10. Tasmania

10. Tasmania – Had a devil of a time!

We flew into Australia late in the evening, so we had an overnight stay at a Melbourne Airport Hotel. It was onto Launceston in Tasmania the following morning. The flight was short, just over 30 minutes. The airport was tiny so it didn’t take us long to collect our luggage and pick up the hire car.

We had chosen to stay in the outskirts of Launceston in the Alanvale Apartments and Motor Inn.

We had selected a studio room but we were upgraded to an apartment. The owners had recently taken over and were in the process of upgrading all the rooms. The apartment was quite dated, but clean and well equipped.

Cataract Gorge is located in Launceston. We went down for a walk and to admire the views.

We chose to visit some of the natural beauty of the Tasmania wilderness. We had seen the Liffey Falls advertised and decided to go and see it. We hoped that it would be impressive, but had our doubts as there had been a distinct lack of rain. As we drove along the highway towards the falls we saw a sign for Liffey Falls 46km. We turned off and followed the C class road. It soon became clear that C must stand for c!!!!!! road (use your imagination) – unpaved. It was narrow, twisty and gravel. We eventually got to the car park where the map should the 1km walk to the falls. The sky was getting darker and rain could be seen in the distance. We set off and reached the falls while it was still dry.

The falls were a cascade type waterfall. You could see how impressive it would be after a heavy fall of rain, but at least there was a waterfall.

We headed back to the car just before the rain came. As we exited the car park we saw that there was another road that was only C class for 8km. We took this one and came out at a small town.

There is a Native animal sanctuary not too much further along the road. All the animals are native to Tasmania and some also in mainland Australia. Some are at the sanctuary after being injured or orphaned. Other are endangered and the sanctuary is carrying out a program of breeding and reintroducing the animals back into their natural habitat. We were given a tour of the animals and got to interact with some of them. The kangaroos and wallabys roam about the open area where you can feed and touch them.

There is a breeding programme for Quolls. They are abundant in Tasmania but endangered on the mainland. The sanctuary breed the animals and release some each year back into their previous habitats.

They have some Tasmanian Devils who we witnessed being fed. In the wild they are scavengers although they can hunt if needed.

The sanctuary is home to many other local animals including wombats and echidnas.

The next day we headed north to Beauty Point. We stopped en route at a tourist information shop. We spoke to the woman there for quite a while. She said that there is a museum in Hobart that is a bit different. The artwork is all created using human body fluids. Think we’ll give that one a miss! Sounds like a lot of c**p.

In Beauty Point they have two small animal encounters. Seahorse World and Platypus Cove. It was all very interesting. Again the animals are local to Tasmania. The Seahorses are bred and once they reach about 1 -2 years old they are shipped to aquariums all over the world. We saw some day old seahorses and those still waiting to have their babies. It is the male who carries the young and gives birth after about 2 weeks.

The platypus is a weird animal. It looks like a mixture of duck, otter and beaver. The male has spurs on its back legs that he uses as a defence. If stung by the spurs there is no antidote. Seemingly each platypus has a unique poison so it is impossible to make an antidote.

On our way back to Launceston we took the scenic route along the Tasman Highway. Most of the scenery was beautiful but in parts the road was treacherous. Sharp cliffs on one side, a sheer drop on the other and hairpin bends. My stomach was in my mouth.

Our next stop was Hobart. We took the coast road south. The coast is rustic in parts with the bluest seas.

We had booked an apartment in the eastern shore of Hobart. Our hosts Simmy and Drags met us and gave us all the tips for the Hobart area.

We visited MONA – Musuem of Old and New Art. The building reminded me of a huge bunker. It is on three floors. You enter on the top floor but start your visit in the basement, three floors below. Most of the exhibits were a bit obscure or maybe just not our taste.

We spent a few hours there then headed to the Botanical Gar dens. It was a lovely day for a walk through the various gardens. They have the only Antarctic garden outwith the Antarctic.

Decided to have a day off from driving, so took the bus into Hobart. We were staying in Tranmere which is at the end of the bus route. The bus stops just beside the house, so it was like a mini tour of the suburbs. We had a wander around the city stopping for a few drinks and a meal.

Came across a vodka that our son Chris would like – Sheep Whey. Didn’t buy it as it cost AU $145.

Hobart itself is an old city. It is a port that was used during the time of the transfer of convicts and had been known for ship building. The port is now mainly a leisure port although each year it comes to life during the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

An hour and a half south of Hobart is Port Arthur. This is the area where there was a convict penitentiary. It is now a museum where you hear about the lives of the prisoners and a bit about why some of them were imprisoned there. It was virtually impossible to escape because it was so far from anywhere else. Part of the tour is on a catamaran through the harbour area. There are two islands. One was known as the Idle of the Dead. This was the cemetery where those who perished were buried. The other was the boys prison. At first they were housed along with the men, but it was decided that the younger boys, some as young as nine, should be imprisoned separately.

Every visitor is given a card which relates to one of the prisoners. You search for the box that tells the story for the convict. We had an Irish convict and a Scottish one with the surname Stewart. Decided not to keep this one in shackles.