With Steve still in “sick bay,” I took a day trip up into the mountains that make up much of the Island. Our tour guide took about 30 of us out of Hobart, the fairly cosmopolitan capital of Tasmania up into the incredibly beautiful mountains. We passed through the outer suburbs of picture box Victorian style homes and then on to mid-20th century style architecture in developments that must have grown up as the city became more popular as a home for people who enjoyed the outdoors life and for retirees from other parts of Australia.

Our first stop of the day was at The Salmon Ponds Heritage Hatchery and Gardens which calls itself oldest fish hatchery in the Southern Hemisphere.

This little piece of heaven in Plenty, overlooking the Derwent Valley. The ponds where the fish are fed and grow are layed out among formal gardens and are surrounded by mountains and ancient trees, many brought from Europe as well as native species. It is a beautiful place, the peace only broken by the fish when they surface to eat the pellets the tourists can purchase to feed them and the raucous calls of the birds overhead. Below, two more photos of the natural beauty of this place.

From here we returned to our bus and set off to visit the breathtaking Tasmanian rainforest that I mentioned to some of you in an earlier Facebook post. I will post those pictures below. The trees, the huge ferns, the canopy, the cycle of life of living and dead trees, the streams, and brooks. It was overwhelming, affirming, stunning and simply amazing to see. I have had a tiny taste of this in the Greenway that has been created in Naples, Florida, but it cannot compare to what I witnessed here on such a grand scale.

The second picture above shows you how tall these trees become. The first shows you some of the many varieties lf ferns growing alongside the trees.

Just one more picture below of a resident of this part of the rain forest, a padymelon, sort of a short, compact kangaroo.

Leaving our little friend behind, we stopped at the entrance to Mount Fields National Parks for a lunch break and then headed on a pleasant well-maintained path toward Russell Falls, one of the many waterfalls that can be found on the Island of Tasmania. Again, you can get a hint of the biodiversity found in the rainforest. It was like being in another world, not just another continent.

Here are some pictures of the falls.

Seeing the falls and a lovely walk back through the forest path was a lovely way to end the day.

I have a few more photos of Hobart that I took on the last full day we had there. By, the way Steve is doing much better. I thought I would share these photos here and summarize my thoughts on Hobart and “Tassie.”

This first fellow is a piece of public art in Elizabeth Mall a partially covered outdoor mall on a pedestrializes=th part of Elizableth Street, where our flat is located. Platypus is one of the stores in the mall, one of Australia and Tasmania’s iconic and beloved creatures, as well

The Old Post Office and the State Parliament of Tasmania. Across the street from each of these are new buildings. Everywhere in Hobart there is a sense of the future meeting the past and, like all of the places I have been so far, trying to make peace with the past while moving forward.

Finally, a wooden tall ship tied up next to part of the very modern Hobart Harbor complex on the left and a figurehead from a ship on display in Hobart’s Maritime Museum, a lovely, quirky local museum that is perfect for children and for folks who love the lore of the sea. I can bet that many class trips are taken to this charming place every year.

As we end our time in Tasmania, I am sad to leave. The people are as kind and friendly as all the Australians I have met so far. There must be something in this Southern Hemisphere air. Perhaps it being so far away from all the problems we make up north. Hobart is just such a nice place. It is the kind of place one hopes against hope he will return to, when he knows the chances are slim. I will urge anybody who reads this blog, though. If you make the commitment to come to “Oz” do not miss this spectacular island. Too many people do. And while I’m at it, if you’re visiting anywhere in the Carribean, do not miss America’s paradise of Puerto Rico either, just sayin’! Now it’s off to the really big city of Melbourne!

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