Maria Island: Tasmania's Noah's Ark

Tasmania, Australia’s only island state, is known for rugged natural beauty and bountiful wildlife. Fortunately, its Maria Island delivers on both accounts. Find out why Maria Island is nicknamed Tasmania’s Noah’s Ark, and why it should be on your Tasmanian bucket list.

Where is Maria Island?

The 115-square-kilometre (45-sq mile) island is located within Maria Island National Park, which also covers a marine area off the island’s northwest coast. It was named in 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, in honour of Maria van Diemen, Anthony van Diemen‘s wife. Maria Island is approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) long, and at its closest point, is located about four kilometres (2.5 miles) off Tasmania’s east coast. The only permanent inhabitants are park rangers.

Encounter Maria Island are the island’s official ferry operators. The 30-minute ferry regularly departs from Triabunna on the mainland, which is just over an hour’s drive northeast of Hobart. It docks in Darlington, which is Maria Island’s only town. The island is known for its dramatic cliffs, bays, peaceful beaches, and historic buildings. This includes the World Heritage-listed Darlington Probation Station, which is Australia’s most intact example of a convict probation station. There are no motor vehicles and no shops on Maria Island, so it truly feels like you’ve travelled back in time.

Due to its isolation, many animals have been able to thrive on Maria Island. The marine section of the Maria Island National Park is one of Australia’s most studied marine protected areas, and is very popular for diving and snorkelling. It’s also frequented by Australian fur seals, migrating whales, and common and bottlenose dolphins. Then there’s the fact Maria Island is an Important Bird Area, according to BirdLife International. 125 bird species, including 11 of Tasmania’s 12 endemic bird species are found on Maria Island, such as the forty-spotted pardalote.

Many of the animals on Maria Island are native to Tasmania. But the island became known as Noah’s Ark in the 1960s, when a variety of threatened Australian species were introduced to the island to protect them. So what animals can be spotted on Maria Island? There’s wombats, forester (eastern grey) kangaroos, Cape Barren geese, fallow deer, Bennetts wallabies, fairy penguins at Haunted Bay, Tasmanian pademelons, ringtail possums, short-beaked echidnas, and three snake species.
In 2012, 15 Tasmanian devils were introduced to Tasmania’s Noah’s Ark as well. The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service staff who live on Maria Island care for them. The introduction is a way to protect the endangered species, as the population on mainland Tasmania is steadily decreasing due to devil facial tumour disease.

Accommodation on Maria Island

There aren’t a lot of accommodation options on Maria Island. There are simple rooms with bunk beds, wood heaters, and picnic tables and chairs available in the old penitentiary building in Darlington, which need to be booked in advance. Darlington is also home to a large paid campground, but there are also free campsites located at French’s Farm and Encampment Cove.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.