Maria Island
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A Wildlife Sanctuary with No Cars
On the lands of the Tyreddeme people.
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
An island national park off Tasmania's east coast, accessed by ferry from Triabunna. Maria Island has no cars, no shops, and one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Australia: wombats, kangaroos, Cape Barren geese, and the rare Forester kangaroo.
Maria Island is a 116 square kilometre island national park 4 kilometres off the east coast of Tasmania. It is sometimes called 'Tasmania's Noah's Ark' because the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service has used it as a sanctuary for several threatened species, including the Tasmanian devil (introduced from the mainland to act as an insurance population against the devastating facial tumour disease) and the Forester kangaroo. The result is wildlife everywhere: it is impossible to walk for ten minutes without spotting a wombat, a Cape Barren goose, or a kangaroo.
There are no shops, fuel, or accommodation other than walk-in campsites and the heritage Penitentiary Bunkhouse, a converted 1828 convict building. There is no mobile phone signal. Day visitors usually catch the morning ferry, walk to the Painted Cliffs (a sandstone cliff face etched with iron oxide patterns), the Fossil Cliffs, or up Bishop and Clerk Mountain (a 12 km return walk to the highest point), and return on the afternoon ferry.
The Maria Island Walk is a 4 day guided walk that combines the best parts of the island and includes overnight stays in private camps.
Tourist locations
Places to visit in Maria Island.
6 locations to explore
Bishop and Clerk Summit Walk
Dolerite heights over Mercury Passage
National Parks pass required: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily) or $47.70 per vehicle. Ferry fares additional.
Full guide arrow_forwardDarlington Probation Station
Australia's most intact convict station
National Parks pass required: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily) or $47.70 per vehicle. Ferry fares additional.
Full guide arrow_forwardEncounter Maria Island Ferry
Gateway to a car-free island
Same-day return ferry: adult $56.50, child (4-16) $34.50, concession $45.00. National Parks pass separate: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily).
Full guide arrow_forwardFossil Cliffs
300-million-year-old seabed exposed
National Parks pass required: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily) or $47.70 per vehicle. Ferry fares additional.
Full guide arrow_forwardMaria Island Wildlife Viewing
Walk among wombats, roos and rare birds
National Parks pass required: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily) or $47.70 per vehicle. Ferry fares additional.
Full guide arrow_forwardPainted Cliffs
Iron-stained sandstone at the tide's edge
National Parks pass required: $23.85 per person (walk-in daily) or $47.70 per vehicle. Ferry fares additional.
Full guide arrow_forwardFeatured in
Shortlists that include Maria Island.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Maria Island.
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Attribution
Sources & credits
Content (1)
Images (2)
- BIOL. RESULTS ENDEAVOUR, Vol. IV, part I. Plate XXVII.jpg · Hubert Lyman Clark · Public domain
- Maria Island East Coast.jpg · Cecilia Broderick · CC BY-SA 4.0
Images sourced from Wikimedia Commons under licenses that permit commercial use. If you are the rights holder and believe an attribution is incorrect, please contact us.