Maria Island National Park

Off the east coast near Triabunna, Maria Island is a car-free national park reached by ferry, a place of extraordinary peace and wildlife. Wombats, kangaroos, Cape Barren geese and, increasingly, Tasmanian devils range freely across open farmland and forest, and the ruins of the convict settlement at Darlington tell the island's harsh early history. The Painted Cliffs, sandstone patterned in swirls of iron oxide, and the sheer Fossil Cliffs are easy walks from the ferry, and the whole island can be explored on foot or by bike. With no cars and no shops, it is a rare step back into quiet.