I had never previously considered going to Maria Island but suddenly it became very appealing for a short hike. The entire island is a national park, supposed to have a lot of wildlife and it's small enough to see in a few days. I planned a trip visiting several interesting sights and I did not anticipate any mud whatsoever.
April 18 I took the ferry across to Maria Island, put up my tent at the Darlington campsite (which was busy) and started the walk up to Bishop and Clerk, a pair of tall dolerite columns jutting out of the forest high on the east coast of the island. The walk was initially in a ferny glade alongside a dry creek, then climbed grassy hillsides above sheer cliffs, and went into dry forest. The uphill walking was easy and in sunshine (such a change from my last hike) until I reached a massive scree slope; at first I didn't realise there was a path carved across the scree and I scrambled my way up. The final part of the ascent was difficult on big boulders with large steps up but at the top there was an abundance of flat rock to sit on. There was a fabulous view of the two columns 
and over a large section of the forested island, with a sheer drop off 600 metres to the ocean below my perch. Coming down I remembered that I had broken my ankle while descending a similar rocky peak and I was particularly careful to follow the signs, and I was happy knowing there were other people still on top.
By the time I got back to the developed side of the island (by which I mean first developed in 1840 and finally abandoned by the 1950s) the kangaroos were out in large numbers and also some wombats and grey geese. 15 kms
April 19 I walked to French's Farm campground (site of a farm inhabited in the 1930s) via a little white sand beach and fern forest, with nice views of Mt Maria, her summit initially in a cloud, and dumped my pack in the abandoned farmhouse.
Then I started the 20 kms out and back to Haunted Bay at the far southern tip of the island. At first I was on a sandy road in banksia forest until I reached the isthmus connecting the two parts of the island (just like Bruny Island). I could easily see the beach on each side and I wandered over to the ocean beach; it was a beautiful curve of dazzling white sand with Mt Maria as a backdrop. 
Back in the melaleuca and casuarina forest I had a gradual climb followed by a really steep descent to Haunted Bay. Near the end the descent was over granite boulders and tricky.
The bay featured huge slabs of granite, sometimes tinged with orange, and a very rough sea. 
Across the bay I was looking at the cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula. I had a quick snack and turned back. When I reached the isthmus this time I walked on the ocean beach until it curved away from the direction I needed then went across to the mainland facing beach. Lo and behold it had a lot of seaweed for the first kilometre! This sand was also white and the waves lapped gently.
I was prepared for a crowd back at the campground as it was a large area with 3 toilets and 2 water tanks but there was nobody else there apart from 3 wombats eating seriously and, I later found out, a million mozzies.
I think I saw a Tasmanian devil having a quick scout around my tent. 30 kms
April 20 It started raining before dawn and didn't stop until an hour before I left the island. I had breakfast on the farmhouse veranda and set off to test out my new rain pants. I took a route through the forest and the forest, as usual on a rainy day, was a nice place to be. The trail undulated on the lower slopes of Mt Maria (none of the mountain was visible) and later followed a pretty creek which I had to cross a few times on stepping stones. There was a weak attempt at mud in some places. I passed the ruined oasthouse and would have stopped for a break if it had still had a roof. I saw a flame robin and plenty of kangaroos and wallabies who clearly didn't care about the rain.
The rain became worse as I sheltered in Darlington with Bishop and Clerk, partly visible when I arrived, disappearing in the thick cloud. The pair of Cape Barren geese were still hanging around the campground. 12 kms. Total 57 kms.
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