Tasmania

The isle of Tasmania lies 240 km south of the coast of mainland Australia. It is the seventh state of the Commonwealth and its smallest, being about the size of West Virginia. Its population is 480 thousand people, just under half of which live in the Hobart area. Its climate averages around 12 C (52 F) in winter and 21 C (70 F) in summer. It boast of 18 national parks and 1.38 million hectares (thats 3.4 million acres or 5,325 square miles) of Wilderness World Heritage Area. Given the population, that is a lot of empty space.
     Our visit was a short one, only four days over a weekend. We flew from Melbourne on a Friday morning around 7:00 AM and arrived back around 6:30 PM on Monday evening. In that time we visited only a small protion of the island, concentrating on the east coast. Our weather was cool but with some sun, so we considered ourselves lucky for the time of year.

The Tasmanian Devil Park

We made a short stop to a small wildlife park just outside of Port Arthur and on the way to it. It is billed as a wildlife rescue center, but with the Tasmanian Devil facial cancer decimating the population and plunging the species into the endangered catagory, there is not much of the traditional "rescue" going on. The existing population is being segregated to prevent the spread of the disease.
     We took plenty of pictures and a few movies of the animals feeding. These animals are aptly named. They are vicious, even to themselves, and when they eat, they eat EVERYTHING! The keeper tossed one devil a hind leg of a Wallaby road-kill and this devil ate the meat, bones (you can definitely hear the crunching), fur, paws...everything. There was nothing left. If one were to fall in the forest and be unable to get up, they would not be found. There would be nothing left.
      The rest of the park contained kangaroos and birds.

Introducing the Tasmanian Devil	A hind quarter of a Wallaby
Cute little devils...literally	It was cold this day
Mom and chicks	A resting Roo
Ringtail Hawk	The wise old owl
This guy looks friendly	... as you can see
A sulfur-crested Cockatoo	Birds of a feather

Port Arthur

Port Arthur is located on a peninsula to the east and south of the airport which is east of Hobart. A very small town, it is best known prior to 1996 as the home of the prison reform system experiment of the mid to late 1800s. However, with the horrible massacre of April 24, 1996 when a lone gunman, Michael Bryant, killed 35 innocent tourists and residents and injured 37 others, a far greater notoriety has been attached to this area.

Prison house and barracks	Servants' home and church ruins
Hotel in background and wooded hill	Lake that is on the site
Ruins of old church	Tour guide explaining the history of the place

Freycinet National Park

Freycinet National Park is located on the east coast of the island just east of the town of Swansea about half way up the island. It is situated on a peninsula so access requires that one drive north of the park and enter via the southerly road. It is a mountainous park with plenty of opportunities to hike and encounter the wildlife.

The beauty of the Wattle tree	Someone looks very pleased.
Don't stop now!	Hello, How are you?
Rock formations just off the coast	The boat in the distance lends some perspective
Looking back toward Wine Glass Bay	Around the lighthouse area
Nice red growth on the rocks at the cliff bottom	The lighthouse
A bit steep here	Nice and interesting foliage
Sunset over Freycinet National Park

Mount Field National Park

Russell Falls, seen above (and below), are purported to be the most photographed falls in all of Tasmania. The day we visited was rainy and a bit cool, but we braved the weather and hiked up to the top of the falls and beyond.

A view from the bottom of the falls	A view from the top of the falls
Notice the gloves and coat	A competition of beauty
Down the river	The fall from half way up

The City of Hobart

Our last day was spent in the city of Hobart. We had the morning and early afternoon to tour the city prior to our late afternoon departure back to Melbourne. We walked about the city and found the park you see above that looks over the harbor where the boats sail in on the Sydney to Hobart race.
     We spent the early morning touring Edite's favorite place: the Cadbury Chocolate factory! Unfortunately, since it is a food factory, we were not allowed to bring in cameras, watches, or purses. So there is no photo record of the event other than the parking lot seen above here.
     Afterward we made our way downtown and walked about for a while until we sat for lunch.

Mid-winter foliage in town	A view of the harbor
An example of a cafe	Another example of a cafe
The postman delivering the mail	A typical street view

The Cascade Brewery

The Cascade Brewery is located just south of the CBD of Hobart. After we paused for lunch, we decided to tour the brewery. There was no room on the tour, but we were told if we showed up, there might be a cancellation. Lucky for us there was. The tour lasted about an hour and was outstanding.
     If you notice the picture below, there are three windows on the top floor and four on the floor below it. The right most window is lighter than the others because there is nothing behind it. it is just fascia to maintain visual balance.

The original building	The visitor center
Edite in the founder's pose	The star relaxing on the set
All of Cascade's products	The Thylacine (extinct)
How the beer is brewed	Soaking the hops
The fermentation tank	The contents of the fermentation tank
Lining up the bottles for application of the label	Moving the bottles into a single file
The bottles are being moved to the super heater	After sterilization they are moved to the labeler
Time to taste the fruits of their labor	Our tour guide doing what she does best