Tuesday 13 February

The alarm goes off at 7 and it's a bit of a last minute scramble to get the 9:00 am ferry from Triabunna to Maria Island, about 30 minutes away. No cars are allowed on the island and so we hire mountain bikes. Darlington, the small settlement,was once a convict outpost. We head off to the eroded limestone cliffs on the beach, called the Painted Cliffs. They are on a pristine white sandy beach lapped by the cerulean sea.

We head off through the eucalyptus forest, with stringy barks, white gums, white peppermint, blue gums and gum - top stringy barks. After a while we have to leave the bikes and head off on foot. I use two lengths of  eucalyptus as walking poles. We crash through huge ferns. Mount Maria is 711 metres above sea level and the last section is a real scramble up some very large boulders. The sweaty ascent is really worth it as the views are spectacular from the summit.

A quick picnic lunch before a speedy descent  so we can have a swim and spot some wildlife before the 5 pm ferry. We eventually leave the eucalyptus forest and see wombats! They are very tame and we can get quite close. Also kangaroos, and cape barren geese.

Back on the last ferry to Triabunna. We have a refreshing schooner of Tazzie Boag in a very scruffy bar, and then we share fried scallops and chips from the local fish shack before heading back to base.