| If you are a fossil collector, rock hunter, or have an | | | | To the west of Fossil Bluff is Table Cape, which is a |
| interest in geology, Fossil Bluff in Tasmania is a | | | | circular volcanic plug with a northern face rising 170 |
| must-see destination. It is classified as a state | | | | metres (560 feet) above the sea. The volcanic soil on |
| geological monument, and is surrounded by other | | | | the cape grows a variety of crops and is regarded to |
| geological wonders. | | | | be the richest agricultural soil in Tasmania. The basalt is |
| Fossil Bluff is a sandstone bluff with layers of fossils | | | | approximately 13.3 million years old which, in geological |
| encased in the stone. It is washed by the waves of | | | | terms, is recent. |
| the Bass Strait, a stretch of ocean which separates | | | | East and west of the beach and at intervals for many |
| Tasmania from mainland Australia. This bluff was | | | | kilometres to the east is a low flat gray rock. This is |
| beneath the sea in the Oligocene geological period | | | | the Wynyard Tillite, about 280 million years old, which |
| (about 38 million years ago), and it lies on top of layers | | | | was formed in the geological Permian period. It was |
| of tillite which were deposited by glaciers in the | | | | formed in the age of glaciations while Australia was |
| Permian period (about 280 million years ago). You can | | | | part of the super continent called Gondwana. The |
| walk around the bluff at low tide and see where the | | | | glaciers flowed from the south towards the north and |
| sandstone and tillite meet. Some of the layers of | | | | when they were melting and reached areas of |
| sandstone are rich in fossils, while others are not, | | | | depression they slowed down, and dropped the rocks |
| showing the different climatic conditions that occurred | | | | they were carrying. Over time, mud covered the rocks, |
| during the millions of years of the Oligocene period. | | | | which became a mudstone conglomerate. You can |
| The fossils are not dissimilar to many of the shells you | | | | find (and keep) granites, cherts, quartz, jaspers and |
| will find washed up on beaches today. | | | | agates in the tillite, and on the beach as small pebbles. |
| Unfortunately, you are not permitted to take | | | | Fossil Bluff is only 3 kilometres (2 miles) from the city |
| specimens of fossils from the Bluff. | | | | of Wynyard, Tasmania. It is at the tip of the |
| During low tide you can walk around the Fossil Bluff | | | | promontory formed by the Inglis River where it meets |
| and along the beach to the Silver Gull rookery at the | | | | Bass Strait. Wynyard is on a direct flight from |
| mouth of the Inglis River. Little Penguins, also known as | | | | Melbourne, or 40 minutes by car to the terminus for |
| Fairy Penguins, nest along most of the shoreline and | | | | the Spirit of Tasmania ferry from Melbourne to |
| from September to February, and you can find their | | | | Devonport. Redline Bus services are available to |
| nesting areas by looking for telltale signs of their | | | | Wynyard from Hobart / Launceston / Devonport. |
| excrement. Never disturb the penguins, as their | | | | The main street in Wynyard has all facilities... |
| numbers appear to be declining, probably because of | | | | restaurant, cafes, chemist, fresh fish at Wynyard |
| the proximity to the Wynyard Golf Club which sits on | | | | Wharf, supermarket, butcher, post office and |
| top of Fossil Bluff. Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) is | | | | newsagent with a variety of shops to browse, on line |
| the smallest species of penguin, at 43 cm (16 inches) | | | | access centres at the Local Library and also at the |
| tall, and is found only on the coastlines of southern | | | | Wonders of Wynyard Information Centre. |
| Australia and New Zealand | | | | |