Tasmania .... devilishly fun

While Tasmanian Aboriginals had occupied the island for some 35,000 years, the first European to visit this island was Abel Tasman (a Dutch explorer ... are you reading this Hermen?) in 1642.  However, the first settlers did not arrive until 1803, a large number of convicts and their guards. One of the most notorious, and harshest, penal colonies was established in Port Arthur, not far from Hobart.  This prison housed the hardest criminals that Britain and Ireland could produce and, while this was conceived as a model prison, it had some of the harshest conditions existing anywhere on the earth. Surrounded by shark-infested waters, it was billed as being inescapable.  One enterprising convict covered himself in a kangaroo hide and tried to escape except he forgot to recon on half-starved guards who tried to shoot him for a meal. In fact, as late as 1996, during a prison riot, 35 convicts were massacred (the Port Arthur Massacre), the worst in Australian history. Because of European diseases, the Tasmanian Aboriginals were virtually wiped out.

Richmond bridge, built by early prisoners

 

Despite this early history of Tasmania, this is a fun place to visit.  If you are active, there are hundreds (literally) of hiking, biking, and walking trails of various difficulty not to mention kayaking, surfing and other water sports. On our first day here, we took a tour of Richmond, one of the earliest settlements in Tasmania, and visited a wildlife preserve.  The town itself dates back to the earliest convict settlements, including a bridge built by these early prisoners. At the wildlife preserve, we had a wonderful time playing with kangaroos, watching Tasmanian Devils being fed with actual carcasses and seeing them rip apart this food, crunching right through any bone as if it was butter.  We also got to see two Koala bears being handled and feeding on eucalyptus trees.  There were also a variety of other marsupial animals such as opossums, spotted quolls, and a couple of baby wombats.  There were also a variety of birds and reptiles.  What a great place to visit!

Tasmanian Devil (they really are quite cute)

Gail playing with kangaroos

Koalas at lunch time

Spotted Quoll

Any older devils looking for a new home?

John with a young "roo"

 

On the second day we each escorted a tour of “Hobart Highlights”.  This was a four hour bus tour of the town of Hobart and the surrounding area.  The highlight was taking a winding and twisting road up Mount Wellington to the top where the wind was so strong it would literally knock you to your knees if you were not careful.  On the other hand, the view of the valley and city below was spectacular.  On the way back down, we visited the local botanical gardens and another outlook featuring a view of the bridge and our ship.

View of Hobart from the top of Mount Wellington

Flat Stanleys waving "goodbye" to Tasmania

After our tour, we wandered off to see the town on foot.  We had a birthday lunch for John at Muses, a wonderful seafood restaurant with some of the best fresh fish we’ve ever had.  We also had some Tasmanian Cascade beer from Australia’s oldest brewery (established in 1834).  The beer was wonderfully refreshing, by the way. We returned to the ship in time to leave for Sydney, where we will arrive in 48 hours.

Birthday beer for John

Adelaide ... the Prettiest Town the Ozzies Ever Made

Sunset over Melbourne

We flew out of Auckland, where the temperature was 20 C, and landed in Melbourne where it was 41 C.  What a difference!   Melbourne, a city of some 4 million, is the business capital of Australia. Once on the ship for our third cruise, the trip to Adelaide was interesting, with 20 to 30 knot winds and 5 to 8 metre swells.  It was a lot of fun walking on the deck, especially for women wearing high heels.  It also made for an interesting art class with the ship moving up and down several metres at a time.  Fortunately, there are very good seasick pills available on board.

Melbourne Skyline at Night

Adelaide, in South Australia, possesses a mild climate like that of the Mediterranean, therefore attracting many admirers to this city. One of the more famous travelers to visit and stay for a while was Mark Twain who described this city this as: “if the rest of Australia were half as beautiful it was a fortunate country”.  Adelaide, named after King William IV’s wife, was first settled in 1836.

The early settlers of South Australia were comparable to America’s Puritans.  These rugged individualists built towns that were carved out by free settlers, not convicts, in order to create a “sober and moral society” allowing them to develop a civil code of laws and an efficient civilized city.  However, having visited a few local bars and watched as nearly everyone here bets on every sport imaginable, I’m not sure that these early settlers had achieved their goal. 

Oldest of many churches in Adelaide

Adelaide from Mount Lofty

Farm market Exchange

 

On our first day, where the temperature was 42 C (106 F for those who care) Gail escorted a tour of several museums and art galleries featuring Aboriginal art.  This was somewhat a déjà vu experience since Gail`s art class the day before featured the influence of Aboriginal art.  From seeing a variety of local art, it turns out her Aboriginal art lesson was pretty much `right on`.  We had a class of 35 students so it was a little crowded.  On the second day in Adelaide, Gail and John both escorted 4 hour tours featuring a panoramic overview of the city, from the stores, churches and museums downtown to the large number of parks, to the Mt. Lofty overlook, finally to the white sand beaches of the community. We had a chance to see everything that Adelaide has to offer, on a much cooler day (36 C). 

Adelaide Beach and Pier

 

Late this afternoon we will head off to Hobart Tasmania and have been told to expect seas much the same as the ones we experienced on our voyage here.  With the ship rocking somewhat, at least we sleep well.  

Wellington

Wellington, the home of Peter Jackson, his movie studios and the Lord of the Rings franchise, is also the capital of New Zealand. Wellington, a city of some 350,000 inhabitants, is situated in a very hilly region surrounding a sheltered bay.  An earthquake in 1855 raised the land level of the bay allowing reclamation of flat land and allowing the town to grow.  Many of the homes are perched on the side of hills, not unlike the homes of North Vancouver.

 

We took a guided tour of the city by motor coach.  Since this was New Year ’s Day, most of the stores were closed. However, the museums and botanical gardens were open.  The bus took us to the top of Mt. Victoria where, after climbing 77 steep steps, we had the opportunity to view the city from above.  We had a wonderful view, but also got blasted by the high winds off the ocean. We then visited the Wellington Botanical Gardens and their vast collection of amazing flowers.  The tour continued on to a brief visit to old St. Paul’s Cathedral, a large wooden church built in 1863 that has withstood several earthquakes. Next was a stop at the Parliament buildings, referred to by locals as the “beehive”, and finally, we got to spend an hour at the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa  ... named after John) which is a museum of art, history, Maori culture and the natural environment. This museum has an excellent Maori and Pacific Islands collection of exhibits as well as a large collection of interactive natural history materials for the younger generation. After 4 hours, we were returned to our ship to rest, relax and eat once again.

Overlooking Wellington

They call it the windy city for a reason

Parliament Buildings

John with the Hobbit Trolls in the museum

Beautifully carved Maori meeting house

This is how the Polynesians got to New Zealand