Travelways

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Fish, feathers and furry friends

IT'S nearly 11am and the dolphins are back, surfing the bow. We are trolling for kingfish off the western side of Flinders Island and skipper Mike Nichols says he'll know from the wheelhouse by the drag on the boat if we've snagged one of the feisty, finned fighters. The dolphins enjoy the bow wave for another five minutes as we hook our first fish, a pike, and follow it with a plump Australian salmon. Mr Nichols drops anchor in the lee of an offshore island and we slip overboard to snoop at the marine environment. He puts scubadiving students through their paces at this protected spot; it's a wonderful seascape with limestone overhangs and vibrant fish life.   Mr Nichols taught himself to weld so he could build his boat, Bass Pyramid. The former schoolteacher runs Flinders Island Dive out of Emita and takes divers, snorkellers and fishing tourists out on half-day and full-day charters. After our boat adventure we join  Mr Nichols on a snorkelling trip from shore, watching the experienced submariner spear a couple of huge flathead and collect greenlip abalone. For a small place, Emita's got quite a bit going for it. The Furneaux Museum houses all manner of island history. We are shown around by D'reen Lovegrove,  one of the volunteers who runs the museum. There are drawers full of carefully arranged seashells, displays of old radios, telephones, phonographs, traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces ... far too many items to list. Ms Lovegrove tells us that a faithfully reproduced muttonbirding hut is cleaned once a year, just like a real one. The museum pays tribute to the island's nautical and aeronautical past but it's the recognition given to the backbreaking work of clearing farmland on eastern Flinders that seems to stick in the mind. Among  photos of bulldozers working their way through ti-tree swamp is a huge sign bearing the motto of the Agricultural Bank of Tasmania Soldier Land Settlement Scheme: "The impossible we do immediately. Miracles take just a little longer.'' Pretty soon we are witnessing another style of miracle, when Kate Mooney arrives with three baby wombats. Miss Mooney, sister of prominent Parks and Wildlife managers Nick and Peter, also volunteers at the museum but has dropped in to show us the most recent additions to her wombat rescue program. Miss Mooney started taking in wombats orphaned by roadkill in the late 1990s.  The Flinders subspecies is lighter in colour and smaller than its hefty cousin. As we talk, Henry (arrived January 5), Badger (December 12) and Louie (December 4) scuttle about at our feet. She has been hooked on wombats since a tourist brought her that first orphan, subsequently named Batski. But as a mum to baby wombats, Miss Mooney has had to get used to their unexpected departures. ``They come and go. My first one (Batski) left on Christmas Eve ... I had a present under the tree.'' A little tacker like Henry (named for the tourist who found him) needs four feeds a day so sometimes they accompany Miss Mooney while she tends the museum. Sometimes a lucky tourist might be asked to hold the wombat. One Japanese visitor who asked to hold a wombat bub was told that they like it if the holder sways. "You've never seen such earnest swaying.'' The writer was a guest of Tourism Tasmania. IF YOU GO: Mike Nichols runs fishing, snorkelling and dive charters at Flinders Island Dive, Emita. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 0428 598 529 or 6359 8429. For an overview of Flinders Island visit www.visitflindersisland.com.au.