We had a long list of Australian animals we wanted to see in the wild while on this road trip and BOY did Tasmania deliver. There wasn't a day in our 10 week travels that we didn't see any wildlife. Here are the best locations to find some Aussie icons around Tasmania.
Echidnas
Literally anywhere and everywhere, we saw them almost every day, even on the beach. The best chance is to keep an eye on the sides of the roads when you're driving around towns. They usually look like a bundle of sticks, but watch for movement.
We also saw plenty while walking and hiking, including Mt Amos, Cradle Mountain, Cape Raoul and also Cape Hauy.
Wombats
A trip to Cradle Mountain isn't complete without seeing a wombat. It would be hard to miss one, especially if you are there for a few days. We saw them on most hikes and all around the park, particularly near the Interpretation Centre. The Enchanted Forrest and The Rainforest walk are also common spots to find them.
If you don't catch one on a hike or around the main areas of the park, you will definitely see one at Ronnie Creek at dusk. While you can't drive into the park during the day, you can after 6.30pm. We drove in about half an hour before sunset (7pm) and parked at Ronny Creek car park and walked the boardwalk towards Crater Lake. We saw over 30 wombats in the first 10 minutes, they were everywhere. Make sure to stay quiet as they can be a bit skittish, but as long as you walk slowly and quietly they just go about their day.
Another great spot to see them is Maria Island. To get there you will need to catch a ferry from Triabunna. There are no cars or buses on the Island so we hired mountain bikes to get around (which we recommend as there is a lot of area to cover). The best place to see them is actually in the old town centre ruins. We were told 4pm is when they all come out and we were not disappointed! Overall we saw about 10 wombats from tiny babies to full grown adults. We also rode all the way to a place called Wombat Paradise only to not see a single one, so we definitely recommend hanging around town in the arvo to catch them.
Platypus
Platypus are all over Tasmania, however they can be a bit difficult to find. We went to so many many different lakes to find them with no luck. We did however see them every time we went to Warrawee Forrest Reserve in Latrobe. In fact, we saw about 10+ each time we went.
We recommend going just before sunrise as this is when they are out and about feeding. There is a small track to the right of the walkway that gets you closer to the water level. You have to be very quiet, and very patient as they are very shy and skittish. If you wait very patiently you are likely to see them.
If you have no luck finding them in the wild there is an amazing tour at Platypus House in Beauty Point, north of Launceston, where you can see them up-close for just $25 per person. A guide will take you around their enclosures as well as to the Echidna enclosures where you can watch them feed. The guide we had was incredible, super knowledgeable and passionate about the animals. Even if you do see them in the wild we recommend this activity as it was well worth our time and the money
Possums
These are another common animal in Tasmania, We saw them most nights when driving around. They also frequently visited our campsites trying to steal our food (be sure not to leave out any rubbish otherwise they will make a mess of it). The place we saw them the most frequently was Mt Field National Park so if you're keen to see one I'd recommend heading there first.
Pademelons / Wallabies / Kangaroos
We saw them everywhere!!!! And I mean everywhere, In fact they kept us up most nights in campgrounds. If they are not crossing the street as you are driving, they are trying to get steal your food at the campsite.
Glow Worms
Mt Field was one of the best locations to see wildlife and one of the only places you can see wild glow worms for free. You can find these at the entrance of Russell Falls. Simply walk towards the falls late at night (we did this around 10pm) and you will catch them just before you turn to look at the flowing waterfall. Try and not use torches or light while approaching them as they hide from the light.
We also saw them in Mole Creek Cave. This was a paid tour though the caves which was well worth the money as it was a beautiful cave with underground water streams. Costing $19 per adult for the 1 hour tour.
Tasmanian Devils
We were super lucky to see not only one wild Tasmanian devil, but two. We stumbled across one in Cradle Mountain on a late night drive as well as Maria Island while bike riding to the painted cliffs. We wish we could give you some pointers on where to best see these guys in the wild but the truth is that they are few and far between and super rare to see.
If you have the time we recommend heading to Wings Wildlife Park to catch a glimpse of these rare marsupials, they have a few Tassie Devils and they come out during the day. The park has plenty of other Aussie animals including a rare white wallaby so you can tick plenty of Aussie animals off your list.
Penguins
One animal we were not expecting to see in Tassie were penguins. There is a free experience at Lillco Beach Conservation Area in Devonport where you can get pretty close to these cute little birds. The local council has created a board walk so you can observe them without interfering with their natural habitat. With volunteers there to protect them from unwanted human interaction and also tell you all about them.
Albino Wallaby
Bruny Island is the place to see the infamous white wallaby. We were told they can be seen all over the island but we found them a little tricky to spot and had to go looking for them. We saw three hovering around Lockleys Road, so we would recommend starting there, but apparently you can see them roaming all throughout the island.
Overall Tasmania was probably our favourite place to see all sorts of Australian animals so if you're keen to tick a few off your list I would highly recommend to add it to your travel itinerary.
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