The vegetation is dominated by the woody shrub Leptospermum scoparium, or tea tree, which covers most parts of the island, reaching a canopy height of 6 m in sheltered places.
Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are the little penguin (700 pairs), short-tailed shearwater (800,000 pairs), sooty shearwater, fairy prion (5000 pairs), common diving-petrel (10,000 pairs), soft-plumaged petrel, Pacific gull, silver gull and sooty oystercatcher. The swamp antechinus has been recorded.
The island is a haul-out site for the Australian fur seal and a breeding site for the New Zealand fur seal. It is visited by southern elephant seals, which occasionally breed there. Reptiles recorded include the metallic skink, three-lined skink and Tasmanian tree skink.[2]
Access to the island has traditionally been by boat, but today helicopters have almost totally taken over this role.[5]
Because the island is so far south and is entirely dominated by circumpolar weather systems, average temperatures are significantly colder than most of Australia. Maatsuyker Island has an average temperature of around 11 °C (52 °F) with strikingly cool summers that are reminiscent of those in far northern Scotland, despite sharing a latitude with Nice in the French Riviera. Wind is almost constant and often vigorous.
Due to the high vegetation in patches on the top of the island, it is possible to shelter on the "jeep trail" that runs from the lighthouse to the landing. Several vehicles have been used here over the years, including Suzuki Sierras in the 1980s.
Weather observations have been recorded continuously from the island since 1891 for rainfall; mean temperatures from 1936, and extreme temperatures from 1957.
More information Climate data for Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse (43.66° S, 146.27° E), Month ...
| Climate data for Maatsuyker Island Lighthouse (43.66° S, 146.27° E) |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
34.1
(93.4) |
34.7
(94.5) |
32.4
(90.3) |
31.0
(87.8) |
22.0
(71.6) |
20.0
(68.0) |
17.8
(64.0) |
21.8
(71.2) |
25.6
(78.1) |
28.0
(82.4) |
33.0
(91.4) |
32.9
(91.2) |
34.7
(94.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) |
17.1
(62.8) |
17.3
(63.1) |
16.3
(61.3) |
14.5
(58.1) |
12.8
(55.0) |
11.5
(52.7) |
11.0
(51.8) |
11.2
(52.2) |
12.2
(54.0) |
13.3
(55.9) |
14.4
(57.9) |
15.7
(60.3) |
13.9
(57.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) |
10.9
(51.6) |
11.2
(52.2) |
10.7
(51.3) |
9.6
(49.3) |
8.5
(47.3) |
7.4
(45.3) |
6.7
(44.1) |
6.5
(43.7) |
6.9
(44.4) |
7.5
(45.5) |
8.5
(47.3) |
9.7
(49.5) |
8.7
(47.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
3.5
(38.3) |
5.0
(41.0) |
1.7
(35.1) |
0.2
(32.4) |
0.7
(33.3) |
−1.1
(30.0) |
−1
(30) |
0.0
(32.0) |
0.6
(33.1) |
−1.1
(30.0) |
2.0
(35.6) |
3.2
(37.8) |
−1.1
(30.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) |
77.4
(3.05) |
69.4
(2.73) |
84.4
(3.32) |
107.1
(4.22) |
115.9
(4.56) |
116.3
(4.58) |
128.3
(5.05) |
123.6
(4.87) |
107.6
(4.24) |
104.8
(4.13) |
90.8
(3.57) |
88.9
(3.50) |
1,213.9
(47.79) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) |
17.4 |
14.7 |
18.3 |
20.7 |
22.8 |
22.0 |
24.2 |
24.6 |
22.8 |
22.7 |
20.1 |
19.2 |
249.5 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) |
76 |
76 |
78 |
80 |
82 |
82 |
81 |
80 |
79 |
78 |
77 |
77 |
79 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[6] |
Close
Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
