Wombat Paradise
When you are in Australia and you think about remote places, possibilities are endless. But if you want to mix wild environment, kind people and the feeling to be at the end of the world, then Tasmania is your area of choice. During a trip in Tasmania, we visit the beautiful Maria Island National Park. Maria Island is a natural wildlife sanctuary and off-shore retreat with historic ruins, sweeping bays, dramatic cliffs and plenty of stories to tell. My only regret is that we spent one day there when we could have spend a week.
Date: March 2019
Location: Tasmania
Maria Island is organised in several sector, and our day was planned to see kangaroos, wombats and some landscapes. On the island you can move by foot or bike, we first rented mountain bikes with the wish to travel faster. I really wanted to hike Bishop and Clerk but our timing was too tight, so we decided to take a chill road and focus on wildlife watching. I have to say it did not disapoint ! Thanks to the Maria Island Map helping to choose where to go. We first headed north to have a view at the famous Bishop and Clerk rocks before biking towards the middle of the Island.
We were very excited with the idea to see wombats and didn't know if we would be lucky enough to see one. What a surprising and joyful moment when we discovered not one but many of them playing around, feeding, resting. We soon realised that they were everywhere and we were in a wombat paradise where they could live a peaceful life without being too much disturbed by human.
When we stopped for our lunch break, we happily discovered that a wombat chose the same spot for a nap. I saw him yawn and I wanted a picture of that moment. When I finished my sandwich, I layed down in the middle of their unique cube-shapped poo at around 6 meters of him and waited for him to yawn again. It took at least 20 minutes before it happened, but I am so happy with the result taken with my Nikon D800E and Sigma 150mm. Don't be confused, it's not agressivity, it's just yawning !
We finished our day through the forest when again we were lucky enough to see more wombats between the trees.
Our day was gratified with many other beautiful encounters, but I can't show you everything. Just a few more to give you the desire to go visit that Island by yourself. Be respectful with Nature and it will give back. We left the island with a beautiful rainbow over it, couldn't expected a better ending for that magical experience.
Thank you to the people who take care of this place. I take this pledge to respect and protect the furred and feathered residents of Maria.
