Penguin
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Penguin

Penguin

Small northwest Tasmania coastal town named for the little penguins that nest along its foreshore.

Penguin is a small town on Tasmania's northwest coast, about 20 kilometres west of Devonport and its Bass Strait ferry terminal. The town takes its name from the little penguins that nest along the foreshore — you can see them at dusk in season.

It's a good-looking place: a main street of cafes and craft shops facing the beach, a Sunday market popular with locals, and a lush forested hinterland that rises steeply behind the town. The surrounding countryside is dairy and vegetable farming country, and the drive inland through the Dial Range offers a quieter version of Tasmania's mountain scenery.

For those arriving by ferry at Devonport, Penguin makes a pleasant first stop on a northwest Tasmania loop rather than heading straight inland.

Guide

Eating Out

Penguin's main street has a handful of cafes that punch above their weight for a town this size — courtesy of dairy, vegetable, and fish producers in the surrounding valleys. Expect simple, good food: scallop pies, locally smoked salmon, sourdough, single-origin coffee. The Sunday market in season is a separate eating world of its own.

Guide

Getting There

The Spirit of Tasmania ferry docks at Devonport, 20 minutes east, and the Bass Highway runs straight through Penguin from there — most travellers reach the town by car as part of a north-coast circuit. Burnie airport at Wynyard, with daily flights from Melbourne, is 30 minutes west.

Tassielink coaches run along the coast from Hobart and Launceston via Devonport. The old Old Bass Highway hugs the coast through Penguin itself — slower than the new inland bypass but the only sensible choice if you want to see the town.

Guide

Things to Do

Penguin's main attractions sit along a short stretch of the foreshore: the Big Penguin statue, the beach with its little penguin colony, and Hiscutt Park just behind. The Dial Range rising inland is the place for walks, and the Sunday market draws weekenders from across the northwest coast.

Guide

When to Go

Penguin sits on Tasmania's north coast and shares the island's cool-temperate maritime climate — wetter than the rest of mainland Australia, with mild summers and cold winters.

The little penguins are ashore from September through March, with the easiest viewing in October–December when chicks are being fed. The Sunday market also runs October to April. Summer (December–February) is the obvious window: daytime temperatures of 18–22°C, long evenings, and the foreshore at its best. Winter is short, wet, and quiet, with most cafes still open but the market closed and the penguins gone.