Tasmania - Spectacular Vistas,Endangered Species

I've come to the realization that my photographic and journalistic skills just can't fully portray the beauty, charm and uniqueness that is Tasmania.

After a hearty country breakfast, we bid farewell to the Fox & Hounds Inn and drove to Pirate's Bay where we boarded bright yellow boats, nicknamed “4 WD's of the sea” for a 3-hr. Tasman Island Cruise. For my nautical readers, this is a 12.5 meter Naiads powered by three 300HP motors. They looked like large yellow zodiacs with comfortable seats. Having been warned to dress warmly, we were still glad to wear the bright red full-length water and windproof jump suits provided by the cruise line. We're only 1500 miles from Antarctica.

We were incredibly fortunate, according to the crew, to have such beautiful weather. Sunny with relatively calm seas – a real benefit for sickseaness-prone souls like me. For 3 enthralling hours we cruised down the rugged coastline of Tasman National Park where we saw at close range the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere. We passed formations such as Cape Pillar, towering stacks such as Cathedral Rock, the Totem Pole ( which someone had managed to scale, arriving at the top at dusk after 10hrs) and Candlestick. Our boat had such maneuverability that we were able to cruise in and out of caves and between huge boulders rising out of the sea. Besides scenery that was truly breathtaking, we saw various types of seals and seabirds such as brown eagles, albatross with 9meter wingspans and other species native to Australia. I departed the ship at noon convinced that no visit to Tasmania is complete without seeing this wild, spectacular landscape from the sea.

The afternoon held a totally different but equally fascinating experience as we visited the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. These small animals are classified as endangered due to a deadly, contagious tumor that appears on their face and leads to death in about 5 months. Tasmania is the only region where these creatures can still be found and this park is engaged in desperately trying to save them. By removing the healthy animals from infected areas, the conservationists hope to produce a specieis that is cancer free. They are relatively benign animals the size of a small dog and feed off roadkill. Their name came from early Tasmanian settlers who, when hearing their ferocious scream and seeing them bare their fangs, were convinced it came the devil.

We had just enough time to photograph the little devils , feed the kangaroos who willingly ate from our hands, locate the small wallabies and be entertained by the intelligent cockatoos and falcons who loved showing off their skills. All the animals and birds have been rescued and visiting the open and spacious park offers one of the best opportunities to interact with the animals.
Our busy day ended with a scenic drive back to Hobart where we were guests at a lovely dinner hosted by Tourism Tasmania and select tour operators in this region.
Tomorrow we leave the southeast coastal region and head through the center of the island to Strahan on the west coast
Linda