Darlington Jetty (Maria Island)

Meet the site

The Darlington jetty is where every visitor arrives on Maria Island, and it is also an easy, relaxing snorkel or shallow dive. The Marine Life Network guide rates it 5 out of 10 and describes jetty piles and a small kelp garden in 2-5 m, with anemones, sponges, school fish, Australian salmon, trumpeter and squid, and cuttlefish at dusk. It notes that the site is inside the marine reserve and that divers should check ferry times.

The piles are encrusted with sponges and anemones and shelter schools of small fish, while the sand around them is good for spotting stingarees and flathead. At dusk cuttlefish and southern calamari come in to feed, making an evening snorkel from the campground worthwhile for those staying overnight.

The Tasmanian Scuba Diving Club notes that Maria Island offers both shore and boat diving, and the jetty is the obvious shore option. It is ideal for snorkellers, families and anyone on a day trip who wants to see the reserve's fish without a boat.

The main hazard is the ferry, which berths at the jetty several times a day. Keep well clear of the berth and never dive under the jetty while the ferry is approaching.

Maria Island is a national park with no permanent residents apart from rangers, and the Darlington settlement preserves convict-era buildings from 1825 onwards. The marine reserve along the island's northern and western shores has been no-take since 1991 and has been used for long-term studies of how protection affects rock lobster and fish numbers, so reef life inside it is noticeably richer than outside.

What you might see

Anemones, sponges, schooling baitfish, Australian salmon, trumpeter, southern calamari, cuttlefish (dusk), stingarees, kelp

Location

The ferry jetty at Darlington on northern Maria Island, with piles, a small kelp garden and sand in 2-5 m, inside the marine reserve.

Facilities nearby

Darlington: toilets, showers at the Penitentiary accommodation, campground, ranger station, no shop or air fills. Triabunna: ramp, fuel, supermarket, cafes. Nearest air fills in Hobart.