Maria Island

No need to pack in the morning - and the ferry doesn't leave till 9am, so a nice easy start to the day.
Sun was shining, but always there's a hint of rain - will it come today?  the ferry ride over to the rather solid looking Maria Island was very pleasant - its only a short trip of 20 mins or so.
as we were pulling into the harbour, a mother wombat and her joey were knocking off for the day and heading for their bunker near the jetty.  by the time I got my bike and off the jetty these 2 were already snoozing at the mouth of their burrow...  it was almost as if they heard the ferry coming and said 'Enough!!  lets get home before all those gawping tourists arrive'.  dang...  was that my only chance at a good look at a wild wombat?  ah well....  The huge Cape Barren Geese were strutting around the village - they are really big birds!

Hennie and me headed out of the township of Darlington - can look at that on the way back - mostly old buildings from the convict days and also the more recent early 20thC days.
I dropped into Mrs Hunt's cottage - it sits perched on a bare hillside overlooking the harbour and township.  It was a cute little cottage but is just wasting away...  made me wonder if  'preserving' old buildings by just having them in a National Park is such a good idea...  I mean, I could imagine someone actually living in there - and maintaining it like the old homes in Sweden are often owned by people for their summer cottages.  they are kept in good condition - without electricity or running water, but then that is part of the Swedish culture to go back to nature in the summer time....  just a thought!

as always, dirt roads are a mix of not so good and downright awful.  I rode out to French's Farm stopping at the Painted Cliffs along the way.  I was very disappointed by these cliffs....  not sure how the photographer got all those colours in the glossy brochures, but I have seen a lot better at Nightcliffe in Darwin...  but they were interesting nevertheless.  I had morning tea break at some point along the way south - but still no sign of any wildlife except a few birds, nothing new there either.  after a couple of patches of really sandy road, walking thru that of course - I saw down on a green grassy stretch a Wombat!!! why yes there's another one, and oh oh 2 more!   wonder if I can get closer to get some photos...  so abandoned Hennie by the roadside and went prowling down the slope.  Bluddy hell!  I nearly bumped into a very depressed little wombat.  it was sitting on the gravelly ground in front of me - its little head all droopy...  I think it was just snoozing, but it didn't budge...  hard to photograph too because its colour just blended into the ground.  oh geez, there's another one strolling down towards the green grass...  so click click clickedy click!
I decided to leave them in peace and get onto Frenchs Farm...  One can camp there - there is a toilet and rainwater tank.  but the cold temps have put me off any idea of camping...  but I sat on the verandah of the farm house and contemplated living there...  yes, if it wasn't so damn cold down here I defo could live here...  set up my loom in one room, spinning wheel in the lounge room in front of the fireplace - make some damper in the coals...  but no...  the house just sadly sits there - not sure if campers can actually sleep in the bedroom - there were 3 'shearers' beds' there...

but time to get pedalling back - I only rode 27km all day, but I stopped so many times and the track was hard to ride at any speed, so time was ticking away - I was booked on the last ferry at 5pm - better get busy and get back...  but it was now full on Wombat Feeding time - I saw so many!  groups of 4 or 5, munching away on every bit of green grass.  There was one right on the track, so I stopped and waited for it to move...  but no - it decided to come and check me out....  Oh Oh Oh please don't bite Hennie's tyres - and then chomp!!!  on my shoe!  It really gave it quite a tug - but it decided it didn't taste too good, so slowly moved on chomping on various bits of potential food as it smooched off...  oh yes!!  there are wombats on Maria Island and they are not nocturnal as they are on the mainland - because they don't have any predators...  I never saw any Tassie devils - they have been released here too, but the island is pretty big and very steep and there was a lot of island that I didn't see!

but I really enjoyed my day - totally back in the Aussie bush - no confusion on whether I am in Europe or Oz...  of course the buildings back at Darlington are very colonial, but then I really had to catch the ferry so didn't spend that much time there...  and the camp grounds were full of school kids - on their yearly camp out I guess - all making such a fuss - I was so glad I wasn't camping there!