Day 24:
After reading the guide book about Tasmania, Jill and I decided not to drive ourselves around and instead opted for a guided tour. In many cases the roads aren’t paved still and the wildlife is very prevalent so it can be dangerous for tourists.
The morning started badly as the day was cold, rainy, and the driver of our tour couldn’t find our hotel. Eventually we sorted this and headed off in the bus.
The bus itself was a bit of a surprise of us. In fact, Jill nearly refused to get on board. I think we were both expecting a full-size coach and ended up with an 18 person mini-bus instead. We’d stumbled into something best described as a hostel on wheels. Everyone had backpacks, there were guitars and surfboards in the luggage, and the group had a very bohemian feel.
Our foray stop was a beach called Bay of Fires. The weather was improving at this point and we got a chance to climb all over the bright red rocks.
The next stop for the day was a wildlife sanctuary that focused on Tassie Devils (the Aussies are prone to truncating words with -ie; tinnie, barbie, Aussie, etc). I personally didn’t have high hopes for the place, but it was quite enjoyable. We got to witness the feedings of a bunch of different animals while we were there.
The first animal (which is now my favorite marsupial) was the wombat. It’s basically a furry tank that has a bad attitude. They’re so strong and their hide is so tough that I you hit one, your car is likely to roll over from the impact. But they ate so cute! And the zoo-bred one they fed loved being picked up so we all got to scratch it. One thing that really surprised me was that it’s fur was far and away softer than the koala, wallaby, and kangaroo fur.
But the main event was the Devil. Even before the feeding had started, it had nearly taken the hand off one of the members of our group who had tried to get a close up picture. The Devil is an amazing animal. It has the third strongest bite pressure in the animal kingdom (the Great White Shark and the Salt Water Crocodile are the only ones ahead) and can devour a dead kangaroo in minutes. Also, it doesn’t spin in a circle as Looney Tunes would have you believe. Tragically, the wild populations are being decimated by Devil Facial Tumor Disease, the only communicable form of cancer on earth.
From the park, we traveled to our residence for the evening, Bicheno. Everyone had a couple of hours before dinner and Jill and decided to walk to Diamond Island.
This might not sound like that much of an experience, but what you don’t realize is that there is no way to get to the island and stay dry. There is a thin sandbar that connects the island to the mainland and it’s submerged under about a meter of water. Also the water is about 15C!
We waded over to the island (I looked like an idiot keeping the camera dry high over my head) and did a little exploring. There’s a penguin rookery on the island and we got some pictures of them.
After dinner though, we had an even better experience. Bicheno is justifiably famous for being a breeding ground for Fairy Penguins. We had an absolutely awesome night tour during which we saw penguins coming up from the ocean, saw them nesting, and even saw them mating a bit. Again a must-do if you’re in the area.
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