In Which I Meet Kanga and Roo - March 12

Quiz:

1. The capital of Tasmania is:

A) Richmond

B) Hobart

C) Port Arthur

D) Devilton

2. Tasmania is:

A) Part of Australia

B) Part of New Zealand

C) an independent country

D) a territory of France

3. The first Europeans to settle in Tasmania were:

A) missionaries

B) goldminers

C) whalers

D) convicts

4. A tawny frogmouth is:

A) a poisonous snake

B) a freshwater fish

C) an owl-like bird

D) a species of platypus

5. Tasmania has:

A) an active volcano

B) glaciers

C) earthquakes

D) a lot of roadkill

Today's adventure was a tour with Eye See Personalized Tours. Our group of seven had an excellent day under the guidance of Sandie.

We were met at the port in Hobart and we were driven to the airport in a minivan to get a larger van. We were supposed to start out with the larger van, but it wasn't ready in time because, according to the owner of Eye See, the previous renter had returned it with a kangaroo on the front grille and had not even bothere to remove it. After this auspicious start we headed out of town while Sandie chattered away and provided us with all sorts of information, including the fact that she loves cows. (When we passed her "favorite cow" she honked at it. It made for a fun tour.)

Our first stop was a small village called Richmond. We saw the oldest bridge in Australia, and the oldest Catholic church.

Richmond bore a Georgian influence and looked like it might have been transported from England. We had half an hour to wander around so we didn't have time to go to the bakery and the old gaol. 

We saw the farmer's market and the old courthouse.

Our next stop was really special. First we drove past farms, vineyards, and fields of hops. We followed the course of the Derwent River for part of the time and saw hundred of black swans on the river.

Eventually we arrived at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a fantastic place. The main attraction was the kangaroos. They were habituated to humans and you could walk around amongst them, pet them, and feed them by hand.They would perk up if you approached them with food, and would happily eat out of your hand if you held it close enough, but they wouldn't mob you. Some might say this indicates laziness, but that's not the impression I got. 

A few of them had fairly large joeys in their pouches.

Can you see the joey's legs?

It was a lot of fun to feed them and pet them.

They have 5 toes on their front paws. It appears that they only have 3 toes on their rear paws. The middle toe on the rear paws has a very long claw.

It was really cool when several of them began to hop. It made me laugh - it is such a surprising thing.

Bonorong had a number of other animals and birds. We saw a white cockatoo named Fred. He was over 100 years old and had outlived his owner, so he ended up at the sanctuary. For his 100th birthday he received a letter from the Queen. It was on display next to his cage.

A peacock and a rainbow lorikeet.

On my cell phone I have a short video of another bird mimicking human speech. I will eventually figure out how to insert it into my blog.

The ranger took our photo with a sleepy koala. We weren't allowed to touch it. Their faces are so precious.

This echidna is one of the rescue animals. It only has three legs.

The Tasmanian Devil is endangered due to a form of cancer and a virus. It likes to eat roadkill and often becomes roadkill while eating. It is very fierce, but elusive. This is the only one who wasn't hiding.

We also saw wombats and quolls. There's a good Scrabble word.

After Bonorong we drove to Mount Field National Park, where we were treated to a picnic lunch prepared by Judy, the owner of Eye See. We also got to taste Vegemite. Ooooooo.

We spent about an hour hiking in the park. The Tall Trees Walk took us through a forest of swamp gums - world's tallest flowering trees.

The forest was gorgeous. It has an earthy, fresh smell.

We also walked on the Horsehoe falls and Russell Falls Trail. You can sometimes see wombats and pademelons (?) in the forest, and very rarely a platypus will be seen in the stream. We only saw a few trout.  However, the forest was gorgeous with huge ferns and wonderful trees.

The best part was Russell Falls. It was one of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen, even though the volume of water is relatively small. The photos don't really do it justice. It was the wrong time of day for the light.

After returning to Hobart we got to see a little of the central business district and the street market. For a city of 216,000, Hobart has a lot to offer.

Kudos to Judy and Sandie for an excellent tour.

Back on the ship the Tasmania Police Pipe Band and the Hobart Highland Dancers entertained us before Sailaway.

Tasmania has a few things in common with Alaska. For one thing, it is often left off the map. I liked it a lot. I think I could live here.

After dinner we went to see a show by "Piano Headliner" Jon Darsk. It was pretty awful and we didn't stay long. He played a lot of classical music in a pop style with a band backup. He pounded on the keys and it set my teeth on edge.

Answers: B, A, D, C, D