Hobart, Tasmania - Complete with Devils! -Oct26

Hobart, Tasmania -  Friday Oct 26

When we booked the cruise on Oosterdam, we knew the likelihood we'd ever be "down under" again was very low. So we looked at the shore excursions with an eye toward experiencing as much as possible.

Our observation was that the shore excursions offered by the ship were a) very expensive, and b) limited to just one area of interest.

So Bob got on Tripadvisor.com to see what was available. In each port, he chose a vendor that would provide us with a combination of sights and experiences.

In Hobart, we met Hania at the docks.

Hania is an energetic young woman who is a licensed small boat Master. She and her boyfriend (also a licensed Master) enjoy taking jobs in various places in the world, captaining craft up to 50 meters (about 165 feet).

Our first stop was Mount Wellington - or as it is known in Hobart as "the mountain."

The weather was not with us however and our view of the harbor was sketchy at best. Hania anticipated the wind and cold weather we would encounter at the summit and offered arctic jackets for all. You'll see Peggy wearing hers in later photos.

Our next stop was the Bonorong Wildlife Park.

Here you see the arctic weight jacket Peggy wore all day (Hobart is pretty far south and hence pretty cold)

The Bonorong Park is a private operation and most of the animals are rescued and brought to them.

They had a number of exotic birds

Some, like this cockatoo flew wild

Others were in an aviary

We were told this peacock was drying out from a steady rain the previous day

When we touched this lizard, we discovered the skin was very dry

Bill & Peggy "shooting it up"

Wallabies, which we had seen in Kuranda, are like min-kangaroos

Spotted animals - their name escapes me!

Some of the nocturnal animals were tucked away sleeping

But, of course, one of the reasons we came to Tasmania, was to see the Tasmanian Devil! They are the largest carnivorous marsupial and look a lot fiercer than they are - Hania assured us! Since there is no fence and you can put you hand over the fence, we believed it!

They spent most of the time just loping around the compound.

He may look like he is growling - it's actually a yawn!

Another animal whose name has escaped our memory banks - any corrections would be welcome!

And of course, they have koalas in Tasmania

While there were none to be held by the public, the ranger held one that could be petted - only on the back, anything else might be perceived by the animal as a threat

When we saw the emus, we thought of a funny incident when our son was sent on a call "See the man about an emu in the yard."

The hit for the group was the kangaroo pens.

You could wander the pen and walk right up to a roo - and even feed it from your hand!

The kangaroos are marsupial and Hania told us they will carry their "joey" until he is 12 months old and way to big for mom to be toting him around!

We were told that the kangaroos really like to have their chest scritched. This one practically collapsed onto Bob as he applied a moderate scritching.

A classic photo of a brown kangaroo and her joey!

Bill and Peggy (still in her arctic jacket - it was a damp cold)

Our next stop was at Wicked Cheese.

Their cheese was so good, we elected to buy cheese, crackers, and a bottle of wine to have for lunch.

Hania & Theresa in the cheese shop

Hania tool us to Richmond, a small village with several cute looking shops. We drove through town to the oldest bridge in Australia for a picnic.  Hania magically produced a picnic basket from the back of the vehicle, complete with wine glasses and table cloth!

Our final stop was at the Cascade Brewery.

We didn't tour the brewery. Instead, we accompanied Louisa Reagan on her walk.

This talented actress and actor recreated the poignant story of Louisa Reagan.

As we walked through the beautiful gardens of the brewery, we stopped every 150 feet or so and watched another chapter unfold.

While the female actor consistently portrayed Louisa, her male counterpart shifted roles from constable, to judge, to sea captain, to prison guard, to physician as the part of the story demanded.

Louisa, an immigrant from Ireland, had lost her husband and was accused of stealing a loaf of bread

She was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in the women's prison in VanDieman's Island, as Tasmania was known then.

She was not allowed to take along her sons, the oldest 14, since the oldest was capable of caring for the younger ones.

After months on a prison holding barge (her sentence began when she arrived at VanDieman's Island), she was loaded on a prison ship.

Once in VanDieman;s Island, she was housed in the Women's Factory, the ruins of which still exist.

Lousia Reagan (not her real name) survived, completed her sentence, was married and raised a second family in VanDieman's Island.

A simple set of plaques commemorate the hardship endured by these women.

The ruins of some of the solitary confinement cells

Through all of this, Hania held our umbrellas (which she produced magically from the back of her vehicle!) and kept us aware of the time - we did not want to miss the ship and told her we'd like to be back at least 1/2 hour early!

We walked back along the same path we had spent over an hour on and somehow it didn't seem the same! Without question, Louis'a Walk was the high spot of the day for most of us!

As Oosterdam pulled out of Hobart (the city is at the far south of Tasmania and the harbor faces south into the Arctic Sea - it's a short trip to Antarctica from here!) we enjoyed the fabulous view from our dining room table!

The desert that night was "watermelon pie" which was crafted our of raspberry and lime sherbet with chocolate "seeds" - as tasty as it was fun!

 Next: Two days at sea enroute to New Zealand!