After three amazing weeks of exploring Sydney, we were ready to begin a new adventure. On the first day of February, we flew to Hobart – a city located on the biggest Australian island, Tasmania. Right after we landed, we took a bus, and then a ferry, to get to a much smaller island on the Tasman Sea. Maria Island was going to be our home for the next four days.
Once we got our luggage and food supplies out of the ferry, we organized ourselves to get them to the residential part of the island. We were staying at small cottages that, at the beginning of 19th century, belonged to the British convicts. There was no electricity or Internet, so we were ready to really reconnect with nature by spending our time hiking and snorkeling. Although not without initial panic regarding the lack of the beloved social media, we knew that there are plenty of things to do here.
Maria Island is contained within the Maria Island National Park. Rangers are the only residents here, but tourists visit this place all the time. The landscape is beautiful; filled with many hills and cliffs. From almost any point on the island we could see the Tasman sea and Tasmania’s coast. For many people, Maria Island seems to be the perfect escape from the outside world.
Another exceptional thing on the island wis the presence of the endemic animals. Kangaroos, wallabies, paddy melons, wombats and Tasmanian Devils are all running around freely. Because of the lack of natural predators, they are living here very peacefully. They’re not scared of humans, so we could look at them closely and really observe their natural habitats.
After an amazing dinner, we met up with one of the local rangers. He explained to us the history of Maria Island, including the removal of Aboriginal people and the settlement of British convicts. He also talked about the re-introduction of fifteen Tasmanian Devils which ended up establishing a very healthy population. After that, we had our first lecture focusing on the marine ecosystems in Tasmania. It was all supposed to make us ready for the next couple of days during which we were about to snorkel around the island, and collect data about the fish populations.
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