Maria Island

Maria Island lies off Tasmania's east coast and has no cars, no shops and no permanent residents beyond staff, which gives it an unusual stillness. Darlington, the settlement at the ferry landing, was a convict probation station from 1825 and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list among the Australian Convict Sites, with its penitentiary, commissariat store and mess hall still standing and used as basic bunkhouse accommodation. The island functions as an ark for Tasmanian wildlife: wombats graze the old settlement lawns in numbers and are famously unbothered by people, along with Forester kangaroos, Cape Barren geese and a disease-free devil population introduced in 2012.

What you actually see

• The wombats - grazing the settlement lawns, unusually approachable.
• The Painted Cliffs - sandstone patterned by iron oxide staining, best at low tide.
• The convict settlement - Darlington's World Heritage-listed buildings.
• Bishop and Clerk - a demanding climb to dolerite columns above the sea.

When to go

October to April for the best weather and ferry reliability; the Painted Cliffs need a low tide to walk to. Everything must be carried on, including food, and the ferry has luggage limits. Winter is cold with reduced sailings.

Honest expectations

There are no shops, cafés or vehicles; all food and supplies come with you. Accommodation is a bunkhouse in the old penitentiary or camping. Ferries are cancelled in rough weather. Wombats are wild and should not be touched or fed, despite how close they come.

Nearby

Triabunna is the ferry port; Freycinet lies north along the coast.