Off with the birds

If you didn't know that Lomandra longifolia is commonly known as the spiny-headed mat-rush you'd soon become an expert on a trip to Australia's Montague Island. Because there's a catch to visiting this nature reserve five hours south of Sydney, off the coast of Narooma: the only way to stay here is on a Conservation Volunteers tour, where participants spend part of the time helping with conservation activities under the guidance of a National Park ranger.

The knowledge that we're helping to re-vegetate the island for the resident fairy penguins inspires our eight-strong volunteer group to blitz the re-potting of 1,100 seedlings in 21/2 hours.

Our wildlife-spotting begins on the decks of the Narooma Charters vessel that takes us to the island. We see a giant petrel, hosts of shearwaters (muttonbirds), dolphins, migrating humpback whales and, at the northern end of the island, a huge colony of Australian fur seals. Hundreds of the creatures are 'fin surfing', waving their fins in the air to reduce their body temperature.

After docking, we walk up the hill to the lighthouse, dodging the flocks of gulls screeching as they strut along the path with beaks raised, or rise into the air, in the most raucous defence of their nests.

At the lighthouse we're welcomed by Mark Westwood, our guide from the Department of Environment and Conservation, who helped develop the over- night stay venture, part of the Conservation Volunteers of Australia programme. These tours won the Ecotourism category of the NSW Tourism Awards last year.

But signing up for conservation work doesn't mean we have to rough it. What was once the head lighthouse-keeper's cottage has been refurbished into quality accommodation while retaining its old-world ambience.

Over lunch on the verandah we watch through a telescope as whales perform antics, one slapping the water repeatedly with its tail. We're lucky to have a marine scientist and whale researcher, Michelle Lemon, with us to explain the spectacular behaviour.

Then it's time for a tour of the island, beginning with the 126- year-old lighthouse, which was automated in 1986. The granite used for its construction was quarried on the island. From the upper platform there's a good view of the island and across to the mainland.

Early lightkeepers led a lonely existence, dependent for communication on boats and elementary signalling systems. The island's isolation is brought home to us at the small cemetery. Two children of the first keeper died of suspected meningitis and were buried there, along with assistant lighthouse-keeper Charles Townsend in 1894 after a cart fell on him when the horse bolted. Passing steamers couldn't respond to their pleas for help because rough seas made landing too dangerous.

From the gravesite we look across at the Butcher Rocks, so called because sea eagles catching prey at sea frequently stop there to tear it to pieces.

At Old Jetty Bay, Westwood pauses to show us the remains of an Aboriginal shell midden. Such sites are scattered around the island and are mostly shallow, indicating their use by small seasonal hunting groups. As late as 1892, one such group from the Wagonga tribe met a disastrous end when its canoes were swamped in a squall, with the loss of 150 lives.

He also points out Gulaga (Mount Dromedary) on the main-land, an area of National Park that was recently handed back to its traditional owners.

Westwood then checks on the artificial nesting boxes placed in areas stripped by a herbicide spraying and controlled fire programme designed to eradicate kikuyu grass. The grass has displaced vegetation suitable for penguin habitat, and traps or strangles 3 per cent of the penguin population each year. We have a quick glimpse of one pair of birds that has taken up residence in a nesting box.

That evening, we accompany some of the bird researchers for a shearwater and penguin landing head-count.

Peter Fullagher has been counting shearwaters here since 1965 as part of an epic longitudinal study. Two-thirds of those on Montague are wedge-tailed shearwaters, and most of the rest are of the short-tailed variety.

We watch the shearwaters returning at dusk and then wait for the penguins to come ashore. They land all over the island, but our rocky outcrop turns out to be a good vantage point.

It's exciting when the first few waddle past, heading up towards their burrows. Then 15 of them take us by surprise by leaping out of the ocean at once right in front of us. After No 55 arrives - it lies down near us - we beat a retreat.

During our stay we explore parts of the coastline with names such as the Fingers, where we remove some sea spurge weed, Coffee Rock with its dramatic seascape, and the Gut, beyond which the northern end is a no-go zone because of the density of shearwater burrows.

There's also time to take photos of crested terns gliding towards their nesting mates and to visit the small museum.

Our last dinner is a convivial affair, although one question preoccupies us: will the windy weather allow us to leave the island the next day? We now realised why the tour information advises not to make departure arrangements in too tight a timeframe.

As it turns out, we only just beat the changing tides at the Narooma bar. The breeze is fair, dolphins ride the bow-wave and soon we're approaching the harbour entrance. Then it's life-jackets on as we ride the swell through the breakwater.

Getting there

Cathay Pacific (www.cathaypacific. com) flies from Hong Kong to Sydney. Narooma is five hours' drive south of Sydney and a coach service is available (www.premierms.com.au). The two-night trip is run by Conservation Volunteers Australia. See www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/volunteer/documents/Montague2nighttou….