Orford — RachiePie

From Port Arthur, we drove to Orford on Saturday, where we stayed for two nights. The first day, we took the ferry from Triabunna to Maria Island (pronounced “Mariah” Island). The mountainous island was once a penal colony for convicts who committed offenses against the French colonists. Today, the entire island and the ocean surrounding it is a national park. We read the best way to view the island is on bicycle (there are no cars allowed) and we were able to rent bicycles and helmets upon arrival. We started our journey by riding to Enchantment Bay on the southern tip of the north island. The pathways were rocky and hilly and we both decided after this trip long-distance bike riding is NOT FOR US! Although we were able to see a lot of the island, my bum hurt so badly after the first hour (we ended up biking for four hours), that it started becoming “un-fun” very quickly! With that said, we did enjoy some beautiful views and even got to see several wombats up close! It should be noted Alex got a little too close to one of the wombats and ended up getting chased for about 5 seconds! It was pretty comical! Luckily, they are slow-moving creatures!

Echidna - they are also known as "spiny anteaters"

One of my favorite places we visited on Maria Island were the Painted Cliffs. The patterns on the exposed rocks along the shore were caused by ground water filtering down through the porous sandstone leaving traces of iron oxides, which have stained the rocks.

Sunday, we took an easy cliff-top walk from East Shelly Beach to Spring Beach in Orford. The hike follows along a clearly-marked pathway next to the ocean with beautiful views of Maria Island and nearby beaches. We spent some time sitting in the sand at Spring Beach (the sand is so fine it ‘squeaks’ when you walk on it!).

We then headed to the Three Thumbs Lookout which provided another gorgeous view of Maria Island and the town of Orford below. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the top before heading back to town to grab some groceries and snacks. We are now all stocked and ready to drive to Coles Bay on Monday where we will be staying for five days.