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!

With 247,000 people, Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania is a bustling port city in the southeast part of the Island of Tasmania.

When the sun came up this morning, with Steve still sidelined with a nasty virus that won’t let go, I was left to my own devises. So, I went off in search of breakfast and a day of solo exploring of our host city for the next several days. After several false leads by my ‘frenemy’ Google-Search, I happened upon an Italian restaurant called “Tesoro.” What a great find! I had the most delicious meal, with great customer service and great coffee, as well. I knew then that I would have a good day. From there I headed toward the harbor for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

The Museum and Art Gallery occupy an entire block, including the 1810 Commissariat Store which houses a touching historical exhibit on the arrival of the first Europeans and how they were viewed by the Aboriginal people whose ancestors had lived in peace and harmony on the island for thousands of years. While they were prolific builders of bark canoes, they saw the Dutch ships as floating islands with tall trees on them that seemed to be coming nearer to them. The later violent history of the treatment of the natural owners of the Island is well known. The story of both sides is told with compassion and truth.

Homes of the Aboriginal peoples, pre-European arrival; and beautiful shell necklaces crafted by the Aboriginal artisans.

Tools used by the Aboriginals that met their needs. And this beautiful diptych painting titled “Stolen Journey.” It was a difficult, but worthwhile visit to this lovely museum.

My next stop was just across the street to Hobart’s deep-water harbor.

Mountains in the distance, plenty of room for pleasure boats and cruise ships. There are luxury flats and restaurants and shops, as well as historic sculptures like this one titled “Heading South” to honor Hobart’s connection with fishing the southern seas and the exploration of Antarctica.

My last two stops of the day, as you might guess were…wait for it…cathedrals. My first stop, taking longer than it should have to reach, thanks again, Google, was Saint David’s Anglican Cathedral. Its cornerstone was placed in 1892. It sits on a bustling corner of the city, open for the public to come in to pray or just to admire its beauty. I did a bit of both. I was alone in this lovely building and enjoyed the quiet of the day and the chance to think about how blessed I am to be on this incredible journey at this point in my life.

Since I had been to one side, I figured that I really ought to make the 15-minute walk over to the other side, just in case dad and my godmother Aunt Mary were watching from way upstairs.

As, you can see, Saint Mary’s Cathedral looked very nice from outside, well-tended, with a good Aussie Garden outside. So, I strode proudly up to those beautiful brown doors, and they were locked tight. Not one to give up that easily at the house of our Lord, I went around to the to the side where I found an open door. This took me into a vestibule with glass doors leading to the church. I took hold of the handle and found that it was locked. I guess the church must have had some theft issues or something but at least I was able to get a few pictures through the glass panels in the doors as I sang a farcical version of the refrain from a hymn, we used to sing at a church I spent many years attending before its clergy decided we were too far on the progressive end of the spectrum of Catholicism for them. The hymn “All are Welcome Here” was jokingly changed to “You’re Not Welcome Here” to keep us laughing during our darker moments when we didn’t quite know where our spiritual journey would take us next. But I digress. Here are the pictures I was able to take.

The stained-glass windows look nice. I like the reflection of the Madonna and Child in the second one, you will see where it comes from in the next ones Sorry you can’t see the altar better.

There they are in this lovely little window above the locked doors I first tried. Through another glass window to the side, is the baptismal font. Again, kudos to the bishop for having it at the back of the church (as I noted in an earlier blog about Sydney) so that the newly baptized is welcomed into the community, as the process now calls for. Finally, I did get a picture of this statue on the lawn, another rendering of the Madonna and Child, different and rather touching.

So ended my first day in Hobart. Hope you found it interesting.

Our last day in Australia’s capital was a cool and cloudy one. Steve’s cold was not improving but he was game for going on the late morning boat excursion around Canberra’s artificial lake, Lake Burley Griffin. The one-hour cruise was on an electric powered boat skippered by a tall lean gentleman of indeterminate years with a wry sense of humor and an incredibly detailed knowledge of Canberra’s history and that of Austalia.

As we circled the lake, he had a story about every building, every object, every politician and citizen who had played a role in making that object or piece of land important to the city’s history. The greyness of the day made it difficult to take memorable pictures, but I will share the one below if the Carillion.

To those, like me, who spent much of their lives in the environs of Washington, DC, the word ‘Carillion’ probably brings to mind the Netherlands Carillion in the Roslyn section of Arlington, Virginia. I first saw it on a visit to the nation’s capital with my parents as a boy and loved the music its bells produced. The Canberra Carillion has fallen on troubled times. Two new bells were added to it and these seemed to have somehow thrown off its musical balance. Then during Covid, one of its elderly players lost her life to the virus. There were only two expert players in the area. Now a talented young musician has been found but his studies do not allow him to be available. Sadly, very few young musicians have the skill to make these complicated instruments ‘sing.’

Today we bade farewell to our luxury digs in Canberra and headed for its clean, modern airport for our flight to Tasmania. But I must not leave Canberra without expressing a few thoughts on this very unusual capital city. I often thought of Columbia, Maryland when I walked around Canberra’s broad and leafy streets. The quiet was almost eerie when compared with the hustle and bustle of Washington, Paris, or London. But I was also dismayed when I thought of how well a new city can be planned and constructed when I compared it to the unfortunate results of the “edge cities” that grew up around Washington, DC during the time I called that remarkable region my home. One needs only look at Crystal City, Pentagon City, Tysons Corner. in Virginia. Even consider the “redevelopment” of Bethesda, Maryland, and the traffic mess of its northern neighbors. How did they get things so wrong? Sure, Canberra may seem quiet and perhaps, a bit sterile compared to some other capitals, but it’s new capitol has only been open for 35 years. Give it time, I tell myself. Its people are filled with Australian charm and good-will and I suspect that it will continue to grow and become a bigger and better city as time goes by.

And now, on to new adventures. We were surprised by the smaller scale of Hobart’s airport, upon our arrival. It reminded me of regional airports in the US in days gone by. The drive from the airport though had WOW around every corner. The countryside of Tasmania is breathtaking, and I hope I get to enjoy some of it during our time here. Our digs here are, to say the least, interesting. We share an entrance with the Chinese restaurant two floors down but have our own hallway (shared with the other flats) and a modern looking, if not sounding, elevator. The neighborhood is ‘interesting.’ But I am going to give it a chance. More to come, I hope.

We started Saturday with a pleasant walk across the street and through a lovely park. We were surprised to see the imposing marble stairs leading to the stunning Australian Parliament building. So, we were, in a sense, relieved to see a sign pointing to the right stating “public entrance .6 km.” As the temperature was nowhere near the 159 degrees it reached that afternoon (slight exaggeration), we were happy to make the walk that let us appreciate the building’s architecture and landscaping.

I hope you can get an idea from the picture of the beauty and proportions of this lovely building. It was built to replace the Old Parliament House that stands across Capital Hill Circle from it and was used from 1927 until this building was opened on May 9, 1988, by Queen Elizabeth II who was also Queen of Australia and its Head of State. It’s Italian American designers and architects from Mitchell,/Giurgola & Thorpe in New York designed it to tit on the southern apex of the Parliamentary Triangle atop Capital Hill, at the meeting point of Commonwealth, Adelaide, Canberra, and Kings Avenues, enclosed by State Circle. I should note that, being the complete political geek that I am, simply walking into the House of Commons Chamber in this building gave me goose bumps. I simply loved the “feel” of the place.

The House of Commons. We can see many elements taken from the British House, including a lighter green color for the benches, the Speaker’s chair, the arrangement of the majority, opposition and other parties and independents. Note the three flags, representing Australia, the Aboriginal people of the mainland and the Island people who are distinct from the Aboriginals.

The Senate Chambers (the Upper House). Again, much taken from the traditions of the House of Lords. You will note the chair below the stylized Coat of Arms is for the Sovereign and to the Sovereign’s left, their spouse. Normally, the Governor General would represent the Sovereign if the Sovereign were not present.

The first picture is a view toward the mountains and Old Parliament House from the roof of Parliament House. The second is the flag I showed in an earlier blog, this time from the roof. Finally, for my friends Steve and Sally in Alexandria and their son Wolfman Dan and his wonderful partner Kristen, a Lego model of Parliament House. Dan was a champion Lego builder in his youth.

As the day heated up, Steve and I headed across the elegant expanse of land between the Parliament House and it’s predecessor and found that we had missed out on a protest of some kind earlier in the morning.

We had not planned to take another tour of another House of Parliament, but rather a quick view of the old building that we understood to be some kind of museum. But upon entering we were greeted by a staff member who asked us if we would like to join a tour that had just started and before we knew it, we were in the former office of the Prime Minister.

The Commons and Senate Chambers in Old Parliament House. (The Senate Chambers had been damaged in a fire and were closed so th picture was taken from their website.)

It was an interesting tour. The building was large, but the offices were small and had an old feel to them. They were decorated in period style for various eras that the building had been in use. One interesting historical film shown was footage that the Prime Minister during World War II, Robert Menzies, took during a visit to the UK. It showed the UK, during the Blitz and it was in color.

The temperature had not quite reached egg frying on the sidewalk stage when we agreed to walk from the Old Parliament House to the National Gallery of Australia.

There was plenty of Aboriginal art to be seen in the gallery. I will highlight a few of my favorites and show some others.

Above are five pieces of Aboriginal art from the NGA collection. I find each of them beautiful and exciting in that they tell a story easily understood by some but needing interpretation by those who do not understand their tradition and culture.

Tim Johnson, born Gadigal Nura, calls this work “Western Desert.” In size, scope, and color, it reminds me, a bit of Jackson Pollock’s ‘Summertime.’

At the end of the day, as the gallery was closing, we had to decide whether to make the half hour walk home or call a taxi or Uber. For Steve, being fitter and 3 years younger, walking is always the preference if I don’t suggest otherwise and so began “March or Die.” Neither of us realized just how hot it was or how humid. This was very possibly the most miserable 30 minutes of my trip, I joked that I thought Steve had decided to kill me. But we made it home and after a bit of cooling off, I am here to tell the tale that I am just a big wuss.

After the death march, though, we opted for a quieter Sunday (remember we are a day ahead of you folks, so it was not “Super Sunday” for us. We started with a late morning trip to the Old Bus Depot Market, very reminscent of many of the London markets I love to visit.

As we walked in the door, we spotted a particularly friendly vendor whose wares caught our attention. The result was the purchase seen below.

Our next stop was the neighborhood of the Australian National University where we had a nice lunch. We then walked over to the campus to find it devoid of human life since classes were not in session!

I did notice this interesting piece of sculpture out front.

In keeping with our “make it an easy day” theme, we Ubered to a huge shopping mall, Canberra Center that seemed to sell everything imaginable and even included two supermarkets. It was air conditioned and full of shoppers. I have to admit we had a pleasant hour or so walking the mall and window shopping. We stopped for a coffee in a very airy second level shop and enjoyed the people watching before returning home in the late afternoon, recharged and looking forward to our last full day in Canberra.