Viewing the penguins at Stanley is a great Tasmanian experience. The town of Stanley on the north west coast is most well known for the scenic backdrop which is The Nut. There are many historic buildings on the main road, including the home that Tasmania’s only Australian Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, grew up in, and Highfield House on the hill overlooking the whole town.

At dusk, the colony of Little Penguins that nest below the Nut become the stars of the show. There is an extremely well-built boardwalk from the car park for visitors. Additionally there is red-light lighting which allows visitors to see while not impacting the sensitive eyes of the penguins.

Photographing Tasmania’s Penguins

First of all it is vital not to use any flash equipment. A brilliant white flash of light in the dark is enormously damaging to the eyes of the penguin. The red lights provide ample light to see – and photograph – the penguins at Stanley very well. I turned these photos to black and white during the editing process to eliminate the redness. It has to be said, in order to capture these shots I really had to go to some pretty wild extremes of ISO. All were above 10000, and some even as high as 51200!

Access to the Penguins at Stanley

Stanley is in the far north west of Tasmania. You can drive there in around 3 hours from Launceston, and staying a night or two is a great idea to see the penguins. You could even use Stanley as a base for a day or two exploring the Tarkine, or head back towards Burnie or even Cradle Mountain.

The penguin viewing area is right on the edge of town. Going down to shoot the sunset and then waiting for the penguins to appear is a good option. Remember, they don’t appear until complete darkness, so make sure to rug up too!