View from the top of Bishop and Clerk, Maria Island
View from the top of Bishop and Clerk (photograph: Pierre Destribats)
60 Great Short Walks

Bishop and Clerk

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Alerts for Bishop and Clerk

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Closed area: Painted Cliffs - Partial closure
Applies from 8/5/2024

​​​​​A section of the Painted Cliffs will be closed to public access, pending ​​geotechnical surveys to determine safety risks of loose overhanging rocks.

For further information, please contact the Maria Island Gateway on (03) 6123 4040.​

Last reviewed 2/5/2025 09:50 AM


4-5 hour walk, 3-5 hour ride, 11km return
Grade 4: Bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.
Supervise children, hazardous cliffs, unprotected track edges, rock scree scramble.
A valid parks pass is required for entry to Tasmania's national parks.
​This walk leaves from the Darlington Settlement on Maria Island, accessible by passenger ferry.

About

​Maria Island may be best known for history and wildlife, but walkers who undertake this challenging walk are rewarded with exhilarating cliff-top and ocean views.

The 11km return walk climbs from grassland, through open forest and tall woodland, to the rocky slopes and towering dolerite columns of the summit (620m). These were named Bishop and Clerk because of the resemblance to a bishop, wearing a mitre, being followed by a clergyman.

The views from the summit are magnificent. As the walk involves steep up and downhill sections, and an extensive field of rock boulders, it is best suited to experienced walkers. 

To reach the summit rock scrambling is required. One section of exposed blocks of dolerite near the top requires skill and confidence to complete. The summit is exposed with sheer drops and should be avoided in strong, windy conditions.​