 We recently spent two nights at the Inala Private Reserve on South Bruny Island, off Tasmania. Not easy to get to (ferry across to the island, drive to south of island...pretty remote). Was it worth the effort? Absolutely! We loved the birdlife, flora and fauna, and so many serene spaces. Go there if you can. If you can't, here's a glimpse of what we experienced. Seeing that grey goshawk white morph (above) was the icing on the cake, but there's much more to Inala. It's a 600 hectare conservation property north of Cloudy Lagoon near the South Bruny National Park. To enjoy that area, you need to book a tour, or stay in the cottage accommodation. We chose the latter, and shared the cottage with good friends, Ben and Steph. The cottage was very homely and welcoming. If you can't stay there, you can just visit the spectacular Inala Jurassic Garden and the Nature Museum (fees payable for both). There's also a small gift shop with some intriguing artworks by locals (always good to see).  Birdwise, there's an awful lot to see. Inala is home to 95 species, and all twelve Tasmanian endemics - including the forty-spotted pardalote. There's a raptor hide and Tasmanian wedgies and white-bellied sea-eagles are also about. We didn't see all of those species, but we certainly enjoyed seeing plenty. We loved the birdlife but the flora was just as good really. More than three quarters of the Inala property is covered in native vegetation, including eucalypt forest, wetlands and heathlands. We walked the tracks extensively in the days we had at Inala, and we particularly loved some of the less obvious groves and nooks, returning to enjoy them more than once. On our travels, we were lucky to meet the founder and owner, Dr Tonia Cochrane. She was guiding guests, and on reflection, we would have benefitted even more if we had engaged her as well. Next time! Inala Private Reserve is a gem, and it deserves our support. Here is a visual summary of what we experienced. Enjoy!
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