Tasmania - Bruny Island

Christmas in Perth is normally very hot, well not this year, it's actually very mild, but we had planned our 2 week holiday in lovely cool Tasmania months before, plus we needed to have the 12 endemic birds there on our Australian birdlist.

First main stop, Bruny Island, were you can get all 12 endemics if you're lucky.

The scenery on Bruny is wonderful.

A resident Red-necked or Bennett's Wallaby poses for a photo.

Slightly cold and wet after morning showers....

but the sun's soon out and it's warming up.

Still cold enough to force Liz to wear gloves. We got 11 of the 12 endemics fairly quickly, but Scrubtit has avoided our searching eyes. No Scrubtits on this wet mountain trail, but plenty of hungry leeches!

The scenery at the wonderfully named Adventure Bay.

The long climb to the lookout at the Little (Fairy) Penguin and Short-tailed Shearwater viewing area.

A long wait for dusk, as with daylight saving it doesn't get dark until well after 9 pm.

The wind's getting a little cold now.

A new bird for our Australian list, Short-tailed Shearwater.

Inala Cabin, fantastic place to stay especially if you're a birder. The much sought after Forty-spotted Pardalotes just outside the bedroom windows!

A skink rescued from inside the cabin, but I'm not sure which genus or species it is, as at least three skink genus in Tasmania are very similar. I didn't bring my microscope for counting body scales!

The coastal scenery around Bruny Island Lighthouse is fantastic.

Another Tasmanian endemic, Green Rosella (looks more yellow!).

A Pacific Gull, very similar to the Kelp Gulls we were looking for. Adventure Bay turned out to be a good spot for the Kelp's.

Pied Oystercatchers were common on the sandy beaches.

A mystery wader. We think it's a young Hooded Plover.

One of the must-do things on Bruny is to go on the coastal Adventure Bay Cruises, rated one of the best 100 boat trips in the world.

The skipper shot the high-speed boat through the gap between the cliff and the stack, with only a couple feet to spare either side!

After 2 hours of coastal scenery we reach the end of the trip at an isolated Fur Seal colony. The wind has picked up and sea's getting rough, so it's time to head back to Adventure Bay.

One last look for those elusive Scrubtits in this beautiful creek near Adventure Bay, but no luck. It's time to leave Bruny Island and try at some other spots on the mainland near Hobart.