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The wombat is the koala’s closet relative. On Maria Island, just off the mid-east coast of Tasmania, even visitors who’ve never heard of Darwin and the Beagle are a chance of working this out. There are more wombats than people on Maria Island.

Maria (the ‘i’ is pronounced the same as the ‘i’ in island) Island is approximately 20km long and, at its extremes, 12km wide. All of it is national park. There are no paved roads or access for private vehicles. Every visitor to the island either walks or rides a bicycle.

That there are no cars or top predators on the island, visitors are the only meat eaters, is good news for the large families of Cape Barren geese, wallabies, wombats and kangaroos. Endangered birds including the forty-spotted pardalote and wedge tailed eagles have also taken quite a liking to the safety of island life.

So chuffed are the wombats about the lack of predators, ones with or without motors, these supposedly nocturnal folk are readily seen during the day: which means, assuming you’ve seen a few koalas before, you almost trip over the fact that they have the same squat legs, the same sturdy and rounded behinds as koalas.

Cold Beer, Wine and Cheese

Now for a declaration: my memories of all the wildlife may be enhanced by cold beer, some of Tasmania’s first class wines, plates of cheeses, strawberries and grapes, a thick salmon steak on a bed of mashed potatoes, and the wonderful bonhomie of my fellow walkers on the Maria Island Walk.

The Maria Island Walk is one of the finest eco-tourism operations in Australia: the muttering isn’t mine alone. In 2008 Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine awarded the walk the best eco-tourism experience in Australia. This easy four-day walk mixes wildlife, beaches, little visited pockets of the island and fantastically personable guides who do a fine line as naturalists and historians and, each evening, as chefs who cook and serve gourmet fare on candlelit dining tables.

Accommodation during the Maria Island Walk is in private beachfront standing camps but the final night is spent in the heritage-listed, beautifully appointed Bernacchi House at Darlington (solar panels provide power and are discretely hidden).

Walk On

Even just a few years it ago it would have been largely inconceivable to contemplate multi-day walks around parts of Tasmania’s national parks and World Heritage Areas supping on wine and fine food. Noodles, kerosene food stoves, wet sleeping bags and fantasies of warmth were far more common among bush walkers than fine fare.

On The Maria Island Walk, The Freycinet Experience Walk, Cradle Mountain Huts and The Bay of Fires Walk and the South Coast Track walk (run by Tasmanian Expeditions), guests trek through World Heritage Areas or national parks and yet savour fresh (as possible) local produce and wine along the way. In some cases they stay in architect-designed standing camps.

That these trips come with bundles of comfort doubtless horrifies people who consider that some parts of Tassie should only be experienced by those with the ticker to endure privations. These walks have however opened up Tasmania to people who would never have otherwise experienced some of the state’s most valuable natural assets: never have some of Tasmania’s most dramatic landscapes been more accessible.

Prime Minister and Freycinet

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his family went on the Freycinet Experience walk during their holiday in Tasmania in January 2010.

In the stylish yet wonderfully simple award winning lodge there are breakfasts by candle light and, after a day’s walk, canapés and beer and wine by an open fire while the group (maximum of 10 people on each trip) deconstruct their day.

During my four-day visit, Sophie, one of the hosts told a charming tale of trying to iron Mr Rudd’s pants on the morning he was leaving (as he was off to a meeting). There is no power at the lodge except for the solar-powered lighting. Sophie boiled a pot of water and while the hot water was still in the pot, endeavoured to iron the prime minister’s pants.

The guides are crucial to the success of these experiences. Typically there are two guides and from eight to ten walkers on the Great Walks’ trips. The multiplicity of their skills – they flit effortlessly between naturalist and chef – and their indefatigable bonhomie is remarkable. You’ll not meet one who you wouldn’t want to take home to marry your son or daughter, sister or brother.

The Great Walks of Tasmania Group was launched in August, 2009. “It is an exciting new opportunity where operators will work collaboratively to raise awareness of the wonderful guided walk experiences Tasmania has to offer,” said Ian Johnstone from the Maria Island Walk.

"Our wilderness, our wildlife and heritage and are all special points of difference for Tasmania and combining this with friendly and passionate guides, we offer experiences as special as any in the tourism world,” says Mr Johnstone.

Whether by design or good luck these great walking companies have spread themselves across Tassie. Which means guests can walk with a light backpack and a very satisfied stomach over much of the finest regions in the state. And learn lots about the local wildlife too.

More Information

The walks cost from around $2000 and last from four to nine days.

For more information visit www.greatwalkstasmania.com.

www.discovertasmania.com is a comprehensive guide to the island.

The information was correct when published in 2010. Prices and information may have changed.