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In the heart of the Tarkine Rain Forest — I’ll say more about the prevalence of tree ferns later on. (There’s also a larger image available.) |
Eleven days in Tasmania — November 2018
Why Tasmania? Of course it’s one of those famous and famously
exotic places that lots of people dream of getting to, but Mark and I
had our own special, idiosyncratic, reason for wanting to go there.
For, in our first two walking tours, we had gone in 2004 to
Chile, especially
the Lake District about midway between Santiago and Cape Horn, and
in 2005 to the Olympic Peninsula,
Olympic National Park in Washington State, which, depending on how
you count, represent two of the world’s three temporate rain forests.
And the third is Takayna, the Tarkine, in Tasmania, and is the largest
in the southern hemisphere.
So we had to go there.
First stop on the way to Tasmania: a long weekend in Los Angeles.
The harbor in Hobart.
After almost sixteen hours in the air, we landed in Melbourne. Except for a nice visit with our old friend Alyce from our Pasadena church, there’s not much to report about, but you can read about our half-day and night in Melbourne.
Next day, we flew to Hobart, and began to experience Tasmania. We walked extensively about the town, and got some nice snapshots, which you can see on the page for 8 November.
On 9 November, our adventure began, with a drive to the Freycinet Peninsula on the east coast of Tasmania. A long walk on Schouten Island, and a fabulous dinner including fish caught by our group. Read all about it.
On 10 November, we had a really nice walk on a shell-strewn beach, where saw a few birds, and got fairly friendly with a wallaby. From there we climbed up, up, and up, then down, down, and down. Lots of pictures of the beach, fewer of the hike, and you can see them all.
One of the several unidentified flowers
that we saw on
the eleventh.
Next day, 11 November, the promise that we’d see wildflowers was fulfilled. Not a raft of pictures, ’cause I was mostly occupied with walking. But you should read about it nonetheless.
Our last day in the Freycinet was 12 November, in which I avoided yet another strenuous walk, but still had a good workout walking from the Lodge to the place a few miles north along the beach to where we would be picked up for the ride back to Hobart. See what I have to say about it.
A platypus on the fourteenth.
Lots of pictures on the page for the next day, 13 November, when we had a guide to show us parts of Tasmania between Hobart and Launceston. Read all about it.
The next day, 14 November, we sightsaw, and got up close and personal with platypuses, but up closer and personaller with Echidnas. You’ve got to see this.
The pademelon.
Then on 15 November, we caught a glimpse of a member of the kangaroo family I never heard of, the Pademelon, and saw all sorts of other interesting things. You’ll have to read about it.
Typical forest scene in the
Tarkine
(16 November).
Last day, 19 November.
A hike into the bush on 16 November got us to our site in the middle of the Tarkine, our base for the next three days. Good snaps.
Our guide Jo looks up on
17
November toward
a beautiful forest
above her.
No adventures on the next day, 17 November, but lots of pictures. You’ve got to sample them.
On the other hand, not so many pictures from 18 November, but a brief account of our readying ourselves for departure.
Our last day was 19 November, and even though we had relatively little time for pictures, what with doing final packing and traveling back to Launceston, there are some good shots for you to see. And of course my deathless prose in description of that last day.