Climate and Geography

The sea moderates the climate of the Furneaux Islands. Cooler than Melbourne in the summer and unexpectedly warmer than Melbourne in the winter. On Flinders Island, we have more sunny days than the Gold Coast.

Swells can come in from distant oceanic storms, creating dramatic effects on the headlands of Trousers Point facing the West, or sometimes on the eastern side of the Island. Winds can in the autumn be high but usually abate after a day. Flinders has a reputation for being windy, but in actual fact, is less windy than the western islands of Tasmania and even the western part of the mainland. It is definitely 'windy' about 10% of the time.

Flinders Island has a backbone of granite, peaking at Strzelecki and continuing through the Darling Ranges. This range extends south into eastern Tasmania and north into the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. This backbone sweeps down into rich wide agricultural plains in the east and a narrower plain in the west.

The highest peaks of the region are Mt. Strzelecki on Flinders Island which rapidly rises from the sea to 756 m, its lesser peaks of Belstead and Razorback, and Mt. Munro on Cape Barren Island to 687 m.

One of our geological treasures is the "Killiecrankie Diamond". Not a true diamond, the Killiecrankie Diamond is actually a hard form of topaz. These "diamonds" can be fossicked for along certain beaches and gullies on Flinders and Prime Seal Islands, among others.