Tasmania on a lucky cancellation.
Now a 12-hour sailing trip awaits us from Geelong by Melbourne to Tasmania.
With the help of good friends, we managed to get a discounted ticket for the otherwise sold-out ferry.
A big step closer to being able to visit all 7 states of Australia.
We are on the night ferry and arrive in Tasmania at 6 in the morning, where Irene and Graham have gotten up early and meet us at the ferry. They have offered to let us stay for a few days in their annex, which we happily accept. It will be really nice to sleep in a good, soft bed, rather than the hard mattress in the car.
The first thing we notice is the hilly terrain. There are hills, mountains and winding roads everywhere - and not least incredibly lush. Irene and Graham live at the top of a hill, at the end of a steep driveway. Here there are fields with sheep, lemon trees, flowers and palm trees in the garden and, not least, wallabies on the slope in the evening. It must be close to paradise then.
After a REALLY good night's sleep, we head to Cradle Mountain. Here is a nice walking route.
At the start of the route, we suddenly see a black snake, barely a meter from the path. It is not aggressive and just sneaks into the undergrowth. But it gives us a little jolt when we see them.
At the sweeter end of the scale, we managed to see 2 wombats, but they were busy foraging in the tall grass and bushes. So there were no pictures.
On the way back, we pass a park with a lake, where it should be possible to spot platypus. They are high on the wish list of animals we would like to find in Australia. We arm ourselves with patience and walk around the lake crossing our fingers for a win.
Every start is hard. We don't really know what to look for. There is also only 3 quarters until they close the barrier to the park, so we have to hurry a bit. Eventually, though, Johnny spots one. Cheers.
They are quite low in the water, so it is difficult to get the right picture. But he managed to get a single one. We quickly decide to come back, so the whole next day is spent out here by the lake and the platypuses are very active. So now you can just take lots of pictures.
If we are lucky, we might find more animals up at the edge of the forest. But when we get up there, the first thing we see is a huge red bellied black snake. It should probably be 1.2 meters. It chugs along very peacefully, but our desire to go out into the withered leaves slowly evaporates – in the direction of the snake.
Irene asks if we want to see little penguins? Penguins... Yes, thank you. We are ready. On a beach not too far from where they live, the penguins come in from the sea in the evening. Here we can stand and watch them come ashore after dark.
In order not to disturb them, only the local volunteer guides are allowed to illuminate them with a cautious red light. The camera comes up with a bit of a task, having to focus in the dark and shoot black and white images at 25,000 ISO. Unbelievable what an old D800 can actually perform.
After a few good days with Irene and Graham, we are now ready to get out and experience Tasmania on our own.
