I arrived first in Hobart and planned to spend a day and a half there. It is really a very charming town, centred around the harbour with a chic feel to the place but without any obvious pretence. Almost felt a little bit Cornish with lots of the sailing fraternity knocking around. New and old sit happily side by side with modern apartments next to colonial houses and big yachts moored next to working fishing boats.
New and old in perfect harmony...
From there I headed to the west coast which is where I spent most of the time. It is difficult to describe just how beautiful, rugged, isolated, wild and undeveloped that part of the world is. I don't think a single photo i took really does justice... Around every corner there was a fabulous view which would literally stop me in my tracks. Mountains, rain forests, incredible coast lines, glacial lakes, fertile pastures, plains and forests of eucalyptus all crammed in, next to each other.
Lake Rosebery...
Cradle Mountain...
East/West "Divide"...
Beautiful beaches with no one around...
A couple of bits of driftwood brought in from the Great Southern Ocean...
One evening at dusk I took a boat trip out into Gordon Bay (circa 5 times size of Sydney Bay), with two other people, to see Little Penguins coming back to their burrows on Bonnet Island (about the size of a very large roundabout!). Sadly 22 Sperm Whales had beached on a sand bar in the bay two days before and despite the best efforts of all local sailors most had perished. we couldn't avoid passing them and despite our skipper's warnings of what we were about to see, it was really very sad to see such huge creatures as they were.
The penguins, however, did not disappoint! (no flash, IR light!) They were almost tripping over our feet.
Onto the Bay of Fires (NE of the Taz)
Finally I headed back east to Freycinet and Wine Glass Bay (pics to follow) before leaving for Melbourne.
Tasmania is a remarkable place. I also got my first taste there of the real (slightly unnerving) isolation that is possible in this country... No phone signal anywhere on the west coast, no Internet I could find, only 2 stations on the car radio and 3.5hrs/200km on an unmade, gravel road without seeing another car! The previous day I had to make a 90km detour to get petrol... All very different to home!
Off to the MCG tomorrow for a relaxed day, watching cricket!
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Location:Flinders St,Melbourne,Australia
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