Don't Pay the Ferryman

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  Launceston, Australia
Saturday, October 13, 2007

Although the option to take a ferry to Tasmania exists, I chose to fly.  Same price, two hour flight.  The ferry takes all night and because it is dark, the scenery is limited.  I arrived to a lovely home.  A couple I had met weeks ago on Fraser Island invited me to stay with them if I visited Tas.  I'm so lucky to have met them and spent two nights in their home in Hobart.  Peter teaches at the local college and is acting vice-principal this year.  Liz has a passion for Italian and is currently taking a class at the Uni.  Their son Robert was charming and busy with homework and sports.  I can't tell you how special it was to sleep in a real bed in a private room.  Their whole house was beautifully decorated with a well kept garden outside.  It was painful to go back to the hostel, but on Wednesday I began another 3 day tour.
  We began in Hobart and hiked through Tasman National Park taking in gorgeous view of Maingon Bay and Remarkable Cave.  The afternoon was spent at the Port Arthur penal colony.  This was a place that was intended to reform convicts who were repeat offenders of crimes such as theft of clothing or food.  The tried to reform them with hard work and religion.  Convicts were punished with public floggings and when they realized that wasn't working they thought isolation would be the next logical strategy.  Needless to say, the reform of convicts failed, but it has beautiful gardens and view of the bay...what's a prison to be used for in the end? 
   The next day we went to see Tasman Arch and climb a mountain path in Freycinet Park over a mountain range called the Hazzards.  We climbed up to the lookout of Wineglass Bay, saw the spectacular beach and had to continue on.  We climbed down to the beach, enjoyed it briefly and then had to begin the grueling hike back to the bus.  Worth the uphill climb in the end.  Our gift was running into two female wallabies on the way home, both with joeys in their pouches.  They were unafraid and came up and licked the salt off my hand.  We arrived in Bicheno that night and feasted on seafood baskets and chips and enjoyed the company of locals at the pub.  After sunset, I headed out to what I expected would be an unpleasant experience, but turned into the highlight.  They have set up a way to walk with the little penguins as they come up on shore to burrow for the night.  They actually walk right over your feet if you are in the way.  They aren't afraid and their population has quadrupled since this program started because of the money that has been raised to protect them and their habitat.
     The final day of the tour was filled with odd moments.  We headed out early to see a blowhole.  Took a photo.  Then went to a lookout to stare at the pub.  Took a photo.  Stopped at the Bay of Fires and had a snooze in the sand dunes for quite a while.  The sun was strong, but so was the wind.  Took a photo.  On to some waterfalls and lunch...photo.  Then it go weird.  Stopped at a place called "Pub in the Paddock"  where you can buy special 'beer' at the bar and then serve it to the giant hogs on the side.  The hogs are thrilled as are the tourists...I had a beer, a real one, and took a photo.  The road to Launceston, Tasmanias second largest town, was beautiful and long.  A 50 km distance could easily take one hour to drive as you wound your way around beautiful hills and up and down into the valley.  They grow grapes here and have the loveliest Pinot Noir...a shame, I don't think you can get Tassie Pinot Noir in Canada.
  I leave Launceston tomorrow for Melbourne.  Today I replenish my vitamins with great food at a  vegetarian restaurant called Fresh, drink some pinot noir and sleep.  There is a gorge which I hear is worth the trip, but my forty year old ankles are screaming for a break.  Truthfully, they are unusually sore and I'm concerned that my hiking shoes are not cutting it like boots would on the terrain I'm climbing.  I will rest them and hope for the best.  
  I hear it has become cold in Canada.  Not to worry I saw some snow in Hobart that I'm aranging to send to you soon.  Dress warmly! 

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