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So we camped next to a tiny house when we stayed in Cygnet to get our diesel heater fixed. Patrick and Sabrina had built it – and they were building new tiny houses in the workshop next to DieselHeat, the caravan heater specialists. Here is a picture of their tiny home:

What is a tiny house? It’s not a caravan and not a normal house. It’s something in between: a timber-framed house on wheels that can be towed on public roads to a new location. This means that its width cannot exceed 2.4 metres. The length can vary – the same way the length of a caravan can vary between 6 and 11 metres or so.

What does it look like from the inside? Patrick’s and Sabrina’s house consists of a bedroom followed by a walk-through bathroom, followed by a living room and kitchen.

There are many different designs. Some people have a loft with the bed upstairs. The current build has this feature. Maybe you can spot it in the pictures below.

When we returned to our campsite (free, big grassy field behind a country pub) after spending the day on Maria Island, the weather turned cold and grey. While on the island, it was glorious. We had booked a same-day return leaving early in the crisp and clear morning.

The ferry is for people and their luggage only. And bicycles. Maria Island is uninhabited with no shops and no cafes – just a sprinkling of old convict era buildings and an abandoned silo from the sixties. You walk or ride your bike (no bitumen), admire the scenery and the wildlife, and leave no trace. It is possible to stay overnight in tents or cabins.

We walked along beaches and cliffs, across forests and abandoned settlements. Maria Island is full of wildlife. We saw wombats and their babies.

We also saw pademelons (really small kangaroos that look like quokkas), and potoroos (smaller mouse-like marsupials). With motor vehicles banned, it is just you, your footsteps, and the sounds of nature – the wind in the trees, the birds, the ocean – and the occasional chatter of other visitors. And there is no visual noise created by ads, billboards, etc.