Unique Tasmania

Unique Tasmania 📷 Photography • Video • Stories
🌿 Tasmania • A personal perspective
🐾 Earn the moment • Respect the wild
©️ Unique Tasmania I Rebecca Smith

White-bellied Sea-Eagles are one of Tasmania’s largest birds of prey, with a wingspan that can reach more than two metre...
13/09/2026

White-bellied Sea-Eagles are one of Tasmania’s largest birds of prey, with a wingspan that can reach more than two metres. Despite their name, they aren’t restricted to the coast and can also be found around rivers, lakes and wetlands, where they hunt fish, waterbirds and other prey.

This one was sighted above Adventure Bay while I was wandering along the beginning of the Fluted Cape walk. There is something quite different about seeing one from directly underneath. With those huge wings spread above me, it gave a great view of the contrast between the white body and dark flight feathers, and just how impressive the structure of those wings really is.

Another of the many wildlife encounters during my recent visit to Bruny Island Secrets Retreat. There is an abundance of native animals and birdlife to be seen around the property, so it certainly pays to keep looking up as well as around you!

Tip: If you want to be guaranteed seeing some of Tasmania’s special birds while on Bruny, book an experience at Raptor Refuge when heading to or from the island, as part of your stay at Bruny Island Secrets Retreat.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

Green Rosellas are Tasmania’s largest rosella and are endemic to Tasmania, including some of the Bass Strait islands.Thi...
12/09/2026

Green Rosellas are Tasmania’s largest rosella and are endemic to Tasmania, including some of the Bass Strait islands.

This was one of many observed during my recent visit to Tasmanian Devil Unzoo. I decided to have a go with editing a little differently, creating a black background to bring out those incredibly vibrant natural colours, along with that bright, inquisitive black eye.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

The Tessellated Pavement is one of Tasmania’s most unusual natural formations, with its distinctive patterns created by ...
11/09/2026

The Tessellated Pavement is one of Tasmania’s most unusual natural formations, with its distinctive patterns created by fractures in the sandstone and thousands of years of erosion. Depending on how the rock has eroded, sections develop either the familiar rectangular “pan” formations or the raised “loaf” formations.

Sunrise and a low tide gave me the chance to spend some time exploring the different patterns, reflections and perspectives across the pavement. A fascinating place to experience, particularly as the light changed across the water trapped within the rock.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

Tasmanian pademelons are a common sight in many parts of the state, but getting a glimpse of a joey at this stage is som...
11/09/2026

Tasmanian pademelons are a common sight in many parts of the state, but getting a glimpse of a joey at this stage is something a little more special.

The Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) is now found naturally only in Tasmania, although the species once also occurred on mainland Australia.

Like other marsupials, pademelon joeys spend their early development inside the pouch. As they grow, they begin looking out and eventually venturing from the pouch for short periods, while still returning to it for protection and to feed.

This little one was at that wonderful in-between stage, tucked safely beneath its mother but very interested in what was happening beyond the pouch. Another little treasure encountered during my recent visit to Tasmanian Devil Unzoo.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

Tasmanian devils might have a reputation for being messy feeders, but they are actually quite particular when it comes t...
10/09/2026

Tasmanian devils might have a reputation for being messy feeders, but they are actually quite particular when it comes to keeping themselves clean.

They regularly groom by licking their front paws and using them to clean around the muzzle, head and ears. After feeding, this helps remove blood, fat and other material left around the face. This devil was right in the middle of the process, repeatedly licking its paw before continuing with the clean-up.

This was one of the devils I spent time observing at Tasmanian Devil Unzoo at Taranna on the Tasman Peninsula. Beginning as the Tasmanian Devil Park in 1979, it later became the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park before beginning its transformation into the world's first intentional "Unzoo", with an emphasis on restoring habitat and allowing local wildlife to move freely through the property.

I spent four hours exploring the grounds and was amazed by the diversity. There was an abundance of birdlife, numerous species of native orchid and noticeable changes in the flora across the property. Along the way I encountered Tasmanian devils, pademelons, eels, echidnas, eastern grey kangaroos and Cape Barren geese.

Nearly 100 bird species have been identified on the property, while its bushland, paddocks, stream and other habitats support both resident and genuinely wild animals.

Unzoo is definitely somewhere I will be returning to. Experiencing the property at different times of the year and seeing the seasonal changes in its flora, birdlife and other wildlife would be really interesting.

For anyone interested in Tasmanian wildlife and nature rather than simply seeing animals in enclosures, I highly recommend a visit. Two thumbs up — 10/10!

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

The Tasman Peninsula is spectacular! From the lookout above Pirates Bay, the view stretches across forested headlands, c...
10/09/2026

The Tasman Peninsula is spectacular! From the lookout above Pirates Bay, the view stretches across forested headlands, cliffs and offshore rock formations, with Cape Hauy and The Lanterns visible in the distance and Fossil Island sitting closer to the coastline.

The view also gives a great perspective of the peninsula’s geology, from the layered sedimentary cliffs around Pirates Bay to the massive Jurassic dolerite formations of Cape Hauy further along the coast.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

Very little remains of the historic Carlton River Cemetery today, with the surviving graves and tombs now surrounded by ...
09/09/2026

Very little remains of the historic Carlton River Cemetery today, with the surviving graves and tombs now surrounded by vegetation.

The first recorded burial here was Henry Morris in 1838. Among the graves that remain are those of members of several early local families, including the Dodge, Steele, Thorne and Newberry families. The cemetery also contains the sandstone-capped Steele family vault, used between 1839 and 1875 as the final resting place of Lieutenant Joseph Steele and several of his relatives.

One of the surviving graves is that of Ralph Dodge, whose tomb can be seen at the rear of this image. Ralph established a ferry service from his property across to the sandy point of Seven Mile Beach, providing settlers with an easier route towards Hobart Town. Dodges Ferry takes its name from Ralph and the ferry service he operated.

The connections to familiar local names extend beyond Dodges Ferry. Ralph and Charlotte Dodge also established Lagoon Farm on land granted to Ralph in 1864. Their youngest son Robert later inherited the property, which remained with the family until it was sold to the Crown in 1919. Ernest Okines took up the property in 1923 and later purchased it, with the adjoining foreshore gradually becoming known as Okines Beach.

Nearly two centuries after the first recorded burial, only a small part of the cemetery remains visible amongst the vegetation, but the people buried here remain closely connected to the history and names of the communities that surround it today.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

I’m always drawn to old things that have clearly had a life before being left behind, and this old wooden boat is one I’...
08/09/2026

I’m always drawn to old things that have clearly had a life before being left behind, and this old wooden boat is one I’ve watched slowly change over decades of living in the area.

Sitting amongst the coastal scrub, well away from the water, its paint has gradually disappeared, the timber is splitting and the surrounding vegetation is slowly growing around what remains.

I still have no idea how it ended up here or what its story is, but after seeing it slowly decay into the landscape over so many years, that’s probably part of what makes me stop and wonder.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

Tasmania’s native orchids are one of those little things that are so easy to walk past without noticing. Many are tiny, ...
08/09/2026

Tasmania’s native orchids are one of those little things that are so easy to walk past without noticing. Many are tiny, tucked away amongst grasses, leaf litter and fallen branches, but once you start looking for them, it’s amazing how much variety there is.

More than 214 species of native orchid have been recorded in Tasmania, with 74 endemic to the State and found naturally nowhere else in the world. These were all found during the same wander, each so different in colour, shape and detail.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

White-faced Herons are opportunistic feeders, taking a wide variety of prey from shallow water, mudflats and along the s...
07/09/2026

White-faced Herons are opportunistic feeders, taking a wide variety of prey from shallow water, mudflats and along the shoreline, including fish, insects, worms and small crustaceans.

This one had been quietly working its way through the shallows when it emerged with a small crab — a good example of just how varied the diet of these familiar Australian herons can be.

Unique Tasmania 📷 Rebecca Smith

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