Maria Island

As it was a sunny Sunday, we decided to visit Maria Island, where we would be walking all day (there aren’t any cars on the island), and it might be a bit less popular than other places. This was an excellent choice. The ferry trip was relatively smooth, and much of the island is very exposed, so it could have been unpleasant if it had been very windy.

This was a convict settlement, then a mixed farm with concrete works, vineyard, wheat and sheep. You can see the whole European history in the buildings currently here.

Currently it’s a National Park, used as a site for protecting very vulnerable species. For instance, they brought Tasmanian devils here, and have a ulcer-free population that they’re using to booster other populations. Similarly, the Cape Barron geese and the Flinders Island wombats have also been imported.

The fossil cliffs are an amazing site. Everywhere you look, there are many fossils. They were used as a quarry for Portland cement.

Late in the day we walked to the painted cliffs. On our way, we saw some wetland, with native chickens.

This walk brought us into the more natural vegetation that covers most of the island. And we headed around the bay to the cliffs.

Unfortunately, we arrived just before high tide, and the moon was almost full, and at the closest it will be to the earth for some time, so the tide was higher than normal. This meant that much of the painted cliffs weren’t exposed when we visited, and it was impossible to walk around to the main parts. We left our visit until last so the tide was as low as it could be while we were there and we were happy with what we saw.

On our way back, we had tea at a place that overlooked Maria Island, and reflected on how good the day had been.