Tasmania - Lake St. Claire

After 5 great days up at Cradle Mountain we drove around to the south side of the National Park on the 17th. The weather decided to turn cold & a little rainy, but it wasn't bad enough to keep us indoors - the cool temperatures actually made for more comfortable hiking.

As you can see from the photos the hikes continue to be spectacular - lots of meandering paths through the Eucalyptus forests and button grass moors. They really are bush tracks too, for the most part, although many stretches are on elevated boardwalks to keep your feet dry during the worst of the wet conditions. Saw this little Pademelon on a walk thru Mt. Field National Park where we spent a couple of days - just a one hour drive from our cabin in Bronte Park near Lake St. Claire.

This is Lady Barron Falls at the end of a particularly pretty hike in Mt. Field NP

Low clouds behind me a a little brisk this day from the wind, but no rain thank goodness. There's a lake just to the right of the photo that has Platypus in it. Didn't see any when we stopped for lunch though.

There's a story connected with the photo above. Seems that the warm days of Autumn (remember that seasons here are reversed) are when male Tiger Snakes go looking for females with the object of making baby Tiger Snakes for the following Spring. Thing is: Tiger Snakes are among the most poisonous in the world and are especially active this time of year. Notice that the sign doesn't say that they'll "strike" if cornered or accidentally stepped on, but rather that they'll "attack". That's the thing about these little coils of malice: if you make one mad he'll actually come after you, and this time of year about all it takes to aggravate one is a harsh look. Combine that with the fact that they like to sun themselves in open areas (ie, the trail) and that after a shower they look exactly like tree roots and you have the makings of an especially paranoid walk thru the forest. Fortunately the cold weather we were having kept them in their little burroughs and the paths were clear. Like most Aussie snakes they feed on small marsupials about the size of house mice, lizards, etc., yet for some reason have evolved to carry enough venom to drop a horse (or a hiker). No one seems to know why the snakes here are so extravagantly venomous, but it's sobering to know that of the 20 deadliest snakes on earth all but one are present in Australia - makes you want to hike on tiptoe sometimes.

The lady who runs the little general store in Bronte Park collects and cares for orphan wildlife - those that are pulled from a dead mother's pouch if one is hit by a passing car. She had a couple of Wombat joeys with her in the store one day and let Rita cuddle the older of the two...about 8 months old as I recall. The smaller baby below is only about 3 months old. Says she feeds them baby formula until they're about two years old, then just turns them loose behind her ranch in the foothills when they're ready to go it on their own.

Just finishing up our two weeks here in the Central Highlands and will be heading for Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula today - by way of Hobart, the capital of the State of Tasmania, and the place I first visited 35 years ago when I was on the Enterprise. The ship pulled in here for a one week port call and everyone immediately fell in love with the place and the people. It was particularly heartwarming to see the welcome our young sailors received from the locals. This was 1976 - just after the Vietnam War ended - and so wasn't an especially great time to be in the service. The hospitality shown to our young guys (average age on the flight deck was 19) was truly memorable. It was common for young guys in uniform (the young enlisteds didn't have civilian clothes) to be literally snatched off the street by local families who took them home for dinner and a family home evening. I hooked up with several guys from my squadron and rented a car - intent to put the ship in our rear-view mirror as quickly as possible for a few days R&R. We drove up to Lake St. Claire...same place Rita & I just left. On the way we stopped for gas (petrol) in the little town of New Norfolk. Turned out that it was the day of a major Ausie sporting event - the Melbourne Cup horse race - and we pulled up to the pump about 5 minutes before the race started. The local bloke who came out to meet us explained the situation and invited us into his home next door to watch the race with him and his wife - even served us all a cup of tea - so our quick pit-stop for gas in rural Tasmania turned into an hour delay while we watched the race with a nice local couple. Lots of stories like that.

They really are passionate about sports here, and that calls to mind a story that illustrates the point: seems that a man was visiting Melbourne on the day of the "Grand Final" - their version of the Super Bowl, when the two top clubs in Aussie rules football meet for the championship. Seats are sold out years in advance, but this guy managed to get one somehow and headed out to the stadium for the game. Noticing that the seat next to him was empty as the game was about to begin he inquiredf of the man seated next to him if he knew why the seat between them was empty. "oh yes" responded the man, "It's my wife's you see. We've had these seats for years, and in fact never missed a Final in over 40 years of marriage. She died recently, unfortunately". "Oh, I'm very sorry" responded the man, "but why didn't you offer the seat to a friend or relative?" "Oh, I tried" replied the old man, "but they're all at the funeral".

Next stop Port Arthur.