Jun 27
tasMANIA!
Claire and I have arrived in Alice Springs starting our adventure around Australia but before I start writing about that I wanted to write about my trip to Tasmania last week.
My first day I arrived in Launceston at the top of Tasmania and walked around the quiet little town. Things picked up the second day when my tour started at 9 in the morning. In the blink of an eye I was off and our first stop was to Evercreech Forest Reserve where my group glimpsed the White Knights. These ancient white gums peered down at us like little ants circling their bases.
Next, we took a windy, rugged road through the mountains. The sun beat in and I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes we were rolling past still waters with over fifty black swans gliding along. Past this inlet we reached the Bay of Fires on the Tasman Sea. Along the white sand beach huge boulders stood still while the rising moon drove teal waves further in each time. I climbed the rounded rocks, which were covered with lichens that turned them orange. As the sun sank behind me the moon said hello J
From there our tour guide, Bruce, drove like a Mexican taxi driver to get us to our night stay and see the Little Blue Penguins. We rushed past the still waters, the black swans saying goodbye. The waters turned to mirrors and soon there were two skies. Two full white moons kept popping up in each pool with pinks, purples, and blues for a backdrop.
We made it to see the Little Blue Penguins who were timid with the moon beaming down on them like some spotlight giving there location away to predators. There weren’t many but one was so close I could have grabbed it and stashed it in my purse.
The next day we got up at the crack of dawn. Wait. Scratch that. We got up BEFORE the crack of dawn. After packing up we headed to the Bicheno Blowhole to watch the sun rise. A sliver of gold began to appear behind the low pink clouds just beyond the water. Slowly it emerged covering our happy faces in that golden light. Equally exciting was the large rocks we walked out on where a hole in the farthest rock left a space for water to push through. With each incoming wave huge spurts came out like a whale’s blowhole (hence the name).
We drove on as the sun came up, wiping away the frost and morning fog. Our destination was through the Hazard Mountains to Wineglass Bay. Twists and turns, roots, rocks, and man made stairs created our path. We took pauses to catch our breath and enjoy the view, but the most spectacular layed at the height of our walk. From the lookout our racing hearts and breath were stopped by the first glimpse of Wineglass Bay.
Wineglass Bay got its name from the harvesting and slaughtering of whales whose blood poured into the water turning it red. Pretty gruesome way to get a name for such a beautiful place. The brilliant blue water was rimmed with a white sand beach and all along the dark green mountains stood with their caps so high that small thin clouds hung below. When we reached the beach I took off like a little kid, whipping off my shoes and socks. We were the only visitors and we walked along watching the waves crash in.
The next morning we woke before the sun once again to check out a cave at low tide. The opening of it swallowed us and beyond it the other opening (ironically shaped like Tasmania) showed waves and a pink sky.
My favorite place we stopped the last day was at a wildlife sanctuary where Bruce introduced us to two Tawny Frogmouth owls named Oscar and Kermit who opened their mouths when Bruce ran his fingers along the feathers above their beaks, making them look like frogs. Next we watched the Tasmanian Devils being fed pieces of carcass with fur and bone. The small black creatures devoured it all, their jaws almost as strong as a crocodile. Many other critters were there including some Devils infected with the mouth cancer that is threatening to put them into extinction and a white parrot I had a nice conversation with. But my favorite was the tall kangaroos and little wallabies. We saw moms with babies in their pouch, sometimes a tail poking out. And I even fed the Alpha male who was getting on in age (about 20).
We were dropped off in Hobart where I stayed my last two nights, eating great sea food and hanging out with people from all over the world. Perfect way to end the trip J
Miranda