Wallabies; those cute little baby kangaroos that hop around Tasmania are well worth the trip for nature lovers. But there's a whole different kind of wallaby that lives down on Bruny Island -- the White Wallaby. A lack of predators on the isolated island have allowed these super cute and cuddly creatures to thrive. Despite being incredibly sun sensitive and prone to cancers, the population of the white wallaby has exceeded over 200 on the small island south of Hobart. So make the trek to the isolated Bruny Island to hunt for these miraculous creatures.
So what causes these adorable creatures to have snow white fur, pink eyes, nose and claws? A genetic defect in the Bennett's Wallaby has thrown off the balance of melanin in these little marsupials causing them to become albino. If this were the case nearly any other place on Earth, these unbelievably cute little hoppers would be snatched up by predators before reaching maturity. The rest would succumb to poor vision, cancers or other diseases. But a lack of predators on Bruny Island help these albino wallabies to survive and locals aid in their survival because they think they are cute. Bruny Island is likely the only place on earth where you can spot one of these majestic creatures.
Adventure Bay on Bruny Island is the where you are most likely to see a white wallaby in the wild. Bruny Island is easily accessible from Hobart. It's a quick 33 kilometres and 34-minute drive down to the south coast town of Kettering. There, you load up your car onto a fairy and take a 15-minute cruise to Bruny Island. The drive to Kettering from Launceston is 234 kilometres and nearly 3 hours. Devonport sits 315 kilometres clear on the other side of the island and that drive will take you 3 hours and 45 minutes.
You're likely to run into the white wallaby anywhere on Bruny Island due to a lack of discrimination. Perfectly healthy wallabies are willing to mate with albino wallabies just as easily as they are willing to mate with other healthy wallabies. This allows the albino genetic abnormality to spread amongst the community. But there is a specific place to look if you really want to spot one of these mythical creatures.
Wallabies are marsupials and are most active at sunrise and sunset. And the wallabies of Bruny Island are used to attention from human beings so it's easy to get up close for a picture. But if you're really itching to see a white wallaby in the wild, head down to the Adventure Bay Caravan Park at dusk. You can explore the area on foot or turn down Lockley Road; a dirt lane that can take you through the bush full of marsupial life.
