When we first decided to go to Tasmania, we asked our friends about places we should try not to miss. One that always came up was Maria Island. With that in mind, we made getting to Maria Island a priority. Following is a description of the island from a map describing the area.
“Maria Island is a charming, peaceful and relaxing place where you can immerse yourself in intriguing history, abundant wildlife, beautiful scenery and deserted beaches. There are no vehicles except for management so walking or riding a bike is the only mode of transportation” That description made us exited to check it out.
Jan. 21
The only way to get to Maria Island is to take the ferry. During the summer it can fill up so we had made a reservation shortly after arriving to Tasmania. It was about an hour drive from Richmond where we stayed last night to the ferry terminal. Upon arrival we checked in and got our boarding passes. At 10 we were on the ferry and within 30 minutes we were docking near the old settlement of Darlington. Darlington was a base for one of the convict settlements.
We set on seats on the outside stern deck. The seas were calm which is always a good start to a boat ride.
The campsite was about a km. away. We walked thru a set of trees that were scenic, but not native. It was interesting that there were small trees of this species. being planted . I guess it wasn’t considered an invasive, but more of trying to make it look how it did when the convicts were here.
Heading to the campsite.
After setting up our camp, we headed off to climb Bishop and Clerk. According to the description it is around a 4 hour return hike. The hike starts out on a wide plain then constricts down to a narrow trail thru the forest.
Initially the track was pretty straight forward, but eventually the trail meandered thru rocky sections. We followed the markers, unfortunately the weather deteriorated. As we approached the summit we met some hikers who had turned around saying the view was non existent and the rocks very slippery. Their advise was to go back down. We took a snack break and agreed with their suggestion. We headed down. We did get a bit of view in the distance.
So far the critters have remained hidden. We are beginning to think that it was a false rumor about the animals inhabiting the island. One location on the trail back is called the fossil cliff . Since it is on our way we take a short trail down to the beach. Looking closely at the cliffs we can make out numerous fossilized shells.
The beach scene near the fossilized cliffs.
As we looked back toward the mountain we had tried to summit, the summit came into view.
Tomorrow we are planning to climb Mt. Maria so we will get another shot at a summit.
Now as we make our way back to the campsite, we are doing 360’s looking for wombats!
We are not disappointed , in the distance we see a shape that we are looking for…it is not a rock, it is moving it is a wombat.
Soon we are seeing wombats everywhere!
And also The Forester Kangeroo which is much larger than the Wallaby.
They are quite entertaining as they move around the field.
We also get to watch the Cape Barren geese. They are protective and let us know we need to keep our distance.
As we head back to the kitchen shelter, we encounter the last new mammal for the day, a bandicoot.
Bandicoot
Our first day on Maria Island lived up to its reputation .
Jan. 22
The plan for the day was to head up to the summit of Mt. Maria. It is a longer hike so we were up before anyone else in the campground to start out. A flash of color caught our eye as a roselle parrot landed in front of us.
As we continued heading to the trail that will lead us to the summit, the rain began to fall. Occasionally we would have breaks in the rain and clear sky would appear. We were hoping that the clear sky would eventually take over but alas that was not to be. The further up the trail we got the wetter the bushes became until we were more wet than dry. The decision was made that this may not be the day to stand on the summit. We headed back down and walked toward the painted cliffs.
The painted cliffs are only about a 2 hour return walk from the visitor center. It is a popular area to visit if you are coming to the island for just a day. The best time to visit the cliffs are at low tide. Our timing could not have been better. We didn’t get to summit but we made it to see the colorful rocks at the right time.
The color of the rocks is due to ground water percolating through the rocks and leaving traces of iron oxide. Waves hit the rocks during hide tide and along with the salt crystals patterns are formed.
We were about to sit under a tree to have lunch when we noticed that it was being occupied by the poisonous tiger snake. We quickly gave it the right to be there and moved on.
Many visitors had ridden their bikes to see the cliff and we thought the bike rack was clever.
The weather cleared as we headed back to the campsite. We spent the remainder of the day checking out the buildings that were in use during the early to mid 1800’s. There are buildings here that have been restored and can be reserved for overnight accommodations. Most of the people that we see are here only for the day. We have planned 5 days here and are glad for that time.
It is a beautiful evening for observing more kangaroos and of course wombats,
There are lockers here for food storage and stoves for cooking. We appreciate all the amenities.
Jan. 23
Our destination for the day is Frenchman’s camp. It is an old farmhouse that used to be a sheep farm. There are toilets and rain water tanks for drinking water. It was a hike on a gravel road that went by beaches and past forests. It was mostly flat and only 11 km. .We arrived before lunch , set up our tent and put our food in a locker in the abandoned house. We head out to visit the convict cells that were used by convicts for sleeping. It is not difficult to imagine that hardships that they experienced.
The cells were just walls of bricks and were used year round. Chains were attached to the walls to make sure no one escaped at night.The only heat came from a blanket.
According to the information, the island had convicts that became quite sick due to the severe weather. Not hard to understand why keeping convicts here was discontinued.
We walked out to a beautiful point for lunch then headed back to our tent passing by a group of Australian pelicans.
Australian Pelicans
As well as of course our favorite animal on the island.
Back to camp for dinner and an evening walk hoping to see the Tasmanian Devil. We didn’t see the Tasmania Devil, but there were lots of Kangaroos and wallabies to get us entertained.
Jan 24
We plan to do a day hike from Frenchman’s camp to Robbey’s farm. The hike took us past beautiful beaches and then ended at a farm in the forest. The old farmhouse is slowly being restored. Many of the implements used are scattered around the farm house, An old stove was left in the house,
We set on the porch imagining the life of the couple that lived here and raised sheep. Back to our camp where we met a Japanese Hiker who had been to Alaska. Japan is starting to take up some of our thoughts as going there is not too far in the future. We enjoyed talking to him and there is a slight chance we may try to visit him in Japan. After this trip we are heading to Japan and it is one of the first countries that we have visited that we know no one.
Jan. 25
Our plan for the morning is to rise early and hike back the 11 km to the ferry. If we keep a good pace, we may be able to catch the first ferry returning to the mainland. It is a beautiful morning with the skies being quite clear. It would have been a great day for summiting, but that was not for us to to do today. We walk past isolated beaches.
And observe Oystercatchers.
We have made great time and looks like we will be on the first returning ferry. The ferry that has left the mainland is quite crowded. There is an Australian holiday and people are taking advantage of visiting a beautiful place in great weather.
We have our choice of seats, but once again choose to sit on an outside deck
We say goodby to Maria Island
And watch the Tasmanian State flag blowing in the wind.
It has been an enjoyable 5 days on the island. The scenery was fantastic, the animals abundant and the descriptions of the history of the island was informative. We see why this island is highly recommended.
Our campground for the night is in Tribunna and is located about a mile from the ferry terminal. We set up our tent and do laundry and take showers. It was great to catch up on emails and continue to think about how we are going to approach our time in Japan.
A very noisy bird checks us out in the kitchen.
We can see how the noisy miner gets its name.
Jan. 26
It was a leisurely morning with breakfast at a local cafe. We drove to Freycinet National Park about an hour away and checked out the visitor center. Tomorrow we plan to do a 3 day hike there so we checked out the trailhead. Freycinet is the home of the famous Wine glass Bay.With this being a holiday the campgrounds in the park are full. We have made reservations to get a spot in a large field nearby. We find a spot and anchor our tent well as the wind has picked up and is strong. Several nearby tents were destroyed due to wind. We headed to the small bar there to use their wifi and charge our phone. When Don reaches in the bag to retrieve the plug he comes up empty handy and realized that the plug is still attached to the outlet at the last campsite. Fortunately it is only an hour away and we can go get it tomorrow morning before we start our hike.
Jan. 27
We were packed and leaving at first light to go retrieve our plug. A pro of this backtracking was that we got to eat at the cafe and take out some delicious pastries. Soon we were pulling in to the trailhead parking lot . This trail has a reputation of one of beauty. We are fortunate that there is no permits involved and the campsites are free. this trail will take us along beaches and into the forest.
We check out the trail and get a good feeling of why this is called WineGlass Bay.
The first beach that we came to. The tide was just ebbing so the beach had a great surface to walk on.
The trail takes advantage of the granite rock.
More beaches
At our lunch break, we were surrounded by a flock of superb Fairy Wrens. They have become one of our favorite birds.
After about 9 miles of walking we have ended up at Cooks Beach and our home for the night. There are lots of campsites scattered in the woods. We have learned to do some scouting before choosing one. The wind has come up so we head to find a more protected one away from the beach and surrounded by trees. There has been some rain and the rain water barrels have some water. This hike can be a carry your water hike for the entire hike, so we are glad that is not the case. Hikers continue to arrive to the site. Most are doing an overnight here and walking out on the same trail the next day. We are doing a circuit route which will take us up and over Mt. Graham, It is scenic, but steep.
Jan.28
I woke up before Don and waited till 5:30 when there was enough light to pack and start our climb up to Mt. Graham and then back down to the ocean. First we had to retrace our steps till we got to where the trail began the assent up the mountain. Other than the first part of the hike which is on the beach, the trail will be thru the forests. We are carrying water for the day plus enough to get us back to the trailhead.tomorrow. The streams are seasonal and not to be depended on, however, there was water flowing today. Flower were blooming on the trail and the vegetation was lush.
The trail climbed gradually till we reached the saddle between Mt. Freycinet and Mt. Graham. One can climb Mt. Freycinet from the saddle, but we decided to continue our hike to reach the summit of Mt. Graham. The trail continues on a rather steep path up to a junction that one can take a short hike to the summit. There was definitely some scrambling up and over boulders as we headed up. This section is why most people don’t do the hike up and over. The effort to get to the top was worth it as the views opened up and we saw our destination for the night.
We will be camping at wineglass bay tonight.
Good place to look around and have lunch.
The descent to the bay was was much easier, just longer than the trail up. When we reached the camping area, there was only one tent there so we had our choice of sites. There were signs saying don’t feed the kangaroos. As on cue out comes a mom and her joey. She didn’t look very healthy.
The vegetation here didn’t seem to be great for eating and human food was not a good option.
The water was inviting us to go for a swim. It did not disappoint. After getting accustomed to the water temperature, it was an enjoyable swim and staying in was easy. We were glad that we got here early and took advantage of the warm sun after getting out of the water. Hikers continued to arrive and the sites filled up.
The evening walk found us on the beach watching Oyster Catchers. We soon realized an adult Oyster Catcher was teaching a young one how to forage for food in the tidal zone. The adult would quickly dig in the receding sea and then share the catch with the youngster. It was quite entertaining. This is our last overnight hiking camping in Tasmania. We will just be doing day trips and car camping after this.
Jan. 29
About 3 o’clock in the morning we hear the word” Rat” being shouted from a nearby tent. We quickly woke up and were on the alert. Rats can be a pest at busy campsites and will chew into your tent. We have heard a couple of horror stories and didn’t want to add any ourselves. Glad to say that we didn’t have any visitors during the remainder of the night. When first light appeared we once again were the first ones to leave. It was a cool morning and the light was perfect for our walk along the beach.
We are looking for the trail that will take us up thru the forest.
We are glad for the path thru the woods. We are also glad for the over 500 steps that have been put in for the hike up. It wasn’t an easy hike but with the steps it was easy to keep a good pace. The cool morning felt good, however the sweat was running down our backs till we finally got to the top and took a break looking at the bay which gave the name of the trail
Wineglass Bay
At the top there was a walkway to take advantage of the view. It was a one way path indicating that this was a busy spot. We were early so didn’t have to share the view with others.
We got back to the car, cleaned up some at the bathroom and filled our water bottles from the faucet. Then it was off to Cole’s Bay to visit a cafe that we had read about. The avocado sandwich was delicious. .We drove to Bicheno where we had reserved a campsite and took showers and did laundry.