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

How to Be a Kiwi - March 9

As we leave New Zealand, I am trying to put my finger on what makes Kiwis Kiwis.

I will probably add to this list as more differences occur to me, but here is my list, as of March 9.

HOW TO BE A KIWI

1. Don't wear shoes. Don't wear them in the airport, don't wear them on the airplane, not even in the restroom on the airplane. Don't wear them walking around in a city. Don't wear them in the grocery store or the museum. Don't wear them when jogging.

2. If you have to wear shoes, wear flip-flops.

3. Cross diagonally at intersections.

4. Wear a uniform to school.

5. Go to a Girls' High School or a Boys' High School.

6. Trundle your bundles.

7. Drink lots of coffee. Order it "flat white."

8. Don't litter.

9. Buy (meat) pies at the petrol station.

10. Eat Hokey Pokey ice cream.

11. Learn how to make a Maori face.

Done In - March 8

You can't see wind. Unless you are quite experienced, you can't readily see its effect on the water. From up here on Deck 11 the water doesn't look all that rough.

But . . .

The winds are very strong, and our plans for Dunedin have been done in. Of all the ports, this is the most disappointing one to miss because this is where Scott spent his semester abroad. He studied at the University of Otago, the first university to be established in New Zealand.

And the news keeps getting worse. Tomorrow we were to be cruising the Fjordlands. That has been cancelled. Our crossing to Tasmania is predicted to be "rough" due to a gale. We are detouring to a more northern route, but we still can't avoid some of the bad weather. I'll let you know what "rough" means after we reach Tasmania.

They are scrambling to come up with onboard activities today. We went to a lecture on "Great Sea Mysteries." It was about unsolved disappearances, ghosts, the Bermuda Triangle, the Flying Dutchman, and so on. The lecturer, Russell Twomey, is affiliated with a maritime museum in Australia. This is not simply his hobby - he knows his stuff and he is a good speaker. He will be giving 5 more lectures. I look forward to them.

Update on Picton:

During our hike the woman walking in front of me fell when we were going down a steep bit. She was using one of the Manuka walking sticks made available by the tour company. SHe hurt her hand a little and banged up her face, but seemed to be ok. Today Ken talked to her and found out that she had broken her wrist in 3 places and bruised a rib - probably by landing on the walking stick.

We have REI trekking poles. I think they are less likely to lead to injury because they have sharp tips that won't slip and they are lighter than wood, so crashing into them won't be as bad, and you can adjust the height.

Yesterday I heard someone say he spoke to a man who was getting off the ship with a suitcase. The man said his wife had broken her ankle.

More Monique Dehaney tonight. She is so good. The audience loves her.

Ride-Along - March 7

Today we had a ride-along with . . . Drum roll . . . the mailman! I'll come back to that after Akaroa has been properly introduced. 

Akaroa (year-round population 600) is a tiny little French town on the Banks Peninsula of the South Island. If you don't believe me about the French part, look at this:

We arrived in the center of Akaroa via tender and found the shiny red van for our independent tour - the Eastern Bays Scenic Mail Run. Our tour consisted of a 5-hour drive along a rural mail delivery route with a contract mail carrier. Our driver/postman/guide, Robin, was as nice as can be. We had a grand total of 8 passengers on our tour.

Our route:

Our 120 km route would take us to 140 mail customers, 13 bays, and lots of winding, narrow roads. 

Akaroa Harbor is a large volcanic caldera.

We passed a number of farms and learned about efforts to reclaim some of the deforested farmland. There are many land trusts in New Zealand involved in this effort. 

We drove through a small village where the school had been closed when the student population fell below nine. Now the students are driven in to Akaroa. One of Robin's other jobs is school bus driver. His mail run falls between the morning school pick-up and the afternoon drop-off.

Robin delivers mail to some post office boxes at the abandoned school.

Parcels delivered a few days ago (on the left) have not been picked up yet. They contain expensive wines mailed to a nearby lodge. They are clearly marked as cases of wine. The honor system still works here.

These flowers are called "hot pokers."

Some cows wandered onto the road. Here comes the farmer and his dogs to round them up.

More scenery.

We stopped at a small picnic area on a beach and enjoyed snacks provided by Robin, including a nice plum cake baked by his wife.

Another stop and a short walk at Robin's favorite beach.

A paradise duck, on the right.

A small Anglican Church featured Maori symbols on wood and stone elements.

Robin delivered fresh milk to a small country store. Inside, you could find candy, antique picnic hampers, and all sorts of interesting stuff.

Robin picks up mail dropped off here, next to the country store:

Lamb jam:

We are almost back to Akaroa. You can see the ship anchored off the point.

A charming little church in town.

My BIG score of the day, at a souvenir shop!