Maria Island National Park: Cycling to the Wild

Maria Island is located at the east coast of Tasmania. The nearest town to the island is Triabunna.
The entire of Maria Island is the National Park. I feel glad to have visited this island. Surrounded by the wildlife and nature, Maria Island is truly beauty, the wildlife paradise. Cycling around Maria Island National Park has left me a memorable journey, became my best traveling activity in Tasmania, also my favourite island in all over the world. 

How to get there?
Maria Island can be assessed by ferry ,with only 30 minutes away from Triabunna Ferry Terminal. The return ferry ticket cost $45. You also need to buy a national park pass which cost another $12 per person. So total cost you $57 to enter the Maria Island National Park.

The earliest ferry is 9 am, and the last ferry is at 5 pm. The ferry ticket can be bought at:
- online at encountermaria.com.au , or
- onsite at the information centre in Triabunna ferry terminal.

Drive to Triabunna from Hobart
Triabunna is located 1 hour and 15 minutes drive away (86km) from Hobart. If you drive, you can park your car in the parking site at the ferry terminal.

Shuttle Bus to Triabunna from Hobart
There is also a daily bus operates from Hobart to Triabunna which cost $40 for the same day return, or $30 for 1 way. Please check www.mariaislandshuttle.com.au/schedule for more detail.

Travel around Maria Island
You can either hire a bike or walk around the island. No cars are allowed in the national park.

1. Bike Hire
Bike hire is definitely the best option, as it saves time and allows you to visit more places in a day. I hire the bike on site which cost $25 for 1 day. It is cheaper than online which cost $33. 

2. Walk
If you like hiking, walking around the national park could be a better choice for you. This option can also save you some money from bike hire. 

3. Bring your own bike
You can also bring your own bike to the island through the ferry. Please see encountermaria.com.au for more detail.


Maria Island in one day
After picked up my bike in Darlington, my cycling route in Maria Island include :
Darlington - Painted Cliff - Fossil Cliff Circuit. 

It took me one day to finished this cycling route, and took the last ferry (5 PM) back to the town.

1. Wildlife

Maria Island National Park is the wildlife paradise. An island where you can easily spot kangaroos, wombat, wallabies, birds wandering around. 

The first pokemon that I spotted was wombat. I was excited that couldn't stop taking picture of it. But then I realize that actually there are wombat everywhere in the island. Everytime I see a wombat, they will be eating grass all the time. Guess they are also contribute to help hooman from cutting the grass. 

I also saw many kangaroos jumping around when I cycling to the Fossil Cliff. There are many of them. 

I heard that there are also Tasmanian Devils in this island. I didn't see any of the devils, I guess maybe they will appear at night time. Tasmanian Devils are cute but they are carnivore with very strong teeth. So, not bumping to any of them doesn't sounds like a bad thing.

2. Painted Cliff Beach
It takes 4-5 km cycling from Darlington to Painted Cliff Beach. The weather was cold and the wind was strong. I highly recommend to wear glasses when cycling, or the wind will blew to the eye.

This beach is a true beauty of Maria Island. The spectacular sandstone orange cliff makes it the icon of Maria Island.

When I first saw the pictures of this beach, it became the reason for me to visit this island. But when I arrived this island, the whole day trip to this national park is magical. Not just this beautiful beach, but the whole journey and experiences made me fall in love with this island.

After the Painted Cliff beach, I picked up my bike and chose the next place to go. Since Fossil Cliffs Circuit seems less challenging (as the picture shown below), so let's see what is at the Fossil Cliff then. 

In here, I found that actually I am not as adventure as I thought. I always choose the easy way, even for traveling.

3. Fossil Cliff
Before I arrived Fossil Cliff, I passed through some historical site through the forest and saw many kangaroos and wallabies jumping around. 

It was not easy to cycle up here as I passed through the uphill, so what I did was to get down from my bike and push it uphill by feet.

Felt abit tired after cycling to the uphill. So, let's take a break. There was almost nobody around the place. All you can hear is the sounds of wind and wave. All you can see is the green grass, blue sky and blue ocean. So peaceful and calm. 

Once in a while, we do need to travel to a place like this, to bring ourselves closer to the nature where no one could disturb.

While enjoying the scenery, I also brought my own snacks and drink since there has no cafe and restaurant in this island.

I bought my snacks in IGA supermarket before heading to the island. The Iced Honeycomb taste really good. After done my snacking time, I headed down to the fossil beach.

Then I found these fossil, and hmm, I guess maybe it is the teeth of some kind of fish(?)

After the fossil cliff, I rode down to the Jetty and returned my bike at Darlington. It took around 30 minutes cycling down to the Darlington. 

Then, the trip end, and I took the last ferry back to Triabunna.

There are still some other places to visit if you plan to stay overnight. However, I personally think one day trip is enough. Well, since I cycle for the whole day, I also felt tired for the whole day exercise. 

Plan to stay overnight?
1. Accommodation
If you plan to stay overnight, there is an accommodation in Maria Island. Located in Darlington, only 5 minutes walking distance from the jetty. The booking can be done through the website encountermaria.com.au or call to Triabunna Visitor Centre at 03 6256 4772.

2. Camping
There are also some camping site in Maria Island. Located in Darlington, French farm and Encampment Cove.

As there will be no food and drink supply in this island, you have to bring enough food and drink for the journey. Also, to bring back any rubbish that you brought.

Overall, this island is definitely worth to visit. I love this island as it brings me closer to the nature and wildlife. 

Thanks for reading. I hope this blog is useful. You can also find more of my traveling post at my Instagram at elisa.sasagram

Cheers!