Where to See Bruny Island's White Wallabies

Quick facts

• What they are: Bennett's wallabies with pale fur, not a separate species.
• Where: the paddocks near the Fluted Cape entrance to the park, and around Adventure Bay.
• When: dusk, when they come out to feed.
• Guaranteed? Never. A sighting is luck and a good guide.
• Cost to look: nothing, unless you walk into the national park, which needs a parks pass.
• The rule: slow down on the roads at dawn and dusk, and never use a camera flash.

What a white wallaby is

Bruny Tourism lists the animal as the white Bennett's wallaby. A white wallaby is the same animal you see in grey all over the island, with a pale coat in place of the usual brown-grey. The tour listings call it albino. You may see one grazing right beside a grey one, which makes the difference plain.

Grey Bennett's wallabies are common here, and so are Tasmanian pademelons and brushtail possums. The white ones are the draw because you rarely see them anywhere else. The Parks and Wildlife Service calls them Bruny's unique white wallabies, and for many of you they are the animal to find.

Where to look

The Parks and Wildlife Service gives you one place to start: the paddocks around the Fluted Cape entrance to South Bruny National Park, near Adventure Bay. That is where it says the white wallabies feed at dusk. It is also near the start of the Fluted Cape Track, so a late walk and a wallaby watch fit into one evening.

The tours look in the same part of the island. The food day with the lighthouse climb makes a stop at Adventure Bay to search for them. Where the walks and the park entrance sit is on the Bruny Island map, and what else is in the south of the island is on the things to do page.

Why dusk is the hard part

Wallabies feed in the evening, and that is when most day tours are heading for the ferry. The Bruny Island Safaris day is back in Hobart by about 5 to 5:30pm, and most of the other days from Hobart run to similar hours. For much of the year, that means dusk falls after the buses have left the island.

So the day tours find their white wallabies by knowing the paddocks, not by waiting for the light. It works often enough. David J. counted five on the food and lighthouse day, and Christine B.'s guide found six on the guided walking day. Sakiko saw one on the Safaris day from a hotel pickup. Ian W. had poor weather on the Wild Escapes day, and the guide still pulled over for some.

Which days look for them

No tour sells a wallaby, and none promises one. But several land days build a search into the route, and their guides know where the white ones graze. These are the days whose own descriptions name the white wallabies:

• The food and lighthouse days (Bruny Island Safaris): a search stop at Adventure Bay, with the note that sightings are not guaranteed.
• The Wild Escapes small group: white wallabies are among the wildlife it looks for, with ten people at most.
• The shore excursion from the cruise port: it asks you to look out for albino wallabies between the lookouts and the walks.
• The guided walking days (Tassie Tours): wallaby spotting is part of the morning's nature walks on the version with hotel pickup.

The cruise will not help here: it spends its three hours on the water. All the days that put animals first are compared on Bruny Island wildlife tours, and the full detail of one of them is on the guided walking and sightseeing day.

Watching from a car, without harm

If you drive yourself, the roads are where you will meet them, and that cuts both ways. Bruny Tourism warns that wallabies can dart onto the road without notice. Its answer is to slow down, and to avoid driving at dawn or dusk if you can. The Parks and Wildlife Service asks you to avoid driving through its reserves at night.

Put those together and the plan is simple. Park before dusk, then watch on foot or from the parked car. Pull fully off the road, and never stop on a blind bend. Keep your distance, and do not try to feed or approach them. Gravel, fuel and the rest of the driving rules are on the roads and wildlife page.

Torches, flashes and photos

Night viewing has its own rules. Bruny Tourism asks you to use a red-light torch for nocturnal animals and never to use a camera flash, which can scare and harm them. Many island businesses hand out red cellophane to cover a torch, so ask where you stay.

For photos, dusk light is low and white fur is bright. Turn the flash off, raise the sensitivity and brace the camera on the car door. A pale wallaby against green grass is easy to find in a frame, even small. What the light and the weather do through the year is on the best time to visit page.

What else you may see

Bruny Tourism says you will often see an echidna beside a walking track, and pademelons and possums all over the island. With patience and luck you might find an eastern quoll or a bandicoot. Birders come for the island's list: all 12 of Tasmania's endemic bird species are found here, and the Parks and Wildlife Service counts 120 species recorded on the island.

One animal you will not meet is the Tasmanian devil: by Bruny Tourism's account, it never made the crossing. Snakes are here: three species, all venomous. Keep to the tracks and they will leave you alone. The seals and the sea birds belong to the water, and our post on the cruise covers them.

If you find an injured animal

Hitting a wallaby is the thing every driver here wants to avoid, and slowing down is most of the answer. If you do find an injured animal, Bruny Tourism gives two numbers to call:

• Wildlife incidents hotline: 1300 827 727.
• Bonorong Wildlife Rescue: 0447 264 625.

Save both in your phone before you cross. The ferry, the queue and the drive down to the south are on the getting to Bruny Island page, and what you pay for on the island is on the visitor guide.

Days that look for the white wallabies

Bruny Island - Wild Escapes From Hobart

A small group of up to ten from Hobart, with oyster, cheese and honey stops, the lookout over the isthmus and time in the south of the island. The guide keeps an eye out for white wallabies; lunch is a stop at your own cost.

From $130 per person

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Ultimate Full-Day Bruny Island Inc Exclusive Lighthouse Tour

Hotel pickup from over 20 places around Hobart, then morning tea on the beach, lunch, tastings and a guided climb inside the lighthouse. The ferry and the national park entry are in the fare, and the guides know where the white wallabies graze.

From $199 per person

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SHORE EXCURSION - Full-Day Guided Bruny Island Tour from Hobart

Collects you at the Hobart cruise terminal for lookouts, a beach, a rainforest walk and the lighthouse grounds, with an eye out for the pale wallabies. Food is at your own cost; ask at booking whether you need your own pass for the park.

From $130 per person

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