Superstitious people think Friday, the 13th is a day of bad luck, but for us, it was lucky. Luck in terms of clear weather and luck in terms of the beauty of the landscape.
Day 8, Friday, September 13: Maria Island
By 10 am, we were checked in and ready for today’s first 3-hour adventure. From the Cambridge Aerodrome (located about 15 minutes out of Hobart) in a Par Avion small airplane (after safety instructions), we took off toward Maria Island. There were only 4 of us on board, plus our young pilot. Theo was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, giving us lots of information not only about what we were seeing, but also about the history of the region. We heard him clearly through our headsets.
We flew to a height of 3500 feet/1066 meters above Freycinet National Park, crystal clear waters, and the white sand beaches of Wineglass Bay.
We landed on Maria Island and while Theo prepared our lunch we walked around a bit. And I saw my first kangaroo in the wild!
Our gourmet lunch included quinoa salad with a variety of Tasmanian seafood and Tasmanian white wine. And here were two more firsts for me: octopus and smoked oysters!
Even though the island is home to the rare and endangered Tasmanian Devil, unfortunately we didn’t see it. But besides the kangaroos, we also saw wombats and Cape Barren geese.
We were back at the aerodrome by 2 pm ready to drive to our next destination.
The hour and half we spent on the island, the flight itself, the food, the company (a friendly couple from Brisbane), our pilot, and everything we saw made this an unforgettable experience.
