My Experience on smallest penguins in the world | Where to find them in Tasmania

Tasmania is Australia’s secret wonderland.

It is home to an unspoilt landscape and picturesque charm , from incredible beaches, waterfalls, charming towns, wildlife and epic mountains, there is a whole list of goodies on Tasmania’s menu. I am glad we chose Tasmania as our travel destination during this pandemic time.

Tasmania is blessed with these little Penguins or fairy penguins as they call them. They are the smallest penguins in the world with about 30 cm height.

Penguins are very busy in the sea and when it is dark enough they leave the water and come to shore.

Phillip island in Victoria is the largest fairy penguins colony. But in Tasmania there are around 6 locations where you can spot them. There are few guided tours at various spots and these are the best way to see them without running the risk of scaring them away.

• Penguin (of course) in north-west Tasmania (nightly tours September to March).
• Burnie at the Little Penguin Observation Centre on Parsonage Point (tours October to March).
• Lillico Beach near Devonport (tours September to May and December to February).
• Low Head near George Town (nightly tours from the coastal reserve).
• Bicheno has nightly tours year-round.
• Bruny Island has penguin colonies along the Neck area — No guided tours.

Little penguins are shy and they can be startled by bright lights and too much movement and noise from excited humans. It is advised to use red light and not use flash when taking photos. If you are taking guided tours guides will have enough lights for you to see penguins. They will also make sure to keep kids away from penguins to avoid the risk of kids touching them.

As per my experience, I would recommend to take a guided tour at low-head or Burnie. The best experience we had was at low-head guided penguin tour. We saw more than 50 penguins at the end of February. At Burnie there are volunteers from October till March to guide you on how to see them. Please support volunteers and respect them for their contribution to the nature and society. At Bruny island there are no guided tours , so it is bit hard to spot them , In case if you are planning to see them at Bruny island , make sure to take your own red lights.

In some places there are guided tours year around. But the peak season would be from September till March, where you can see around 100–200 penguins come to shore every night.

This is an absolute must if you are visiting Tasmania during September till March.