie’s golf course; the bull kelp is gathered from the surrounding shores and left to dry outside the factory on racks – you’ll see it as you pass by. After drying the kelp is milled into granules and shipped to Scotland to be processed into alginates, used as a gelling agent in products like toothpaste and ice cream. On the eastern side of the island in GRASSY, the bleak former tungsten mining village, a local resident sculpts rather tasteless objects from the kelp by moulding it and drying it; the results, which look like leather or ceramics, are sold at King Island Kelp Craft. Practicalities |
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| King
Island Coach Tours, based in Currie at 95 Main St (free tel 1800/647 702),
do pre-booked airport transfers to Currie, which is less than 10km away
($5; $10 if you are the only passenger), and transfers to Naracoopa to
Grassy. Alternatively, your accommodation may pick you up. For getting
around, you’ll need to rent a car at the airport – two outfits
are Cheapa Island Car Rentals (tel 03/6462 1603) and Grassy Car Rentals
(tel 03/6461 1278) – or a mountain bike from The Trend, on 26
Edward St, Currie ($15 a day), who also provide tourist information
(daily 9am–6.30pm; tel 03/6462 1360). King Island Coach Tours run
various day-tours; the best is the short evening tour to see the Little
penguin community at Grassy (Tues & Thurs; $25). There are also
4WD and bushwalking tours available.
The most obvious places to stay are around Currie. Right in the centre, Parers Hotel, has en-suite motel-style rooms, while there are immaculate units near the golf course at Wave Watcher Holiday Units, 18 Beach Rd. Nearby, the rooms at Boomerang By the Sea have stunning sea views – even better from the motel’s glass-walled restaurant. Back in town, Parers serves excellent meals in its bistro and King Island Bakery makes delicious pies; Nautilus Coffee Lounge is Currie’s best café. If you’re self-catering, there’s a supermarket (open daily) and a bottle shop. Currie also has a Westpac bank with an ATM machine. |
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