Olive Whistler

There are only three ways to travel to Melaleuca which is in the World Heritage Area in the remote south west corner of Tasmania: by boat; on foot for six days; by air. We chose the only practical option which was to fly by light aircraft. The plane from Hobart diverted to Bruny Island to pick us up and the pilot needed all his skills to land and take off in a strong cross wind. After a bumpy forty minute flight around the coast and skirting the mountains, we arrived at Melaleuca and immediately set off across the remote terrain for a cup of coffee and a biscuit. The bird life is sparse but the quality makes up for the lack of quantity and this uncommon and difficult to see species was a pleasant surprise.