vintage and contemporary postcards and stamps from around the world


30 August 2026

42°38'S 148°05'E

 


Maria Island is entirely occupied by the Maria Island National Park and has only a few park rangers as inhabitants.  If you want to stay overnight your options are various campgrounds where you can pitch a tent, or a basic bunkhouse style sleepover in the old penitentiary.  There are no shops or cafes, and neither is there electricity or potable water. You must bring everything you need with you - and take it all back out when you leave.
I'm not sure this is exactly a vacation spot for me... but the number of tourist visits has almost doubled from the year pre-covid (38,000 2019-20 to 53,000 in 2023-24 to a record high of 74,000 2024-25 with a projected 99,000 2025-26) which is clearly not sustainable for a protected habitat.
This rugged island is only 12 miles long by 8 miles at its widest point, (19x13 kilometres) 

5 comments:

viridian said...

My contribution:
https://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/2026/08/sunday-stamps-vacation-destinations.html

Lisa said...

Not a spot I'd care to spend my vacation. Seems like a lot of visitors for such a small island.
Mine:
https://thisandthatablog.blogspot.com/2026/08/sunday-stamps-august-30-2026.html

marina said...

Great post and description. I particularly love the choice of the title!

FinnBadger said...

Perhaps when I was younger and didn't mind not having creature comforts. My destination today is here: https://envelope100.blogspot.com/2026/08/take-trip-to-aegean.html

Mail Adventures said...

That would do for me :)
But Australia is too far away!

My stamp is here.