Strzelecki National Park

• Introduction
• Fact file


Strzelecki National Park, Jean-Paul Ferrero / Auscape International

Introduction

Hidden away in the south-west corner of Flinders Island is the largely unknown Strzelecki National Park, where you can climb granite mountains to marvel at stunning ocean views or relax on sandy beaches fringed with orange-lichen-covered rocks. Before the arrival of Europeans – Tobias Furneaux sailed around this region in 1773 and Matthew Flinders explored it more closely in the 1790s – Aboriginal people had occupied the land for some 7000 years. Shell middens and stone artefacts dot the landscape. The national park was gazetted in 1967 and five years later was named in honour of Polish explorer Count Paul Strzelecki, who climbed the island’s mountains in 1842. Wildlife includes wombats, Bennett’s wallabies, Tasmanian pademelons, long-nosed potoroos, two species of burrowing crayfish and a wealth of birdlife. The swift parrot, a nationally endangered species, is found in the park’s blue gum forests, and the endangered forty-spotted pardalote feeds in the white gums. The green and gold frog, listed as vulnerable, is one of 19 known reptile and amphibian species.In the oddly titled 100-hectare Trousers Point Reserve (named for the lucky escape of a trouserless man from an 1872 shipwreck or a box of trousers washed up from an 1875 wreck), a low granite headland rises up between sandy beaches, with great opportunities for short walks, swimming, snorkelling, diving and rock fishing. There is a picnic area, tank water, barbecue, fireplaces and camping ground. The most spectacular bushwalk is the 5-hour-return trek up Mount Strzelecki Peak (756 metres), the island’s highest mountain. A track also heads south-east to Sarah Blanche Point (5–7 hours return).

Fact file

Camping

Trousers Point

Location and access

By air to Whitemark on Flinders Island from Launceston or Essendon/Latrobe Valley (VIC); by small cargo ship from Bridport or Launceston

Park Information

• PWS Strzelecki (03) 6359 2217
• Island Airlines Tasmania 1800 645 875
• Southern Shipping (03) 6356 1753
• Transport assistance 1800 994 477

Size

7413 ha

Where to Stay

Lady Barron (03) 6359 3521
Whitemark (03) 6359 2114


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• Campsites

Campsites

Trousers Point camping area

With its own tiny swimming beach, this camping area has to be one of the most delightful places to pitch a tent. Clear waters offer spectacular diving and snorkelling, and there are lovely scenic coastal walks nearby.... Find out more

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