Emancipists - not Convicts

It was my intention not just to indulge in nostalgia when planning our trip to Tassie, but I was keen to explore some new places as well.
Today was a full day of one of these new experiences- Maria Island - which was also a former convict island but also has some extra layers of subsequent history.

The alarm woke us at 6.30am and soon we said goodbye to Hobart and travelled northeast to Triabunna harbour which was our departure point for the ferry to the island.

On the way we took a slight detour via the historic town of Richmond and its famous convict built bridge. Somehow this had evaded us on our original circumnavigation of Tasmania so we made a brief stop on a stunning morning and snapped the obligatory photos.

Onwards to Triabunna with time to spare for our 10am departure. Once checked in and backpacks organised with supplies (no food or drink is available on the island so self sufficiency for the day is a must) we had time for coffee in the sunshine at the harbour.

It was a sparkling day on the water with even a few dolphins checking out the boat briefly.
On arrival at the island we checked out the info centre then headed up the road to the little settlement of Darlington with the intention of hiring bikes to explore the island.
I had a chat with the proprietor about the renting of two such devices but he talked us out of hiring them, saying that we would be able to see everything just by walking and that the bikes weren’t really necessary. I can only conclude that he had sized us up and quickly established that we were elite athletes - and that the 2-wheeled contraptions would probably just slow us down.
Although I was slightly uncomfortable with this revised plan which flew in the face of my mantra “Dad always says the faster you go, the more you see…” (yes, it’s a quote), nevertheless we set off by foot; and he was right - we covered everything on the island comfortably.
Today Maria island is somewhat of a ‘Noah’s Ark’ for some endangered native Australian animals. Disease free populations of the Tasmanian Devil as well as Flinders island wombats, Cape Barren Geese and forester kangaroos have been placed here and are thriving without the threat of feral animal predators. So even though these species are ‘captive’ on the island, they are emancipated from the threats that their cousins on the mainland suffer.

The island’s convict history is also well preserved and you can even pay for the privilege of staying overnight in the penitentiary cells. I had briefly considered this when planning the trip and we had a brief look inside one of the rooms. I’m pleased I didn’t book an overnight stay as our marriage might not have survived another 40 seconds let alone 40 years….. bunk beds, vinyl covered mattresses and a separate ablutions block down the hill.
Not too bad if you were being incarcerated against your will, but not exactly Loriene’s preferred standard of accommodation - so I also felt decidedly emancipated as we backed out of the room in the certain knowledge I had dodged a bullet there. . .

On our walks to different parts of the island we encountered some stunningly beautiful beaches, the ‘Painted Cliffs’ and an especially interesting cliff / quarry area that had millions of easily discernible marine fossils.

At one point a ‘shortcut’ found us in the thick of the forested area in the middle of the island but this wasn’t of any great concern as I was pretty certain there were no deadly animals to worry about. We came across a mob of the large and impressive kangaroos which appear to be somewhere between an Eastern Grey and a Red - in both size and colour. It was only after we strolled back to the ferry terminal in time for our 4.15pm trip back to Triabunna and read a little more of the information about the island that we discovered that it is also replete with tiger snakes. . .
Our watches told us we had walked about 13km today as we settled into our seats on the ferry.
However, there was one more deadline to meet today - a date with the Bicheno Lobster shack (thank you TripAdvisor) for some of their seafood delicacies before their closing time of 7pm!
The drive to Bicheno was picturesque and we arrived in good time to enjoy a magnificent meal.
Finally after refuelling we drove a few minutes to Diamond Island Resort (which sounds way more exotic than it is).
However, their special attraction is the complimentary guided penguin tour each evening so fortified with an after dinner coffee and some warmer clothing, we joined the tour at 8.45pm.
Our expectation was to go down to the water’s edge and admire them majestically striding out of the gentle breakers up the sandy beach. The reality was strolling down the grass to a wooden viewing platform just below our room and struggling to catch brief glimpses of them huddling under bushes in the middle distance.

Well, at least the price was right.Læs mere