Touring Montague Island

Barunguba Montague IslandThe Lighthouse Montague Island Natural Heritage Montague Island Touring Montague Island

We were looking forward to our tour of Montague Island, having heard much about it. Our trip up the south coast had been blessed with seeing plenty of whale activity, which we were also lucky to see on the return leg of our Montague Island tour. The boat ride out included catching sight of a flying fish (my first), and the shearwaters over the ocean. On seeing the Australian Fur Seals, we were stunned to see so many, so close. They were acting so casual, waving their fins in the air, some even came close to the boat.

The actual island tour was also amazing, seeing the lighthouse and listening to the story of the isolation and the hardship of the former lightkeepers and their families. The cemetery was poignant.

It was also sad to hear about the fire that got out of control in 2001, killing some 40 penguins and again in 2004. The controlled fire was to kill off the kikuyu grass that presents an impenetrable barrier to movement and burrowing by penguins and shearwaters.

The silver gulls were extremely noisy. Even more amazing was seeing the school of small fish close to the surface of the ocean and the crested terns going hell for leather… the sound of the flock as they swoop overhead is indescribable, you could hear each individual body pass, like the sound of bullets encased in feathers…

Disembarking for a tour of Montague Island — as you walk up to the lightstation from here, the path you are walking on is where the original tramway was built to draw the materials used in construction of the lighthouse up to the top of the island by horse. On either side the path is thick with the invasive kikuyu grass. Penguin burrows with their nesting boxes can sometimes be seen. Gulls also created nest in the thick kikuyu and in you can often see eggs and young during the breeding season.

Barunguba Montague Island comprises two elevated sections divided by a ravine, covered with huge granite boulders and with a total area of 82 ha. The water around the island is rich in marine life due to the close proximity of the continental shelf and the warm eastern Australian current. It is in these waters that you can encounter pods of migrating whales, dolphins, sunfish manta rays, and pelagic fish.

The island offers a number of great walking trails, that take in the landscape, the heritage buildings and views across the water. It is a haven for wildlife, with strategies in place to manage any feral incursions and weeds.

Access to Barunguba Montague Island is only available for guided tour visitors or visitors with an overnight accommodation booking. The island is only accessible by NPWS-contracted commercial vessel tour operators. There is no private vessel access. There is also a minimum age limit to the island, see the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service for further information.

The Barunguba Montague Island NSW website has some information for visitors, maps and related info. Also check out their Montague Island – Archives.

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Barunguba Montague IslandThe Lighthouse Montague Island Natural Heritage Montague Island Touring Montague Island

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