Got up early
and had a marvelous brekkie at our B&B. we were planning to walk for 4-5
hours on an island with no food, so breakfast was supposed to be the major
meal. We had booked the Maria Island
Ferry for a 10 am crossing. So off to
Tribunna. Being Sunday, we listened to
Mark Shepard on the way down.
We arrived
early and went into talk with the Visitor Center people. We learned that there was another company
going out that offered a cruise as well as a crossing, that was what we originally wanted, but the
company we booked with wasn't offering it that day. So after some debate, we decided we wanted to
switch companies, but we couldn't get a refund for the first one. At that moment, two people showed up wanting
tickets on the Ferry we had tickets for and it was sold out. Divine intervention? We offered them our tickets, they ought them and
we bought the tickets on the cruise we wanted.
Wow! Meant to be. Plus, it was a gorgeous blue sky day!
The boat
and crew and passengers were great. The crossing
was about 30 minutes. We no sooner got
on the water and we found our first pod of dolphins. The boat whisked around and we were playing with
them! Shoot, shoot, shoot! We saw our first albatrosses of the trip. We dropped a group got off on the island. Six of us stayed on board for the cruise and
were treated to amazing sights!
Maria Island
is made up of three distinctly different kind of rocks...sandstone, limestone and
granite. We started in the sandstone
portion and saw their painted cliffs.
Then off to the limestone where they have something called a green
waterfall that is limestone dripping down the outside wall...it's like being in
a cave with stalagmites, but nit being in a cave. Amazingly, after seeing the cavelike
formations outside a cave, the skipper took us into a cave, boat and all! We saw two sea eagles at the enterance. The were lots of cormorants aka shags in the
water and on the rocks.
Before we
knew it we were crossing the sea to seal rock. On the way we ran into another pod of dolphins.
Shoot, shoot, shoot! Then we got to seal island and it lived up to
its name. They were all over it and all
around it in the water. The light was
that perfect salt water light that I often think of as glory light because you
can do no wrong in it! Whites, yellows,
greens, blues, browns and the compositions were endless!
After awhile
we dropped anchor and the crew fixed lunch for us. Smoked Tasmanian salmon, salad, and Tassie
cheese. Delicious!
After lunch,
the took us into another cave by boat. This
skipper was really amazing! Inside of the
cave were many colors and at the bottom, just below the tide line was a red. There was an old er gentleman on the boat who lived
on Maria Island in the 60s. A soon as he
saw the color, he told us that he used to be an abalone diver and that when you
saw that color it meant there were abalone there. Shortly there after the skipper told us the
same thing. Pretty cool! It made his day.
From
there it was back to Maria across bumpy seas and yet again...you guessed
it....a pod of dolphins! This time it
was really rough and I have the bruises to show for it, but it was worth every
bruise!
We got back
to the island and had a walk where we searched for Tassie Devils. They've
nearly gone extinct due to a virus killing them off. The ones on Maria have been spared. Being nocturnal, we didn't see one. We did see a wombat with a kid in her pouch, Barron
geese, parrots, and a wallaby.
We're
in Hobart now in a spectacular room that overlooks the harbor. Decided for a seafood tonight. The hotel recommended the Drunken Admiral on
Hunter St. Absolutely what we had in
mind! Cheri had fresh scallops (with the
pink part) seared on a hot rock with a greek salad. John had the fisherman’s platter also seared
with fries and a salad. We tried some
local gin that was surprisingly good in our G+T’s. John had a chocolate extravaganza for dessert.
Enjoy!
Cheri
& John
 |
| Painted Cliffs |
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Green Waterfall       |
