About ten minutes drive from Launceston, accessible via the West Tamar Highway, lies a fascinating place: Tamar Island. A long boardwalk leads out to the island, taking you between phragmites australis reeds and out over mudflats and the river itself. The boardwalk is open from dawn until dusk; we took the opportunity to have a picnic dinner on the island as the sun was beginning to set. It was beautiful!
On the walk out to Tamar Island, which takes 20 – 30 minutes (depending on how many things you stop to look at on the way!), you’ll see a variety of birds, such as pelicans, black swans and great egrets, and perhaps even a copperhead snake (which should be left alone as it is venomous! Be careful where you tread!). If you look carefully, you can see the wrecks that were sunk in the channel in order to improve the flow of water.
Facilities
On Tamar Island, there are picnic tables, public BBQs (you’ll need to take your rubbish with you though), a toilet block, a jetty (giving access to the island via boat) and a European stand of trees. These were donated by the Hobart Botanical Gardens. Even stranger still is the tree that has grown around an abandoned piece of farming equipment!
The small but informative Tamar Island Wetlands Interpretation Centre, with its distinctive circular roof, is open from 10am to 4pm everyday except Christmas Day (9am to 5pm in summer). You can view birds from a hide 0.5km from the interpretation centre.
Cost
Although it is possible to walk to Tamar Island for free, your donation helps Parks and Wildlife. They aim to conserve the native flora and fauna of the island and wetlands.
To read more about my adventures in Tasmania’s north, click here. Further up the Tamar River, explore the Cataract Gorge by boat or on foot. Looking for another free, short walk? Try nearby Tailrace Park.