HAVING a pet wombat is not an uncommon thing on Flinders Island.
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Flinders Island is an island in Bass Strait, 54 kilometres from Cape Portland, the north-eastern tip of Tasmania. ( see map below)
But this wombat is not just any ordinary wombat and his owner is not just a keen surfer.
Addy Jones found baby Womy about three years ago.
He called the island's go-to wombat lady Kate Mooney and said he had found the little ''groover'' and wanted advice.
Three years later, Womy still hangs around Addy's home.
``If I'm home she will come follow me,'' Addy said.
``She's worked out how to open the front door. She'll walk in, jump up on the couch, sit on my chest and lay down.
``She loves the garden....but having a vege garden with her is hard.
``In the last six months her boundaries have gotten bigger.
``Hopefully soon she's walk off into the sunset soon. It'll be a sad day, but it'll be good.''
Addy is known in surfing circles across the world, as making surf boards for professional surfers, including Tom Curren, Dav Rasta and Justin Enright, is ''his passion and world''.
The man, who moved from Northern New South Wales to Flinders Island three years ago, also has a passion for sustainable living and can often be found making boards and other craft wares, under his brand FARM (Functional Art Recycled Materials), at his home in West End.
Addy's love of sustainable living and Womy are the main inspiration for a new children's book.
The book, The Adventures of WomWom, is being developed by Addy, international award-winning Australian filmmaker Simon Saffigna and Mr Saffigna's parents Paul and Dianne, who are teachers and university lecturers.
It is hoped the book and a mobile application will be available soon.
Discussions are also being had around some sort of documentary/kids show.
The book will see Womy encourage children to care for each other and the environment in practical “hands-on” ways.
Addy said it would focus on living sustainably and an aim was to eventually get children and parents to fly to Flinders Island to meet Womy (or other wombats, if Womy had ventured off) and teach them how to build sustainable things out of recycled materials.
``(We want them to be like) 'mum, Womy's got a worm farm, we want a worm farm,'' Addy said.
To find out more about Addy's surfboards email addyfarm601@gmail.com. To follow the progress of the book visit www.womwomadventures.com.