| ABOUT THE ACCOMMODATION ... |
Casuarina Beach Camp and White Gums
Camp each provide twin share accommodation in environmentally
sensitive standing camps built on wooden platforms with canvas
walls. Foam mattresses and pillows are provided, as well as
camp showers and composting toilets. Guests stay in restored
Bernacchi House on the final night.
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| Maria Island Guided Walk ITINERARY ... |
Truly Ref 1303
Departs and ends in Hobart. The four-day trips leave
Hobart on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from October to the end
of April -
additional departures also operate subject to bookings.
Participants meet at
8.00 am at Hobart's Salamanca Arts Centre, returning to the same
venue by 5 pm on Day 4 of the trip - airport drop off is optional
(ensure flights are are after 7pm) .
Group size is limited to eight persons,
accompanied by a guide, and light packs of 6-8 kilos are
carried along firm sandy beaches or gentle forest trails; the
distances are 10-15 km per day.
The walk is graded easy/gentle.
Vegetarians and special diets are catered for (please make your
request at the time of booking). Participants are to be 12
years or older unless by prior approval - those over 70 years
require a medical certificate.
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DAY
1: Hobart - Casuarina Beach Camp
Starting at historic Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart, drive
through lush east coast farmland to the pioneering coastal town of
Triabunna. Board a charter boat the whet your appetite for
adventure, exploring Mercury Passage en route to the isthmus on
Maria Island where you will land on an untouched beach feeling just
like Robinson Crusoe. Soon you are walking in the footsteps of
French explorer Nicholas Baudin, and recall his enchanting
encounters from 1802 with the Tyredderne Aboriginal people of the
island. After enjoying lunch you can choose to visit dramatic
Haunted Bay with its magnificent granite outcrops and fairy penguins
or alternatively relax wandering along the beautiful beaches or take
a dip at a sheltered bay.
Spend overnight at the delightful Casuarina Beach Camp in an open
forest busy with the sound of Tasmania's native birds.
Distance: 3 km walk - 2 hrs (or with Haunted Bay 12 km walk - 4
hrs).
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DAY
2: Five great beaches - White Gums Camp
East does it - this is 'five beaches day'. Walk from Reidle Bay
across the rare land formation of the isthmus (pictured below) to
Shoal Bay to stroll five fabulous beaches. Explore the convict cells
at Point Lesueur and visit an ochre pit at Bloodstone Point - one of
the original ochre sources for the Tasmanian Aborigines. |
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Put your feet up at White Gums Camp, where native birds will
entertain you while you sip wine on the deck and anticipate
dinner. There's time to
take a swim, observe the resident Cape Barren Goose family with the
new goslings or just relax on the sparkling beach and breathe in
some the worlds cleanest air. Then at night you will relax and drift
into a slumber to the murmur of the lapping waves.
Distance: 13km – 6hrs
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DAY 3:
Gondwana Rainforest - White Gums to Bernacchi House
Leave behind the pristine white beach for the rich green of grand
forests. This is a prime habitat of the endangered 40-spotted
Pardalotes one of our smallest and rarest birds. Take the gentle
inland track through the planet's largest stand of tall Tasmanian
blue gums with its great ferns that are relics of the super
continent of Gondwana.
Emerge from the forest at the Painted Cliffs and Hopgrounds Beach
and after lunch you can climb to either the 709 metre peak of Mount Maria (as
pictured) or
Bishop and Clerk which is over the eastern side of the island towers 600m straight
out of the ocean. Views to take your breath away!
Explore the restored convict settlement of Darlington and its doomed
silkmaking, winemaking and cement manufacturing industries. Enjoy a
sumptuous banquet and accommodation in the historic home once
occupied by Italian entrepreneur, Diego Bernacchi.
Distance: 8 km - 4 hrs (or 15 km - 7 hrs with Bishop and
Clerk) |
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DAY 4: Relaxed
final day -
Return to Hobart
A chance to relax and enjoy the serenity of Darlington and walk
through the tall Blue Gum forest, to the convict brickworks and
heritage reservoir and around to the world class fossil cliffs.
After a leisurely champagne lunch, overlooking the Freycinet
Peninsula, explore the world class fossil cliffs and fascinating
ruins of the industrial period, as your guides unravel their hidden
secrets.
Relaxed and refreshed, you will catch the Maria 1 ferry back to
Triabunna from the Darlington jetty and enjoy a gentle journey back
to Hobart through the beautiful Coal River Valley and pioneering
Richmond.
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For more information about Maria Island and the Walk, including a Gear
List, click onto General Information
and Facts about Maria Island Walk ...
Please note: Due to weather
conditions, the itinerary may be amended without notice
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Wombat
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Wallaby
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Cape Barren Goose
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Yellow Winged Black Cockatoo |
Green Rosella
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Included in Maria Island Guided Walk
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~ All Transport: Hobart - Maria
Island
- Hobart
~ Three night twin share accommodation and excellent meals
~ Two guides per trip with maximum 8 guests
~ National Park entrance fees
~ Gear: Guests carry a light backpack (between
6-8 kg) with their own personal items. Packs, waterproof jackets,
silk sleeping sheets, head torches and sleeping bags are supplied
(sleeping bags are stored at each camp). Guests should have their
own walking boots, well worn in with good ankle support and
tread. Light day packs are also available for use on side
trips from Camp 1 and Bernacchi House.
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