The Grampians and the Silo Art Trail

The Grampians

Our dash inland and off the coast was in hopes we would find better weather.  We did not.  In fact, we arrived in the Grampians under misty rain.  It was disappointing, to say the least.  The sandstone mountains surrounded us and hiking trails were in every direction.  But the rain and cold continued to pursue us.  In fact, we were so engulfed in heavy clouds that we couldn't even take photos of these beautiful mountains.

Considered a tourist destination, we drove into Halls Gap, not knowing what to do next.  The weather forecast included ice… and maybe snow at higher elevations.  We made an executive decision.  We found a motel and checked in.

I admit, our evening was wonderful.  The motel owner gave us a two-bedroom suite for the night.  A family motel, he said it was his smallest room.  It even had a small kitchenette with microwave and fridge. The room was a bit old and dated, but it could have been the Taj Mahal as far as we were concerned.  I cooked in the camper, and we ate at an actual table. The showers were hot with unlimited time.  And, needless to say, the room came fully equipped with a flush dunny.  We felt pampered and privileged, indeed.

We awoke to a rainbow settling in over the Grampians.  

We also found a flock of galas, kangaroos grazing around the campervan, and emus walking through town. Unfortunately, the forecast predicted more rain for the next several days.

Feeling refreshed, we drove onward, seeking sun and a bit of warmth.  Along the way we discovered that we were on the Silo Art Trail.  It began as a small community project in Brim and grew into a 200 kilometer stretch of silo art linking the towns of Brim, Lascelles, Patchewollock, Rosebery, Rupanyup, and Sheep Hills.  

Not understanding the signs we were passing, we missed all but one of these amazing painted silos.  This one in Rosebery was painted by Melbourne artist Kaff-eine.  She painted the silos after traveling to the area and becoming acquainted with local families and farmers.  

Silo Artwork by Kaff-eine in Rosebery, Australia

We continue westward.  Our next destination is Australia’s famed Kangaroo Island. 

The Great Ocean Road

Australia's Great Ocean Road

We were surprised by the amount of traffic on Australia’s Great Ocean Road.  As we continued our journey, however, we soon realized two distinct things about this highway.  First, the views are absolutely stunning.  Secondly, it is, of course, a major tourist destination.  

We were longing for a stretch after our night on the ferry.  A lady at a visitor center told us about some nearby falls.  We gladly hiked the stairs down to the overlook.  

In the next town, we discovered a flock of cockatoos posing for tourists.  We stopped to take a few photos.

Cockatoos Posing for Tourists

Although it was windy, it was a glorious, sunny day.  We definitely enjoyed it, particularly after all the rain in Tasmania.  We stopped several times to stroll the beach and get out of the traffic.  We passed (or were passed by) dozens of tour buses.  David began looking closely at the map to see if there was a quieter alternate route.  There was none, but on closer inspection, it looked as if Alamo Bay might be the end of the tourist traffic. We were delighted to find that it was. In fact, the town had a big turn around for tour buses to head back to Melbourne or other destinations east of us.

We camped at Blanket Beach and discovered we were the only ones there.  It was delightful.  Our campsite was on a bluff, so we strolled down to the beach and watched a cormorant drying his wings.  We found dozens of different shorebirds along the cozy beach.

Cormorant

Oyster Catchers and Egret

Morning brought a spectacular sunrise.  We also discovered a few koalas snoozing in the trees.  

Sunrise at Blanket Beach

We were anxious to see a variety of rock formations near Port Campbell.  The Twelve Apostles are iconic limestone stacks along the Great Ocean Road.  Several have crumbled into the sea in recent years.  The wind was fierce this day, and tourist traffic high, so we only visited one of the stacks.

One of the Twelve Apostle Limestone Stacks

We camped in the free Sawpit campground near Portland that night.  David read that we would definitely have visitors... wallabies and flocks of mooching crimson rosellas, all habituated to humans and often hand fed by campers. It was true.  As soon as we set up camp, several scout rosellas flew into the trees above us to see what we had planned to eat for the evening.  

We watched as neighboring campers fed bread to the birds.  I had one rather bruised apple that we were ready to toss.  Instead, David cut it up, and we put it on the picnic table to see what might happen.  The birds seemed grateful.

Crimson Rosella

A pouring rain soon sent us scrambling into the camper, long before any wallabies emerged.  High winds rocked us to sleep.  The following morning, with the forecast predicting more high winds and rain, we decided to leave the coast and head to the Grampians, one of Victoria’s more famous national parks, known for its sandstone mountains.

Farewell to Tassie

Cradle Mountain

We drove back into Cradle Mountain National Park to take the shuttle bus as far as we could and do some hiking.  We were early and were one of the first ones on the bus.  After several stops, however, the bus became crowded.  It was a cold but lovely day.

We hiked to Glacier Rock to take photos of Cradle Mountain.  Unfortunately they had closed most of the hiking trails in order to bring materials in by helicopter to repair the historic boat launch.  As a result, all hikers were pushed to only one or two remaining trails.  With the chopper arriving every fifteen minutes with a load and so many hikers on the trail, we decided to take the bus back to a less crowded and noisy area.  We took a few more photos and returned to take the bus back to the front of the park.

To my delight, near the lodge we found another mother wombat and her precious baby.  We took another short hike before returning to our campsite from the evening before.

Baby wombat

We found Lake Lea not far up the road.  It was a lovely spot, and we were the only ones around.  We hiked up the road that evening and discovered another wombat and lots of kangaroos and wallabies.

Lake Lea near Cradle Mountain

We awoke to a heavy fog draping the lake.  Later, the brisk morning brought another surprise... a platypus swimming across the lake.

Platypus on Lake Lea

With rain in the forecast, we decided to head towards the upper end of Tassie.  Ultimately we ended up in Stanley and the Nut, a volcanic plug that rises above this historic town.

Stanley under the Nut

While we were there, we discovered that Stanley also had a fairy penguin colony.  The community had built a boardwalk for viewing.  David and I were excited.  Surely this would be the day that we could finally photograph these elusive penguins.  We arrived around 4:30, ready to wait for the little birds to return from their day at sea.

As the sun set, the boardwalk became dimly lit with small red lights.  We have learned that we cannot use a flash when photographing the penguins.  They are greatly disturbed and their eyes can be damaged by most artificial lights, but they cannot see red or amber lights.  We waited... and waited for the little guys to arrive.  A wallaby came out from under the boardwalk.  I took a photo to see if it would be blurry.  It was.  We waited another half hour.  Still no penguins.

Wallaby under red lights on boardwalk at Stanley, Tasmania

It has now become a joke for David and me.  We ask each other, "want to find some penguins tonight?"  We have tried three times and have failed to see even one of the little guys.

Our time in Tasmania was drawing to a close, and the weather was deteriorating rapidly.  In fact, the weather forecast promised rain and more rain for the next several days.  After checking the weather on Australia's mainland, we made the decision to move our departure date up a day rather than try to sit in the rain for our two remaining days.

We arrived in Devonport to catch the ferry the following evening.  We spent the day visiting the area museums and doing our laundry.  We were looking forward to visiting Tiagarra, our first museum dedicated to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  We were terribly disappointed.  We have found so little information about the Aboriginal culture during our time here.  It is as if 40,000 years of history have disappeared.  Surely we will learn more about this amazing culture before leaving Australia.

We strolled over to the lighthouse and found a wallaby along the path.  By the time we reached the van, it began to mist.  As rain settled in around us, we washed clothes and spent the afternoon in Devonport's maritime museum.

Lighthouse at Devenport, Tasmania

Devonport wallaby

It was raining in earnest when we boarded the ferry around seven that evening.  Our night voyage rocked with heavy waves because of the rain, and our sleep was restless because of it.  When we docked around seven the next morning, both David and I braced ourselves for another drive through Melbourne with its crazy drivers.  To our surprise, traffic was light and my brilliant navigator had us on a great route.  We were out of the city in no time.  And, at least to our knowledge, not one driver cursed at my driving.

Life is good, indeed.  Now we are on to Australia's Great Ocean Road.

Don't Look

It has become David's most frequently used phrase as we drive through Tasmania, "Don't look."

I can't help it.  Along every stretch of road... along every kilometer, it seems... we see a dead "skippy," a kangaroo, wallaby, or pademelon.  We have realistically seen more wombats and Tasmanian Devils dead than alive.  All have been the result of roadkill.  I wish I could turn my head, but I can't.  It's too distressing to see such a waste of wildlife.

When we visited the Devils@Cradle, the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary at the Cradle Mountain National Park, our young guide spoke about the crisis with the Devils in the Tasmania wild.  Devil numbers have plummeted with the contagious facial tumor cancer, but he alluded to more.  He said that Australia has lost more animals to extinction than any other country the world and feared the Devils would be next on the list.  A further internet check confirmed his statement.  The Australian Conservation Federation concluded in 2018 that Australia has lost 29 animals to extinction, more than any other country (compared to one extinction in the USA).

Our guide was focused on Tasmanian Devil populations.  He told us they have plummeted 80 percent from over 150,000 in 1996 to less than 10,000 to 25,000 in the wild in 2018.  They are now on the endangered list.  While the facial tumor disease is rampant, the secondary loss of Tasmanian Devils is to roadkill.  Tasmanian Devils are scavengers.  With so many animals killed on Tasmania's road, the Devils find easy meals there and often end up as roadkill themselves.

As an example, in 2015, 39 captive-bred Devils were released south of Dunalley.  The Mercury reports that one in four have died because of roadkill.  Also in 2015, six Devils who had been inoculated with a new vaccine designed to combat the spread of the deadly facial tumor disease (at a cost of $25,000 each) ended up as roadkill.  The Save the Tasmanian Devil Program estimates 350 Devils become roadkill each year.

As a result of our young guide's remarks, we, unfortunately have discovered a terrible truth about Tasmania.  It has been dubbed the "Roadkill Capital of the World," losing over 500,000 (yes... a half a million) animals to roadkill each year.  This number is made even worse when considering that Tasmania's Department of State Growth lists only 400,181 drivers in all of Tasmania in April 2019.

In a 2015 Off Track article, Ann Jones writes, "Per kilometer, more animals die on Tasmanian roads than anywhere else in the world.  But unlike when abuses have been exposed in the live export trade, there has been no national outrage." She continued, "On average, 32 animals are killed every hour on Tasmanian roads."

Efforts have been launched to curb the horrible loss of animal life.  The Save the Tasmanian Devil Roadkill Project, the Royal Auto Club, and the Wilderness Society of Tasmania have all launched awareness campaigns.  Near several national parks, we encountered signs for motorists to slow down between dusk and dawn.

Roadkill caution in Tasmania

In certain areas, we have also seen signs indicating habitat for devils, wombats, koalas, and echidnas.

Habitat caution in Tasmania

While driving so many of Tasmanian roads, we have also discovered that their road infrastructure contributes to the roadkill problem.  Most Tasmania roads are narrow and windy.  There are no shoulders and barely room for two normal-sized cars to pass side by side.  These narrow roads provide no notice for motorists to see animals along the roadside.Yet the speed limit is the same for all non-urban areas... 100 kpm... whether it is a four-lane motorway or back country road.

A dear friend tells us that the recent Australian drought has also contributed to the increase in roadkill because many of the skippies are drawn to the green grass and increased moisture along roadways.

Roadkill numbers are so high in Tasmania that many communities have "roo patrols" to pull dead animals off roadsides.  Concerned citizens have told us they often stop and kick dead animals off the roads to "save their Tassie Devils."

Of course, the roadkill tragedy becomes even greater when humans also die in vehicle/animal collisions.  The only statistic I found was between 2000 and 2010.  During those yeas, 18 Australians were killed when their vehicles struck animals.

What's a Tasmanian motorist to do to keep themselves safe and help prevent the tremendous loss of animal life on the road?

• Slow down.  A 20-percent reduction in speed reduces roadkill by 50 percent.  Dr. Alistar Hobday, a marine scientist who also researches roadkill in Tasmania, says "Your reaction time when you're driving at a 100 kilometers an hour is such that you probably need 60 to 80 meters to stop the vehicle if you were to avoid a collision.  If you were traveling at 50 to 60 kilometers an hour, your stopping distance is somewhere between 30 to 40 meters."
• If at all possible, don't drive during dusk and dawn when many of Tasmania's animals are most active.  
• Install "kangaroo whistles" in your vehicle.  These sonic devices, many costing less than $8, emit a high-pitched sound audible by animals, often deterring them from entering the highway.  Our rented camper van came equipped with these, and Apollo has told us they have had a decrease in animal/vehicle collisions because of them.  We also use them in the States to deter deer on our roads.  The key, again, is to slow down.  These devices are only effective if the animal has an opportunity to respond to its warning sounds.  Do they work?  Hydro Tasmania fleet manager Alan Johnson reported a 70% reduction in accident damage cost relating to animal strikes since 2002 after installing Shuroo devices.  The Australian Railroad Group reported a 95% reduction in kangaroo incidents after Shuroo installations.

Please, Tasmania...  I beg you to rally together, to get the word out, to get outraged... to do whatever is necessary to join together to stop the carnage of your wonderful animals.  The world and I are watching.

The Devils are Calling

We decided to come to Cradle Mountain now because of a break in the weather forecast.  Partly sunny skies would be welcomed and a great way to visit the area.

We arrived mid-afternoon and determined it would be too late to take a shuttle bus into the park.  Instead, we took the lovely King Billy hike near the park's entrance.  The hike was named after the King Billy Pines in the area, named after the Aboriginal tribal leader of the Oyster Bay people.

King Billy Pine Trek, Cradle Mountain 

King Billy Pine

I told the park ranger who helped us at the visitor center that I had one goal... to photograph a Tasmanian Devil for my great-nephew.  She suggested we visit Devils@Cradle, a sanctuary to revive the Devil populations both in Tasmania and on the Australia mainland.  She pulled a stuffed Devil off the shelf and told me, "If all else fails, you can come back and photograph him.  He was roadkill before he came here."

I only hoped that I would not have to resort to photographing roadkill for Bense.  The Devils@Cradle made that  dream come true.

We bought tickets to the evening feeding of the Devils.  The bloke at the desk told us to arrive early so that we could watch the Devils interact.  He was right... it was a splendid evening.  The sanctuary has several enclosures, each containing a half-dozen or more yearling Devil joeys.  We watched with absolute delight as they interacted together.

Tasmanian Devils are the largest surviving marsupial (the Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger was the largest).  They stand about 12 inches high at the shoulder.  The largest Devils weight about 25 pounds.  Females deliver up to 30 babies each litter.  Because they only have four teats, however, only four of the babies survive.  They live in their mother's pouch for about four months before they begin venturing out and are weaned when they are about ten month old.

Devils are mostly scavengers, feasting on roadkill and weak animals.  Young devils can climb trees, and many survive on bird eggs for the first year.  Devils don't mind sharing their meal finds, however, they often fight each other during the process.  Europeans thought their growls and hisses in the bush were satanic and named them Devils.  The Aboriginal name for them is purinina.

The keepers dropped a piece of meat covered in hide into one enclosure.  We watched for over a half an hour as the Devils attacked their meal.  They would fight one another, grab a hunk, and run... only to be chased by a fellow Devil.  Two or three would run under their enclosure.  The roof literally bounced up and down with their wranglings, hisses, and growls.  Here is a very short video of two Devils fighting over their meal...

Many of the Devils posed for us.  They often yawn, exposing their 80-degree gape.  They yawn for many reasons... sometimes simply to intimidate others.

Devil Yawn

We found the Devils to be more entertaining than intimidating.  We learned that their ears become more red when they fight.  They often have ratty-looking tails because of their fighting.  Also, our guide told us that they store fat in their tails which pushes out the hair follicles.

Tasmanian Devil at Devils@Cradle

The Devils@Cradle Sanctuary is also home to two species of quoll, also endangered.  These smaller, carnivorous marsupials look more cat-like.  More elusive and solitary, I was only able to photograph them through their cages.

After the interpretive tour and feeding, we left the Sanctuary about 7:30 in the evening... well after dark.  The closest caravan park wanted $60 for their sites.  A nearby free campground was less than ten kilometers away, so we decided to drive to it.  It was our first time to drive after dusk.

A full moon was behind us as we drove.  We were amazed at how many "skippies" were along the roadside.  I admit that it was a white-knuckle ride for me... not because it was frightening but because I was afraid I would hit an animal.  Thankfully, none jumped out in front of us.  Of course, I was only going 35 kilometers per hour.

David was trying to navigate unknown dirt roads.  We turned up one... it was the wrong one.  I turned the van around in a somewhat wide spot in the road, trying not to bury its wheels in the mud.

We found the right road, but it, too, was wet with deep puddles of mud.  The sides of the road were so mucky that we knew we would sink up to the hubcaps if we ventured off the road.

The road had become even more narrow.  We got out and walked about a hundred yards by flashlight to see where it might lead us.  It looked hopeless.  I held the flashlight while David turned the rig around.  I almost laughed outloud as I realized that we never would have done this in Alaska... there are too many apex predators there to even consider it.  But here in Tasmania, the Devils are the worst to attack me.  It was too cold for spiders and snakes.

We found a semi-flat spot next to the road and parked there for the night.  The morning brought freezing temperatures and bright sunshine.  We strolled the road and took photos of the hoarfrost.  It was stunning.... cold, but stunning.

Hoarfrost at Cradle Mountain

We head into Cradle Mountain now to learn more about its mysteries, particularly now that we have one solved and a promise kept.  To my great-nephew, Bense... this one's for you, my love.

Tasmanian Devil

Strahan and the Little Engine that Could

Many folks told us that Strahan was a "must see" in Tasmania.  This harbor town rests on the western edge of Tasmania's World Heritage Area and is home to the West Coast Wilderness Railway.  It is a lovely town, filled with rich history.

We found a well-equipped caravan park and strolled the nearby beach that evening.  Again, the rain followed us.

We decided to take the half-day train ride into the rainforest the following day.  It was wonderful to awake to sunny skies.  The train took us through dense rainforests while our guide told of the remarkable efforts it took to build the track from Strahan to the Queenstown copper mine.   Normally a steam engine pulled the cars, but both were in the shop for maintenance.  Instead, they hooked up the small, diesel switch engine to pull our three cars.

With the Tasmanian Tiger fresh on our minds, we were happy to see such a dense rainforest.  Many told us it was impenetrable in most parts.  This lower western section of Tasmania is the bulk of its World Heritage Area and takes up a fifth of the island's land mass.  Many of the most recent thylacine sightings had been in this area.  Surely this is a place where the Tasmanian Tiger could have survived... away from bounties... away from rumors... away from fears.

We had booked the four hour, return trip tour, which included three stops.  The train had a unique turn-around system.  Engineers drove the train onto a turntable that was precise enough that only two men were needed to push the train around until it faced the opposite direction.  Then they re-coupled the engine to the opposite end of the cars and headed back down the track.  Here's a short video of the process:

We took some photos of a collapsed bridge that had once supported the train and also a few shots of the Kings River along the edge of the rainforest.  The forest was so dense that often time the train scraped the edges of the foliage.  There was little opportunity for additional photos.

Kings River along West Coast Wilderness Railway

Train bridge collapse along West Coast Railway line

Once we arrived back at the station, we drove to the nearby Peoples Park to take the short hike to Hobart Falls.  It was a wonderful ending to a great day, stretching our legs after the long train ride.

Hobart Falls near Strahan

Tomorrow we leave for Cradle Mountain to see its notorious Tasmanian Devils... if only they cooperate.

Lake St. Claire and the Tasmanian Tiger

Photo of a photo of a Tasmanian Tiger

Lake St. Claire is part of a vast area known as Tasmania's World Heritage Area and part of the St. Claire-Cradle Mountain National Park.  Lake St. Claire is the deepest fresh water lake in Australia, measuring 547 feet deep and carved from glaciers thousands of years ago.  The Aboriginal people called the lake Leeaawuleena, meaning sleeping water.

The misty rain seemed to be following us.  We tried to take several hikes around the lake, but ended up cutting them short because of rain.  There was a small interpretive museum in the visitor's center, so we spent some time there, learning about the geology of the area.  We also learned about one of its more fascinating animals, the Tasmanian Tiger, also known as the thylacine or Thylacines cynocephalus:  Dog-headed, pouched dog.

The museum's large display explained that the Tasmanian Tiger was an animal unlike any other in the world and absolutely amazing.  Europeans thought it had the head of a wolf and the body of a tiger and named it the Tasmanian Tiger.  It was the largest carnivorous marsupial known.  The Tasmanian Tiger was a shy, reclusive, and mostly nocturnal animal.  Both male and female had a rear-facing pouch with females raising between one to four joeys at a time.  Adult thylacines weighed between 33 and 66 pounds.  Mostly scavengers of wallaby and kangaroo carrion, thylacines had the unique capability to open their jaws 120 degrees.

When Europeans arrived, they viewed Tasmanian Tigers as a serious threat to livestock.  It is reported that many of their claims were highly exaggerated.  Some stories actually said Tasmanian Tigers were vampire dogs and blood drinkers.  Although there were only 5,000 thylacines estimated to be in Tasmania, the government issued a bounty on these creatures.  Over 2,000 bounties were paid from 1888 to 1909, with an estimated 3,500 animals killed.

Their numbers were never great.   Under the bounty system, thylacine population plummeted.  The last bounty was paid in 1933.  In 1936, the last known thylacine, named Benjamin, died in captivity in the Hobart zoo.  Because his keeper failed to put the animal in his enclosure one cold night, Benjamin died of exposure.  He was considered the last of his species.

The worst part?  As bounties plummeted for lack of thylacines and knowing this animal was extremely unique, the government decided Tasmanian Tigers needed to be protected.  Benjamin died 56 days after that protection was granted.

The Lake St. Claire visitor's center museum, however, also listed many sightings of the Tasmanian Tiger since its extinction.  They asked, could the thylacine still exist?  Much of Tasmania's World Heritage Area is a dense, impenetrable  rainforest.  A small population may still survive there.  In fact, the thylacine has the most post-extinction sightings of any other animal on record.

We later spoke with a self-proclaimed "optimistic Saskwatch critic" from Tennessee, on sabbatical from his wanderings in the U.S. to visit his sister in Tasmania.  He claimed to have spoken with people who knew, for a fact, that thylacines still exists.  Because of concerns, however, that "the government will take their property and make it a thylacine reserve," they have not come forward.

My best hope is with a lady at a nearby visitor center.  She definitely thought the Tasmanian Tiger still exists.  She said, "But I hope they never find him.  He is too special to become a specimen again."  In my heart of hearts, I hope she's right.

Mt. Field National Park

Mt. Field National Park is Australia's first national park.  It is part of Tasmania's World Heritage Wilderness Area and home to rainforests, Russell Falls, and old growth swamp gum trees.  Although the weather was misty rain when we arrived, we were able to take a few of the shorter hikes in the area and spend the night among the many wallabies grazing in the campground.

The hike to Russell Falls meandered through a dense rainforest.  Russell Falls is considered by many to be one of the loveliest falls in Tasmania.  It is, indeed, beautiful.

Hike to Russell Falls, Mt Field National Park 

Russell Falls, Mt. Field National Park

We then drove up to the the Tall Trees Trek.  Here we walked among some of the tallest trees in Australia.  The trees are officially known as Eucalyptus regnans, a Latin derivative which means to rule or to reign.  These swamp gums have smooth, almost white bark at the top and "stockings" of thick, dark, fibrous bark on the bottom of their trunks.  In a high wind, strips of stocking bark will tear off the trunk, littering the tree's limbs, the ground, and highways with its long bark ribbons.

Swamp Gum, Eucalyptus regnans

Swamp Gum on Mt. Field Tall Tree Walk

Swamp gums are the tallest of all hardwoods and nearly as tall as America's redwoods, which are considered softwoods.  An interpretive sign stated the tallest swamp gum measures 98 meters (just over 321 feet) while the tallest redwood measured 111 meters tall (364 feet).

Hot showers in the morning warmed us up after a chilly night.  Wonderful!

Bruny was a Bust

Tasman Sea from Bruny Island

From Port Arthur, we headed toward Bruny Island.  Bruny is known for its white kangaroos and fairy penguin colony.    Ferries leave from the Tasmanian mainland every half hour and cost around $35 round trip.  The island is separated from the mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel.

We arrived to the island late in the afternoon and drove to its eastern end and the Tasman Sea.  By morning, a stiff breeze was blowing the tops off strong waves.

We traveled back to Adventure Bay, the only community on the island with gasoline (petrol).  The shopkeeper told us where we might find the white kangaroos.  After a breakfast of amazing crepes at the Penguin & Pardalote Coffee House, we went searching for kangaroos.  The time of day wasn't right, however, and the kangaroos remained hidden in their resting spots.

Bruny Island has a narrow neck along its middle, giving it an hour-glass shape.  Along the neck is a fairy penguin colony.  David and I walked the long boardwalk, checking for penguin burrows.  They were everywhere.  We tried walking along the beach on the backside of the "neck" and boardwalk, but the wind was blowing so hard that it felt we were being sandblasted.  We quickly returned to the camper van.

Photography is allowed along the penguin viewing area, as long as you don't use a flash.  We decided to try to take photos from the van in the parking lot, in hopes we could stay out of the dropping temperatures and fierce wind.

We found a free camp nearby and waited for dusk.  The sun was scheduled to set at 4:59.  Hopefully the penguins would arrive early enough to see them and to photograph without the flash.

We pulled into our parking spot around 3:30 that afternoon.  The wind continued to howl, rocking the van back and forth.  Clouds gathered, blocking the sun from view.

By sunset, the waves were crashing so hard we wondered if the penguins could even come to shore without being bludgeoned to death against the rocks.  Darkness settled around us, and still nary a penguin.  It finally became too dark to even see.

Disappointed, we drove back to the campground slowly to avoid wallabies and pademelons.  The storm hit shortly after we crawled into bed.  Rain pelted the van, and the wind rocked us.  It was hardly a soothing lullaby.  We wondered how the ferry ride might be when we left in the morning.

By the time we awoke, the storm had passed.  Only then did we notice a huge, dead limb hanging directly over the camper van's roof.  Thankfully, it hadn't fallen during the night or it would have skewered us both.

Although it wasn't a sunny day, it was certainly better than we expected.  The wind had died down, and the ferry ride was calm.  While Bruny had been a bust, we had high hopes for our next destination.  We set our sights on Tasmania's first national park, Mt. Field, an hour's drive northwest of Hobart.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur Penitentiary Remains

We have heard the phrase that Australia was built on the backs of convicts.  Until Port Arthur, we did not really understand what that meant.  David will post and comment on the Convict Trail that we have encountered thus far in Tasmania.  We do know that when Australia was a colony, Britain used its lands to transport those they didn't want on their own, particularly convicts guilty of heinous crimes, those who received up to ten years for theft (such as stealing a loaf of bread), and those not considered loyal to the crown (including Americans).  Those convicts sentenced to transportation (shipped away from England to Australia) then provided the hard labor and crafts to build infrastructure from buildings to roads or to work a myriad of tasks for local landowners.

Port Arthur was one of the largest penitentiary colonies in Tasmania.  During its ten years of existence, 146,000 men, 34,000 women, and 3,500 children (ranging from age eight and averaging age fourteen), came through this area.

While here in Port Arthur, we were reminded of man's inhumanity to man.  We learned that the British considered children as young as seven years of age responsible for their actions.  We did not find a great deal of information about the women prisoners... perhaps that was a good thing.

Our entrance fee to Port Arthur included a ferry ride across the bay.  From our vantage point on the ferry, we could see foundational bricks... all that remained of the children's encampment which housed those 3,500 children.  We also passed the Isle of the Dead, a small island with 1,100 people buried on it.  Most were prisoners, their graves making up the lower section of the island.  The center core had graves of those who worked to keep the prison going and their families, with the top-most section dedicated to those with status.

Our guide spoke of a woman buried on the island who died in childbirth with her second child.  With no one to nurse the surviving infant, the child was doomed to death until the leading officer's wife, a mother of twelve, took the child from her grieving soldier father and reared the baby until she was weaned.  The family still pays tribute to the mother's grave.

It is the individual stories that touch my heart.  I admit that I cannot grasp the whole of it.  We spent the night in a nearby holiday camp.  Perhaps to soothe my soul, we were surrounded by wildlife.  Most, if not all, had become accustomed to humans.  Dare I say they were moochers?  We discovered a nearby camp feeding no less that two dozen parrots.  The children screeched in delight as the birds landed on their arms, shoulders, and heads.

David opened a bag of chips, and a parrot promptly landed on his shoulder.  At one point, the parrot tried to shove his head into the bag.

Later a dozen pademelons (miniature wallabies) surrounded us.

We are asking our Aussie friends to tell us their feelings about the convict system before posting more about it, hoping for a clearer perspective and understanding.  It is, after all, their history.

Maria Island

Many folks told us that a "must see" was Maria Island (pronounced Ma-rye-ya) in Tasmania.  They promised wombats... healthy wombats... and wallabies.  I was smitten with the thought.

We arrived in Triabunna in the afternoon and found the ferry landing.  The weather was coarse... misty, with a heavy wind.  Uncertain whether the trip would be worthwhile, we re-provisioned and watched the clouds.

Maria Island is a 45-minute passenger ferry ride from Triabunna.  There are no facilities on the island... "not even a coffee shop," as one person told us.  If we were to go, we would need to spend a minimum of three hours on the island, exposed to whatever weather the day held before the next ferry.  The forecast did not look good.

When we awoke, misty rain surrounded us.  The clouds were low.  Weather forecasts indicated a 70% chance of rain for the morning, with a chance for a bit of clearing in the afternoon.  Temperatures would be no more than in the 50s.  Tomorrow had an even higher prediction of rain.  Should we chance it?

Ultimately, we decided to take the ferry and hoped for the best.  We packed our rain parkas and were not disappointed.  Within five minutes of our landing, we spied our first wombat, asleep in a dentation in the woods.  Pademelons (miniature wallabies, about 18" tall) watched over him.  I was excited.

Resting Wombat, Maria Island

Pademelons, Maria Island

Wombats and pademelons were everywhere on Maria Island, grazing on the great lawn of an old convict encampment (which David will post about later).  There were so many, in fact, that the area was completely littered in poop.  It was hard to even take a photo without little plops of poop in every corner.

Soon we also encountered another creature we had recently discovered... the Cape Barren Goose.

Maria Island Cape Barren Goose

My hip was feeling a bit better, so we took the reservoir hike and found more wallabies, kangaroos, and pademelons along the trek.  With all this wildlife, the misty rain hardly dampened our spirits.

Reservoir Trek, Maria Island 

When we stopped for a picnic lunch, we discovered a wombat momma and her baby.  Wombats are burrowing marsupials.  Their burrows are often more than 100 feet in length and have many entrances.  Wombat joeys are born about the size of a jelly bean.  They mature in their mother's rear-facing pouch for about five months before they venture out of the pouch and begin grazing on their own.

While waiting for the ferry to return, we stopped by the information center and watched a series of videos about the recent introduction of the Tasmanian Devil to Maria Island.  Tasmanian Devils are in danger of becoming extinct because of a rare, contagious cancer known as facial tumor disease that is spreading like wildfire among the Devils in Tasmania and decimating their populations in the process.  Because the Devils combat each other so frequently, they infect one another with the cancer through bites and scratches.

A group of disease-free Tassie Devils have been released on Maria Island.  It is a bold move, introducing a carnivore on this predator-free island, particularly with so many herbivore wombats, kangaroos, and wallabies.  However, many feel it is the only chance for survival for the Tassie Devils.  I am anxious to learn more about the Devils.

Before the ferry arrived, David and I wandered around the encampment, finding a wombat nestled in his burrow for the evening and a young wombat digging in the ground, eating grasses and roots.  Overall, it was an amazing day.

Wombat in his den on Maria Island

I think I can finally say that my wombat desires have been fulfilled!  To say the least, it was difficult to say goodbye to Maria Island.  While its weather had been unpredictable, its wildlife had exceeded all expectations.  What other amazing creatures does Tasmania have in store for us?

Leaving Maria Island