Maria Island

Next stop was Orford, a coastal town near Triabunna which is where you catch a ferry to Maria Island. Many people just catch the ferry across and wander around the island for the day. We, however, had booked a half day cruise which observed the main points of interest from the sea (and possibly a better observation point).

When we arrived, there were only 5 passengers and the Captain was pretty excited because the weather and seas were so calm, it gave him the opportunity to cruise around Iles de Phoc where there was a great seal colony as well as colourful sea caves.
There were heaps of seals and I'm amazed at how they climb up the cliff faces.

On the way to Maria Island, we can across a pod of dolphins and one again the captain was excited because these were bottlenose dolphins which apparently are not that common down here. There were also seals playing with the dolphins.

Back at Maria Island checked out the Fossil cliffs and the painted cliffs. Would have liked to get a photo of the entire painted cliffs, but a family decided it was a good spot to set up for a picnic lunch in front of the "artwork".Read more