Heavenly Maria Island
Maria* Island, a world heritage national park, is just off Tasmania's east coast between the Freycinet Peninsula and Hobart so Susie de Carteret had suggested that we might like to stop there for a few hours on our last full day in Australia's southernmost state. And what a brilliant idea that turned out to be! It ranks right up there with the very best things we did and saw in Tasmania. Even the weather could not have been bettered.
You can only reach the 155.5km², uninhabited (save by a few rangers) island by ferry from the township of Triabunna. During the comfortable 30-minute crossing we not only saw a couple of dolphins but also learned from the captain a little bit about Triabunna and the history of Maria Island which, after being a convict probation centre, was home to a cement factory before eventually becoming a national park. If you'd like to read a very short history of Maria Island, you''ll find it here.
Once you've landed there are just two modes of transport: your legs or a bicycle, bookable from Mark just a few steps away from the wharf. Obviously if you rent a bike you'll see a lot more in a few hours than if you walk, so our bikes had been pre-booked but quite frankly we could have booked on the spot as there are plenty of bikes available.
Mark has a wicked, refreshing sense of humour. As we waited our turn behind a Dutch couple and a German one, all obediently donning the bike helmets that are mandatory throughout Australia, my French husband was muttering about not wanting to wear one. The three young men behind us were also French and when Mark asked where they were from and heard the answer, he laughed and said “oh! You French follk are the ones who cause me the greatest trouble: never wanting to wear the helmets. But, hey, guys, it is absolutely obligatory here and you'll get into big trouble if I catch you without one.” End of muttering from hubbie! He also warned that we should look out for the three “Ws” whilst on our bikes: walkers, wombats and ...? I can't remember what the third "W" was for. He joked it was for "wives" but there was a more serious alternative.
We'd stocked up on water and food for lunch at Triabunna because neither is available on the island and after cycling for an hour or so (including many photos stops) we sat on a beach in the shade of a small bush on the eastern shore of the very narrow isthmus that links the two parts of the island, eating our ham and cheese sandwiches and fresh raspberies, incredulous that we were sharing this gorgeous beach with fewer than 10 other people. The temptation to go for a swim was almost overwhelming but then we remembered that there are innumerable nasty beasties in Australian waters so thought the better of it. Also we hadn't brought our swimming suits. But when we returned to Darlington, we were greeted by the sound of happily screeching school-children swimming by the wharf at the end of their school outing, proof that we could have at least paddled in the water. Next time.
The bikes have disc brakes and plenty of gears but one of the hills and a track with a deep sandy surface still got the better of me and I had to walk! But that gave me more time to enjoy the scenery: empty, white sandy beaches, seas that are all shades of blue from deepest marine to the palest of turquoise, the marbled barks of the eucalyptus trees (which I've only ever heard called eucalypts in Australia. I've discovered the term 'eucalypt' includes approximately 900 species in the three genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora) and keeping an eye out for the wombats that finally found us once we'd handed our bikes in and were wandering about the former convict establishment in the ghost town of Darlington.
We had plenty of time to do so before catching the 17:00 ferry back to Triabunna and from there back to Hobart where we got a few hours sleep before rising at 04:00 to catch the 06:00 flight to Adelaide via Melbourne.
*Pronounce Mar-eye-a and not Mar-ee-a.
