King Island is in the middle of the Bass Strait between Victoria and the north west coast of Tasmania. It's a surfers' paradise and a rich agricultural producer of beef, cheese, milk and crayfish.
The coastline is quite reminiscent of Cornwall. The shifting sand dunes sometimes reveal casts of forests that were previously covered by sand.
On the west coast, the quiet town of Currie has a lighthouse and a fascinating local museum in the old lighthouse keeper's cottage. I loved the old photos of settler families and young men who went off to the Great War, some to return and some not. The ladies of Currie created a quilt for an anniversary showing typical scenes from around the island.
On the south east coast, the little harbour of Grassy is home to a Blue Penguin colony. The smallest penguins come ashore at night to their burrows under the shrubs. We spotted one little penguin that had stayed at home. The road signs were hilarious!
The King Island Dairy which has produced gourmet cheeses since 1902, is sadly expected to close in 2025, as it has become uneconomic to ship cheese to the mainland and the rest of the world, and no buyout saviour has so far appeared.
