When I was a child visiting Bicheno, one of the most special things we did was walk out to Diamond Island. This was a real treat because walking over a sandbar is fun and because, back then, even when the tide was low you tended to get wet. After a recent storm, the sandbar is now much bigger (or at least, it seems so to me!). I was a little bit worried that we wouldn’t make it to the island as low tide occurred at 5am. We arrived at Red Bill Beach at about 8:30am and found a wide, dry strip of sand to walk on. What a treat!
Diamond Island is a very special place because you can walk out to it. Also, it is basically a giant Little Penguin rookery. You can find the rare, small Swift Parrot here (we saw a pair!). The island has the fiery lichen-covered rocks that are unique to the East Coast and it has large, beautiful rock pools. You might even see a pair of pelicans like we did. As you can see, it would be shorter to make a list of reasons NOT to visit Diamond Island.
One reason not to visit Diamond Island is if you don’t think that you can make it back across. You do NOT want to be stuck on the island for 12 hours. It will get dark and cold and the penguins would rather be left alone. Another reason not to visit Diamond Island is if you have your dog with you. They are not allowed in the reserve.
As the island is a penguin rookery, there are no paths (except those made by the penguins). Do not step on the greenery! You don’t want to be responsible for a penguin home invasion. To be sure that you’re not treading somewhere that you shouldn’t, stay on the rocks. Traversing the island will take a little bit of thinking and leaping this way. It’s quite fun!
Getting There
For information on Bicheno and how to get there, read this post. Once you’re in Bicheno, walk or drive to Red Bill beach, the surf beach near Diamond Island. It’s about a ten-minute walk (at a reasonable pace) from the car park and along the beach to Diamond Island. When planning your visit, check the tide times and make sure that you leave plenty of time to get back off the island on the same tide.
Cost
Unless you are fined for walking on the penguin rookery, there is no cost to visit Diamond Island. Remember to stay on the rocks and take any rubbish with you. The views of and from Diamond Island are beautiful. Take your camera and a sense of adventure and you’ll have a great time.
Read more of my adventures on Tasmania’s East Coast here.
I loved reading this. I haven’t seen this idea in any of the guidebooks and would love to try it with my family this December when we visit Bicheno from the UK. If you have any other tips or special unusual things to do I would love to hear. If not, thank you for this!
Hi Kathryn,
Thank you for your kind words. I highly recommend visiting Bicheno Blowhole too (https://traversingtasmania.com/2017/06/12/bicheno-blowhole-rice-pebble-beach/). I haven’t yet posted about the Glass Bottom Boat tours but they are great (run by a local family). Do book a spot by phoning them up the day/week before as they are weather dependent tours and are very popular. Have a meal at The Lobster Shack before/after your boat tour.
If you are also visiting nearby Freycinet, walk to Wineglass Bay, eat at Freycinet Marine Farm and do the Oyster Bay Tours – I’m going to publish a post about the oyster farm tour soon. If your children are up for it, I enjoyed kayaking at Freycinet too (https://traversingtasmania.com/2017/12/26/freycinet-adventures/).
Enjoy your holiday! Tasmania is so beautiful!
Kind regards,
Emily
It’s a beautiful location & as stated easy to get caught out if you’re silly enough not to check the tides.
One thing lacking is signage informing visitors to keep to the sand& rock areas & off the vegetated areas which are ALL Little Penguin 🐧 rookeries. What is there is not specific enough & clearly needs attention with both instructions & map.
Can’t totally blame the ignorance of visitors if appropriates signs are not provided.
Thanks Russell. Agreed! We went there with a friend last year who walked up over the rookery before we could tell her not to! There does need to be better signage.