The Cradle, The Dove and The Devil

We hiked around Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain today. Vistas were spectacular (see attached pic) and the wildlife viewings continued. We saw a few black snakes (yikes!) And some lizards. Last night a bush tailed possum tried to eat Jim's stinky tevas right off the deck. We got a closer look at a wombat and they look cuter than I previously described- more like a fuzzy pig. The air is dry and crisp and about 70. Perfect hiking weather. Many of the plants are still in bloom so there are smatterings of pink, purple, white, yellow and red. I managed to roll my ankle trying to carry Addi towards the end of the 4mi trek, but it should be fine by morning. Luckily no witnesses! ;-)

We went from there to a Tasmanian Devil conservation park. I mentioned previously that an infectious facial cancer has wiped out more than 60% of the population...this place is trying to breed them back. It was a very cool place that opened with a video not the Devils in the wild. Poor Addi got an unexpected pure look into predator nature. If you remember, she still talks about the scary snow monster in Rudolph...so I was concerned. She seemed unphased, though. Whew! With the population so decimated, we were not likely to see any in the wild...but we saw alot here. We even got to touch one! They are non territorial and non social" indiscriminating predators" who do some serious damage to whatever they catch/eat. Cuter than I expected until they open their huge mouth! Photo of Addi touching one attached. By for now!

Ps: dad, congrats on going Druid! Smart choice!

PPS: toilets flush counter clockwise!!

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Kangas, and Wallabies and Wombats, Oh my!

What a day (yesterday- I couldn't post last night)! We had a leisurely morning in Strahan and set off at 11:00 for a three hour sail around MacQuire Harbor. We kayaked, fished (without success) and had a delicious West Coast Crawfish lunch while anchored in an inlet. We left town mid afternoon and headed northeast to Cradle Mountain. We have only been here for 3 hours and have already seen mommy and baby wallabies (which are said to look like small kangaroos but more closely resemble large hopping rats, if you want my opinion), mommy and baby wombats (which look like those scary hairy boars on Lost) and two kangaroos! Up until this point we had only seen one koala and one echidna in the wild, so it is quite a turn! Tough to catch these buggers on film, but I have attached a kanga shot.

Addi was inspired to make an entry in her journal (Natasha, THANK YOU for that recommendation- I would never have thought to do it, and it is already a priceless treasure of memories), and I could not believe my eyes. I've attached a photo of her work (it is "an Addi kangaroo and a Riley kangaroo"). I watched in shock as she meticulously started with the feet, then the legs, then the belly with belly button, then head, eyes and nose, ears and finally the tail. She had clearly observed every detail and did a darn good job replicating them.

Tuttle Family- The Cradle Mountain Lodge reminds us of Mohonk in many ways. Mountainous, tranquil, wood fires, wooden architecture, gorgeous trails, big old dining halls and common spaces, no TVs, etc. Just lovely.

As i am writing this, wallabies are hopping all around our deck. It is surreal! We are hoping to wake up at dawn to see all of the animals before they hide for the day. What an amazing spot. It should be on the Must Visit list should you ever come to Tassie.

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Rugged and Relaxing

On the west coast of Tasmania, including Strahan, the predominant westward winds blow half way around the world, straight from South America, uninterrupted by land mass. They say it creates the cleanest air on Earth. Maybe its purely psychological, but I swear I can feel it!!

Our adventures today took us to Henty Dunes- powder soft sand dunes reaching more than 30M high! Some tweeners with snowboards asked us where the "slopes" are if that gives you and sense of enormity. I climbed them with Addi on my back- real life Crossfit! I attached a photo, but I really don't think justice is done. We tried to find Hell's Gates- the notorious entrance from the rough sea to the Macquarie Harbor. With this description you wouldn't expect it to be elusive- but we couldn't find it. We also went to Ocean Beach which is 33km long and described as one of the most rugged, most treacherous, and most beautiful beaches in Aussie. It was unspoiled and a true beauty. Photo attached. All in all a relaxing maritime day.

Jim wanted me to attach a photo of Vegemite. We tried it. We hate it. It is Barley malt extract and is so salty and so...something....horrid. We will bring some home for you to try! :-)

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The Road to Strahan

We left Hobart at 10:00am and arrived in Strahan, a tiny mining port turned fishing village, at 8:30pm. It was a long and amazing drive across the lower west quadrant of Tasmania where the surroundings change from dark green mountains, to desert brown mountains, to rainforest, to craggy rock mountain, to prairies and crisp blue lakes with every turn in no particular order. It was like VT, West TX, the Rockies and WY all got crammed into a 300k space-repeatedly. I don't think I exaggerate when I say we passed fewer than 10 cars in the second half of the trip. The drive made the Great Ocean Road's 1100 turns seem like child play- but since I was the captain (driving on the left, I might add!), I held down my spaghetti rather nicely!

We made several stops along the way-once in a town so small that the entire 'centre' was one building hosting the post office, the 'shop' and the gas station. Everyone-and I mean every last soul-worked at the hydro power plant so it was a ghost town midday. We stopped at Lake St Clare National Park and did a 3-4mi hike to see Australia's deepest lake-crystal clear and home to platypus (we didn't see any). There were HUGE 2,000+ year old eucalypti trees, many of which had been hollowed by fire. We made another stop to hike through rainforest to Nelson Waterfall. Finally we stopped in Queenstown, an active mining town, for dinner where the locals were far less patient with my overly cautious driving.

We are in Strahan now, with a room overlooking the village and the bay. I will go sit on the balcony and drink my Tassie wine and watch the night set in. We are so remote, that there is no cell service, so I am not certain when I will be able to post this entry to the blog....rumor is there is a fancy restaurant with a hot spot- we will try it tomorrow!

I forgot to mention than when leaving Hobart we passed a lake with dozens of black swans! Aa sight to behold...and I am trying to recall the symbolism in the business world- perhaps there is an omen here....does anyone remember? On a related note: I haven't yet had alot of mental space to think about work life after this adventure, but here is the thing: I actually love what I do/ did. Always have. All of it. What I didn't like was the steady fear of job-loss that I harbored for the past 3 years (justified, at that!). So, I'm not sure I need 'reinvention'...maybe just stability...and a 12 week sabbatical!

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The Queensland Floods

Many of you have surely seen news coverage of the flooding in Queensland, AU. Land mass the size of Germany and France are currently submerged and residents evacuated. A 100+ year tragedy, but it looks like it is being managed well.

We are not heading up that way until 1/20 or so....and even then we are headed to Palm Cove, a suburb of Cairnes, which is on the coast and not currently underwater. They are completely cut off from all ground transport for supplies so grocery stock is low and being brought by boat and plane. Worst case, we will change our plans, but we are not expecting to.

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I Heart Tasmania

Ok, so we have only been here for a day, and we have only really seen Hobart (the capital city), some cold-climate wine vineyards (mmmm....wine tastings!) and Richmond (a tiny colonial town 20km away), but I am in love.

Tasmania is an island south of the Aussie mainland that is about the size of West Virginia and has a total population of less than 500k. There is ALOT of rugged nature, alot of rugged coastline, and surprisingly (to me, anyways), alot of foodie foods and wines.

Hobart is in southern Tassie and its surrounding geography is resplendent with rolling hills and lakes boasting vineyards (eg: attached pic with Addi in it), open fields with grazing sheep and cattle, and small settlements; all set against a backdrop of lush green mountains and ocean. Hobart its self reminds me of Acadia in northern Maine in that the green mountains roll into the sea with rugged coast line. The city is small and walkable with historical neighborhoods reminiscent of Victorian era. Richmond, home of Australia's oldest bridge (photo attached) is the beginning of the convict trail. It is slow and quaint and lined with shops selling local crafts. Outdoor cafes everywhere.

All much slower than Melbourne....to use your words Greg, it's 'easy does it' and we love it.

Side sad note: We learned that the Tasmanian Devils are now endangered species thanks to a strange facial cancer killing them off.
Side cute story for the grandparents: we stumbled on a fairy alley in Hobart, lined with dangling jewels and feathers and butterflies and fairies and the like. Addi was entranced, ooh-ing and ahhh-ing in amazement of the magic. I was soaking her up when she closed her eyes and whispered to a dangling fairy (in the not very quiet whisper of a three year old) "I wish....I wish....I love EVERYBODY"

Tomorrow we head west 'into the wilds' of Strahan. can't wait. Please keep your comments coming- we really enjoy them!

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And then my poor meatball rolled onto the floor.....

Yesterday we took a group tour on the Great Ocean Road on a double decker bus. This road was built by the unemployed during the Great Depression to offer remote towns car accessibility to Melbourne. It has 1100 turns and stunning ocean cliffs and views- generally like the Pacific Coast Highway. The trip highlight was the Twelve Apostles- fifteen sand stacks lifting out of the ocean like castle towers. Truly stunning (see pics). We got to put our toes in the sand, got to wander in a few remote towns, and otherwise sat on the bus for about 13 hours. Addi was a tremendously good sport the entire time, despite a woozy tummy. I,on the other hand, was THAT person. Yup- spaghetti lunch in review on the bus. Fortunately Jim was smart enough to have a bag, so my poor meatball didn't actually roll out the door. Am I over sharing?

Im not positive we would do it again, but the Twelve Apostles were stunning....so maybe we would.

At the airport now, heading to Tasmania. Goodbye Melbourne!

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