This is the ferry which takes you to Maria – it’s a 45 minute trip. They have a cafe and bar which serves the best toasties (we discovered this on the return trip after a two day diet of dehydrated food)

Darlington Bay – clear water – lovely spot for a swim

My little Moondance tent in the Darlington Campsite

Steve setting up his tent

Proud of his awesome new airbed

Maria Island is a wombat paradise – they were literally EVERYWHERE!!!

This little critter wasn’t even phased by my presence

After setting up camp, we lit out for the Fossil Cliffs

Cape Barren Geese are also in abundance on the island in nesting pairs – this one, strutting its stuff, was lacking a partner – not sure if it was happy about its single status or desperately seeking a mate…

Whale bone bits – signs of earlier times …

A wee little baby wombat – cuteness overload!

Fun with signs

Another dancing man on his floating island in the sky

From the Fossil Cliffs with views toward Bishop and Clerk – Steve looked at the mountain on the map and said: ‘It’s just a little further around from the Fossil Cliffs, perhaps we could go part of the way and see how we feel.’ I had thought we’d have an easy day one and a bigger day two, but in light of recent events, I’m so glad we pushed on, taking in as much of the island as we could while the National Parks were still open…

Fossil cliffs

Details of some of the fossils

That grassy slope looks gentle doesn’t it? It wasn’t! We powered up here, thinking that we were likely only going to walk part of the way up Bishop and Clerk…

My internal ‘Mum’ voice prevented me from getting any closer to this edge, knowing how sheer the drop was down to the rocks below

Steve was a little braver, but we both maintained a safe distance

The beginning of the switch-backed scree field

These hardy plants can find a patch of soil to grow, just about anywhere

Hitting the boulders

Almost at the summit

I didn’t make it to the very top of Bishop and Clerk but Steve, who went one rock scramble further, reckons I got 99.5% of the way there

The view from the (almost) top was phenomenal

Look how tame that grassy slope looks from way up here… it wasn’t! Point of fact, I had more trouble walking down that hill than I had climbing up it – admittedly I was still nursing a broken toe, and Steve was suffering badly from gout, but we do love our hiking, so we sucked it up …

Another shot of the view from (near) the top – these views make the pain totally worthwhile

I’ve never been so relieved to be back at camp as I was after climbing these crazy mountains! Maria Island was on water restrictions, so I swam in the ocean each day in lieu of a shower … heaven!

We watched the sunset with the wombats from the field adjacent to our campsite

On day two, with already aching feet, we set out for Mount Maria via Hopground Beach and the Painted Cliffs

The cliffs are best viewed at low tide as you can also explore the rock pools for abundant sea life

The Painted Cliffs are absolutely stunning

Sea worn pebbles line the beach

Beautiful patterns and shapes

The cliffs also make for a lovely place to lounge …

… and lean

Oceanic networks of honeycombed sandstone

Canyonlands – Steve said we needed some lego men free-soloing for scale

Farewelling the Painted Cliffs and commencing the ascent

Farewell also to this hermit crab that Steve found – it was so adorable

One of the many beautiful trees we passed on the way to the summit

The scree to boulder field ratio from the previous day’s hike was inverted on the climb up Mt Maria. We traversed the scree quite quickly, only to find ourselves faced with massive boulders that seemed to go on forever …

… we’d already been clambering for some time when we rounded the corner and saw this epic sea of boulders stretching out before us. Having broken both wrists (on rock) while hiking in recent years, and still limping from my more recent broken toe, my heart sank at this prospect, but Steve convinced me to try for the tree line before quitting the fight …

I’d read that the view across the isthmus to the southern side of the island was nothing short of spectacular. By the time you reach tree-line you know you’re almost there, so having come this far I was pretty determined to get that view …

… and the payoff was so worthwhile! You don’t get a glimpse of the isthmus until you take the last step to the summit. We sat up there at the trig marker eating lunch and taking in the view for a good 40 minutes before descending once again to sea level, the much appreciated ankle soak, and for me, a salty swim …

The view west to mainland Tasmania

The descent was a little easier (I sat down for most of it)

Three points of contact (sometimes five)

Things of stone and wood

Bleeding tree

Back on the flat – yes, Steve was skipping when I took this photo

He even had the energy to stop and lay some bricks

I had a visitor on return to camp!