Maria Island Historic Walks

The convict barn above the jetty at Darlington - 30th April 2011.

You can easily spend a day (or more) just wandering around Darlington and taking in the various historic buildings, remains and sites. The Parks and Wildlife Service have several publications available that provide basic information, and several of the buildings contain information, displays and books that will provide more info. The parks.tas.gov.au website has a lot of info, and most of the historical information is in this part of the site. More general Maria Island info is here, and there's a downloadable pdf specifically about the history around Darlington. You may find other stuff if you ferret about.
There are a number of books with good information, perhaps most easily found and accessible being Maggie Weidenhofer's "Maria Island, A Tasmanian Eden". You can sometimes find this in second-hand bookshops, on eBay or on Biblioz. (Note that Biblioz tends to be very expensive!) If looking for secondhand Tasmanian books I recommend: Just Tassie Books, Astrolabe Booksellers and the Imperial Bookshop. The third of those is a true experience, just don't expect tidiness!

The Fossil Cliffs, Maria Island - 28th April 2011

Bishop and Clerk from the shore below the Fossil Cliffs - 28th April 2011

I had a relaxing day around Darlington - fossils, human history and a sunset visit to the Painted Cliffs (later). I've visited the Fossil Cliffs many times, but have actually never ventured beyond the little "quarry" plateau. On this occasion, having been shown the track by another visitor, I went down to the shoreline east of the quarry and along the platforms and bouldery shore at the base of the cliffs, which was well worthwhile. Note however that you need to take great care if going beyond the quarry - the day I went was low tide with a very gentle sea. This is clearly a place where large waves can and do sweep everything below the cliffline. You will need to carefully choose low tide to visit, and not venture too far down if the sea is dangerous.

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Walk Description: To visit the Fossil Cliffs, head towards the jetty, and then beyond up the obvious tracks, or just straight across the hillside towards the barn on the hill north of the silos. There are various historic sites along the track to add additional interest, but in general follow the track (old tram line) as it contours very easily northwards alongside the airstrip towards Cape Boullanger. The track curls around to the east and arrives at the low end of the Fossil Cliffs with views to Bishop and Clerk. The track heads downhill onto the little plateau where limestone was quarried. Here there are boulders and a large sign explaining some of the fossils you can see.

The rocks here are interesting enough, but to see the fossils at their best, continue to the far end of the plateau. Here a scrappy little track heads steeply down a short way onto the large boulders and rock platforms of the foreshore. Be very careful here. I don't think there is any official sanction for proceeding here, so you need to take responsibility for checking the sea condition. As will be obvious, a large wave could turn you and your family into a tragic statistic very quickly. At low tide in gentle seas, you can easily spend an hour or two exploring the base of the cliffs. I didn't go too far around the cliffs, as there comes a point fairly quickly where you have to get wet feet. I also have no idea where you would find safety as you progressed further around the base of the larger parts of the cliffs. With a little more information, there is probably a heap of exploring you could do. Anyway, to avoid becoming a statistic, I stopped at the point where another group decided they need snorkels and flippers to proceed.

The walk is very short and very easy, but can occupy time very effectively if conditions are good for explring the shore at the base of the cliffs. I would suggest if you can time it for low tide on a calm day that you allow 3 hours or so depending on your capacity for avid investigation of natural features. Also, I note that this location appears to be outside the "no fishing" part of the marine reserve, so might offer some good rockfishing opportunities.

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A section of a bed in the Fossil Cliffs, Maria Island, composed almost
entirely of fossil shellfish - 28th April 2011

The rocks are fascinating, and confusing. I have found a great document on the web explaining the various layers that are present, but you would need to have it in your hand as you explored to fully understand the rock layers here. I'll take it with me next time I visit. This document is in the Mineral Resources Tasmania database, and gives lots of Maria Island geological info in a pretty detailed way. The Fossil Cliffs are described starting on page 9 (Basal Beds). There are beds of fossils here, metres thick, in which the entire bed seems to be composed of fossils. There are other beds with wildly varying sizes and types of boulder/pebble inclusions. All very interesting.

I will put some more photos up on Picasa as I find time to edit them a little.

The Isthmus, Maria Island - 27th April 2011

Riedle Bay, Maria Island - 27th April 2011

The south end of Maria Island is generally best visited (if walking) from a camping base at either French's Farm or Encampment Cove. This is what I did on my previous trip. You can get to these places either by walking from Darlington or being dropped at Encampment Cove or Chinamans bay by boat. I believe one of the ferry companies may offer this service. You can also cycle, but if you are biking, you may find that you can visit South Maria in daytrips from Darlington. Just be aware that the track across the Isthmus is very sandy and I think cycling on it would be very difficult - these few kilometres might be a push.

The south end of the north island and South Maria itself are very interesting. Many walkers to French's Farm just walk a further very short distance to Chinamans Bay, which is the northern curve of Shoal Bay and is a very calm sheltered spot to sit for lunch. I walked on a bit further to The Isthmus, as I wanted to visit Riedle Bay. This is the ocean beach on the eastern side of The Isthmus. Just be aware that walking this far is around 14.5km each way, and can make for quite a long walk for those not used to such distances. Other walks possible from Darlington, but also quite lengthy, are to Encampment Cove, Point Lesueur (convict cell ruins) or the beaches north of there. These beaches include Four Mile Beach, Soldiers Beach and Bloodstone Beach. It is apparently possible to walk to Point Lesueur via the roads and tracks and then return via the coast to Return Point (track from there to the main road) or Four Mile Beach. This might be a walk for my next trip.

Walk Description: It is around 11 km from Darlington to French's Farm. Further walks beyond there will extend the total walk to 25-29km. Make sure you really want to walk this far in a day. There are few hills, and those which exist are quite gentle and low, so your exertions won't be added to by vertical ascents. The road heads south out of Darlington, over the first headland on the same track as the Painted Cliffs walk. There are few navigational problems, and the track proceeds southwards, undulating over the low headlands and around the coastline. At Four Mile Creek/Beach the track heads a little more inland, before arriving at French's Farm. From here you choose to walk on to Chinamans Bay (very close by), Encampment Cover or The Isthmus. The Chinamans Bay track heads off to the right just beyond the bridge. To walk on further to the wilder ocean beach of Riedle Bay you have to walk about 35 minutes on the softish sandy track until you find an obvious track crossing the main track. Turn left and in a couple of minutes you emerge on the large beach which in heavy weather can be quite wild. I estimated that the total walk, not including any wandering up and down the beach was 28 or 29km.

Riedle Bay may only be good for swimming at certain points or in very calm weather. On each of my visits (three now) it has appeared to have very significant undertow and rips, and could only be recommended to the very experienced. The far northern and southern ends of the beach may be safer and more sheltered. The centre of the beach can certainly be subjected to large waves sweeping up to and even into the dunes when the weather is rough. However, this also makes this an attractive place to visit. If you want a gentle paddle and swim, maybe the western side of The Isthmus would be preferable.

Bishop and Clerk (Maria Island) - 26th April 2011

Bishop and Clerk from the Fossil Cliffs - 26th April 2011

Bishop and Clerk is the prominent peak at the northeastern extremity of Maria Island, obvious on the approach from the sea, and visible from many points around Darlington. It provides superb views of the northern end of the island, Freycinet Peninsula to the north and the mainland. Views can also be had along the eastern side of Maria Island.

The walk will take most people 3 1/2 to 5+ hours to complete including some time to sit on the summit and take in the view. It is a solid climb of over 600m vertically, so a moderate level of fitness will be useful. The highest part of the mountain has a small amount of rock scrambling which occasionally defeats people otherwise comfortable with the walk. Along this walk and on the summit there are very large unprotected cliffs, so care is required. Most importantly, children need to be closely supervised when walking near the Fossil Cliffs.

Walk Description: Take the track behind the penitentiary out of Darlington, heading east towards the reservoir. Avoid the turnoffs for the Reservoir Circuit walk and continue north out onto open grassy slopes up to the Fossil Cliffs. These are unfenced and have steep rolling, crumbly, slippery edges. Keep children close at all times. The track turns eastwards and climbs on grassy hills towards Bishop and Clerk. There are fine views of the peak and the cliffs at various points, with the sea far below. The track enters the forest and continues to climb steadily. (There is a point here where you have to leave pushbikes.)

The track is easy to follow and mostly climbs steadily and occasionally steeply through the forest then across some scree. At the top of the scree you are getting close. There are some steep bits here in bouldery gullies, and one little scramble which can be tricky for those who can't work out where to put their hands and feet to maintain balance. Children may have to be helped - I had to "put" my children up this bit some years ago when they were big enough for the walk but small enough to lift. A bit of clambering right at the top, and you emerge on a quite small flat platform with cracks and very steep cliffs to north and east. This sits above the other peaks which are obvious and picturesque to the north, and the height according to the map is 629m. The views on a clear day are superb and worth the climb. The return walk is a retrace, but can be varied by returning around Cape Boullanger to arrive at Darlington from the coast rather than from inland.

The lower peaks of Bishop and Clerk, and Freycinet Peninsula,
seen from the summit - 26th April 2011

Maria Island - 25th to 30th April 2011

Having visited Maria Island about 18 months ago and walked to the south end of the island, I thought it was time to return and do redo some of the walks at the northern end. I got a week of superb weather, and will provide some posts about the individual walks.

A note on transport: Make sure you ring the ferry companies (this one, and this one) and check exactly what times they are sailing. One of them was actually sailing at slightly different times to their advertised schedule last week. You really do need to book as early as possible to make sure they are going when you expect, and that some unexpected change isn't going to throw out your plans.

The camping area: This has changed. Following the floods which occurred before and after my last trip, the camping area was flooded significantly by water which overtopped the reservoir. They now have concerns about the safety of the reservoir, and have moved the camping ground over to where the barbecue shelter and shower block are. (Yes, you can get showers.) It's not a bad site, and is certainly more convenient for cooking under cover.

Before any trip, check out these pages at Parks and Wildlife, and give them a ring with any questions. They are very helpful. Note especially that you can't buy anything on Maria Island except a shower. You will need to take everything you need for however long you are going to stay. The rangers are really good at giving you advice about the best activities for your interests, abilities and length of stay.

The Painted Cliffs, Maria Island - 26th April 2011

Overland Track Transport

Just some notes about the transport to and from the Overland Track.

When I first did this walk (2000), my wife picked me up at Lake St Clair where I'd deposited a car, and we drove around to Cradle Mountain and spent the night there with the kids. The next time (2004), I dropped the car at Lake St Clair and caught the bus round to Cradle via Queenstown, where I managed to start the track by about 3pm on the same day I'd left the car at the other end. (Walked down to Scott-Kilvert that afternoon, and there weren't any track passes required, nor anyone busying themselves too much about your precise walking plans.) I do like to have a car available at the end of the walk, as it saves all that hurrying to make sure you catch boats or buses, and you can leave clean clothes in it. Anyway, it's become more complicated, and you just can't do what I did in 2004 any more.

First I tried to get to Cradle Mountain via Queenstown. Tassielink are the bus company, but you can't do it in a day. Rather you have to stay in Queenstown or Strahan overnight, the former being cheaper, but the latter perhaps being more enjoyable if you get the right accommodation and dining in Strahan. Note that you can't always do it in two days like this either. Some days there's a whole day in between the Hobart to Strahan service and the Strahan to Launceston service. At any time of the year, the Tassielink schedule will need some careful perusal to make sure you understand which bus goes where on which day. This applied to me on my chosen days. I could get from Lake St Clair to Strahan on Thursday, but couldn't get to Cradle until Saturday. Back to the drawing board, I had to get to Launceston instead.

This can be done, but you catch a bus back to Hobart from Lake St Clair, then from Hobart to Launceston, and then after an overnight stay, through to Cradle. All seemed to be going well until the lady realised that on my chosen days Tassielink's "in-season" service would have ceased, and they didn't run a bus from Launceston to Cradle until Saturday either. Gaaaaa! She was helpful though, and put me onto McDermott's coaches, who DO run a Friday service to Cradle.

I rang them immediately, and they duly booked me on their Friday bus. The bus picked me up at the salubrious Batman Fawkner, and tripped around collecting the rest of the load from their hotels too. It arrived earlier at Cradle than the Tassielink buses do, and went direct from Launceston to Cradle without a pickup in Devonport. The bus driver was a really cheerful and helpful bloke named Kerry. The service included waiting while we got our track passes and other purchases from the visitor centre, then Kerry running us all up to Ronny Creek and getting us underway without our having to use the Cradle shuttle bus service and undergo additional inquisitions and lectures from the rangers. I think this service makes it worth trying to use McDermotts if their schedule suits.

The shuttle buses run regularly however, and allow you to travel easily from the visitor centre to Ronny Creek. Kerry warned us that you are best not to try to catch the bus from the ranger station/Lodge as they are generally full up before they get there when it's busy. It certainly looked busy there 10 days ago, the car park was pretty full.

Anyway, it was a somewhat expensive business getting to do the Overland Track, but given the weather I got, it was well worthwhile. Oh, and it didn't cost me anything like as much as all those mainlanders and overseas visitors pay. For interstate and overseas visitors, the transport arrangements are canvassed in more detail in Frank and Sue's Overland Track book. You can also find Tassielink's and McDermott's schedules online. Just be careful that you're looking at the schedule for the right season with Tassielink. Check the fine print to see if the schedule stopped applying some time ago - the one I wanted to use on 15th April ran out on the 10th, two days before I rang them but it was still on their website. This timetable appears to contain the winter Cradle service.

Overland Track - 15th to 21st April

Got back on Thursday evening from the Overland Track. Third time walking it properly from the start, and had the best weather of any of those trips. Lots of photos were taken, and I've put a selection from across the days and places in here. I met Sue and her friends Mark, Deb and Anne from Geelong. Sue runs this website with her husband Frank. I've bought their Food To Go e-book, because these people ate better than everyone else, particularly me. Sue's friend Deb seems to be the chief outdoor gourmet, and has lots of wonderful ideas for cooking nice things far from home. They also put out a guide to doing the Overland Track for people who have to work out the logistics - mainly I think this would be useful for people who are not from Tasmania and are not sure what to expect in getting to Cradle Mountain and walking the Overland Track for the first time. You can buy their two books together at a good discount.

The track has been improved (read: duckboarded) in many places since I last did it (2003 or 2004 I think) but other bits have also deteriorated. Frog Flats to Pelion and then just before Kia-Ora seemed most obvious to me as being worse, and the ranger confirmed that both these parts have suffered over the recent high season when it was both unusually wet for summer and the track had the usual very high summer traffic.

I note that despite the best efforts of everyone, people still manage to start (and generally, safely complete) this walk without fundamental items of equipment and little understanding of what they are going to find along the way.

I hadn't seen the Bert Nicholls Hut at Windy Ridge before. This has received mixed reviews. It's large and of a somewhat more complex design than other huts. They say it's a great summer hut, but too cold and impersonal in winter. I understand original complaints about the hut involved the inability of the old Windy Ridge coal stove to heat the cavernous kitchen/dining room area. This has been replaced by a wood heater, which didn't do a bad job, on an admittedly cool but non-freezing evening. Anyway, you'd have to see it for yourself - it's quite grandiose, and the other evening did a fine job of accommodating about 25 people for dinner. I didn't try out the bedrooms as I much prefer tenting for actual sleeping.

All in all, a great walk still, and the scenery and ambience remain wonderful. I managed to climb both Cradle Mountain and Mount Ossa, but was thwarted by mist and drizzle in my desire to climb Walled Mountain in the Labyrinth - another day for that one. I came out a day early rather than sit and watch the drizzle from the Pine Valley hut, eating the remains of my non-gourmet bushwalking diet.