King Island is off the north-west tip of Tasmania, about halfway across Bass Strait. Wild seas surround the rocky coast - there are more than 70 submerged shipwrecks and four lighthouses, one on each coast. From the northern one at Cape Wickham, if the day is clear, you’ll see mainland Australia.

The island has thriving wildlife, including platypuses, especially in the 6,800-hectare Lavinia Nature Reserve in the north-east. You’ll also find heath, dunes and wonderful beaches in the reserve and a world-renowned wetland bird habitat. In the south of the island there’s an ancient calcified forest and a little further round the coast, at Grassy, you can see fairy penguins returning in the evening to their burrows.

Currie, the main town, is on the west coast. The lighthouse here is now a museum and there are challenging golf links next to the sea. This is a farming and fishing island. Cattle graze lush green pastures and produce superb beef, cream, butter and cheese. Restaurants serve local seafood, including abalone, crayfish and oysters, but you can catch your own dinner from the beach or from a chartered boat.