MOT Tour Day 50 - Maria Island

Today's report is provided by Sue.

Today’s seven hour Maria Island Cruise exceeded expectations. I went by myself, as a windy night meant Peter couldn’t risk a day of nausea/sea sickness. A smart decision.

We circumnavigated the island in a clockwise direction for 65km. That was followed by a two hour guided walking tour. It took a half hour to travel to Maria Island. The island has a north and south section joined by an isthmus.

The first bit of amazement was the fossil cliff section. The cliffs were awesome and changed in colour and structure as we cruised past. Geographers and geologists from around the globe come for this section. A small waterfall has created a green patch.

The next bit of amazement was a group of fur seals on some rocks. We watched them for a good twenty minutes as they squabled and then they ended up in the water spinning and turning.

Sections of outlying rock formations that made me gape appeared, then soon after, a pods of dolphins.

We anchored at Reidle Bay for a long lunch which I ate upstairs and nine of us swapped travel stories etc.

The Painted Cliffs

Before anchoring again at Darlington we stopped to admire the Painted Cliffs which was my number one thing to see on the trip. It didn’t disappoint.

Most of this so far can only be seen by boat.

We anchored at the Darlington Settlement for our walking tour. The different buildings and their historical purpose became anchors for the talk. Milly, our guide, was a natural at sharing information. Not too little, not too much and was able to answer every question. The First Nations people were acknowledged several times throughout the cruise.

There were two eras of convicts then an Italian guy called Diego Bernachi arrived with his family. He took on a cheap lease on the condition he would set up successful enterprises. Initially it was silk (mulberries) and vineyards. He came from a wealthy family who specialised in these ventures. He refurbished existing convict buildings. He built The Coffee Palace and hosted Parliamentarians and dignitaries. The Maria Island Company was set up in 1887 adding agriculture, cement, timber and fishing to the existing enterprises. Darlington or San Diego (as Bernachi called it) become a town. Unfortunately the limestone wasn’t good enough so the cement industry failed and the Great Depression affected all other enterprises.

National Parks took over Maria Island in 1971.

Click here to see today's photos

Wildlife spotted today included: lots of wombats, Cape Baron Geese, native hens, paddymelons, kangaroos, the Tasmanian green rosella and of course fur seals and dolphins. Tasmanian devils are there somewhere.

For those deciding between the ferry or spending extra for this cruise … do the cruise.