Drysdale Recycling

On the way into Geeveston, we pass Drysdale Recycling. I keep noticing the graffiti painted on the scrap. So finally, I stopped and asked if I could take some pictures.

Jackson Point Cemetery

After several tries, we finally found what the roadsign called a "Historic Catholic Cemetery". It was indeed just where it was indicated (100m from the highway), it was just hidden over a hill, behind a stand of trees, on a side road. I had to look on Google Maps to find it.

But here it is, on a hill overlooking the Huon River. If you are going to spend eternity in the ground, this seems like the place to be.

Headed North

The house sit in Port Huon has ended and we are headed north to Launceston for the night. Tomorrow we board the Spirit of Tasmania to return north to Melbourne and points beyond.

Platypus: A Closer Look

Where the Kermandie River crosses the Huon highway in Geeveston is a small section of the river that is dammed with stones making a very quiet section of water. Here we find the elusive Platypus. After our initial trip reported yesterday, we went back in the late afternoon, not long before sunset for another look.

Not really knowing what to expect, but fearing that these critters are elusive and rarely seen, we thought we'd be optimistic and just give it a try. Turns out, these fellows are not hard to find at all if you look in the right place.

Platypus!

We learned that just down the road in Geeveston is a place to see platypus. It is in fact just beside the road. The town has created a viewing platform where you can stand and, with a little luck, see platypus swimming about. We have done exactly that. Check another item off the bucket list!

Tahune Air Walk

This is what a mature stringy bark tree looks like from about 20 meters above the ground. This forest here is filled with them.

Forest along the Huon River

The Huon River rises in the mountains west and somewhat south of where we are staying. It then flows east and north until it reaches Huonville where it quickly turns south and broadens considerably to become the river you've been seeing on this blog. But, upstream a ways, only about 50 km from its beginnings it flows through a thickly forested area where the Tahune Air Walk is located. We'll visit the Air Walk in more detail tomorrow. Today, we'll explore the forest from ground level first.

There is a bridge across the swiftly flowing river here. The piers that support the bridge create turbulence in the water. This is what you see above. Notice how dark the water is, like strong tea. It is colored from washing all the tannin out of the soil in these mountains.

The Superb Lyrebird

You will not see a Lyrebird in the post, but you will hear one!

On the way out to the Tahune Air Walk, we stopped by the side of the road to walk out of a place called the Look In Lookout. Crazy name, right? It was a platform in the forest about 40-50 meters from the roadside from which you could simple view the dense forest. And, for sure, this is place of great beauty and enormous ferns. Watching the video is not the interesting part.

Listen. In the distance you will sound of what we are sure is a Superb Lyrebird in the distance. Just close your eyes and listen.

The Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery

Another venture into Hobart. This time to see the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. This is an interesting and eclectic collection of history, natural history, and art.

Sunrise Over the Huon River

No surprise...there was another delightful sunrise here. The clearing of the fog as the sun peeks through the clouds on the horizon, conspire to create a window on the sunrise that is reflected almost perfectly in the river.

I just don't get tired of this. I hope you don't either.

Another Sunset

Just thought you'd like to see what we are seeing on pretty regular basis out here in the hinterlands of Tasmania. As you can easily see from the image there is no commercial district, no city lights, no multi-lane expressways, and no crowded populous covering the hills near us. How can we possible survive this isolation, this lack connection to civilization?

I'll tell you how.

We get this kind of sunset many days and just over the hills in the center of the picture is Hobart. What more could you ask for?

Mount Nelson Lookout

After the drive down from Mount Wellington, we stopped by the lookout point at Mount Nelson. Clearly, someone had notions on the ranking of Nelson and Wellington to give the name of one to such a large mountain and the name of the other to such a low hill. As you can see from the panorama above, we are not very far above sea level.

On the far right side of the panorama, is the opening of the Derwent River to the Tasman Sea. This is where the sailboats come 'round the point into the Hobart harbour in late December in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. We expect to be here for this event this year. More later.

Mount Wellington

Standing 1271 meters above sea level, Mount Wellington dominates the skyline near Hobart. In the image above, you can see a bit of the Derwent River after it passes Hobart on its way to the sea.

Lower Longley Cemetery

We stopped at a cemetery we found by the side of the road on the way into Hobart. It was located on the side of a fairly steep hill next to the main road with now signage or fencing. It is small and nearly all the markers are old.

Southernmost Cemetery

While on our visit to Cockles Creek, we found that in addition to seeing new animals, we got to see an interesting cemetery.

The End of the Road

After several days of drying out and sunshine, we decided to try going south again. This time we made it all the way. Along the way we found some fun things to see.

One of the interesting things about Tasmania this time of year, especially near the southern end, is that the sun is never very high in the sky. This means that you get that shadow-inducing morning/afternoon kind of light pretty much all day long. This, combined with the cooler temperatures means that some mountains are simply fog-covered all day.

Salamanca Market

The Salamanca Market is a large weekly gathering of people to meet, eat and buy lots of stuff. While the Eumundi Market is probably better, this one is pretty amazing.

A Foggy Morning

Another of the many foggy mornings on the Huon River. As the sun began to burn away the river mist, I got a couple quick shots.

Cygnet Cemetery

We visited the small cemetery in the village of Cygnet and found a few stone worth some pixels. I found the names on the marker above to be unusual.

Petcheys Bay

We took a drive around to the other side of the river on a pretty day. As you can see from the image above, a pretty day is just partly cloudy, not actually clear. Nevertheless, it makes for nice photos when the wind is still and the river is reflective.

Max

It took two us, but I finally got a couple of shots of Max, out other charge in this sit. Max is another Schnauzer mix. He's bigger and stouter than Monty. He's also nearly completely blind. But, with a little help, he manages. The dogs are closely bonded and seldom far apart. Clearly Max relies on Monty for getting around.

I Can't Stop Taking This Picture...

Clearly, if I just sat in the backyard and watched the sun come up and go down, I'd be a happy photographer for a very long time. This is just the best time of year to be in Tasmania for sunrise/set images.

Sunset in the Rain

Clearly, I have discovered a replacement for photographing cemeteries: photographing the light on on the Huon River at dawn and dusk. I am simply amazed by the sights from the rear window of our current residence. I just had to share a few more with you.

The Morning After

The calm river persisted overnight and we had a glorious sunrise to greet us. I thought you'd appreciate a couple more photos of a perfect reflection of the sky.

The Huon River at Sunset

At the end of a beautiful day (not warm, just sunny), we had another wind free afternoon resulting in a mirror-like river surface. This, of course, is the perfect opportunity for some photos.

Ida Bay and Lune River

On south of Southport is a small village called Ida Bay. It's one claim to fame is the narrow gauge railway. Although we could have taken a ride, we opted not to. Rather, we just had a look about.

Cygnet Market

Heading out on a Sunday morning we found a pretty spider web in the driveway. Had to stop to take a photo of it covered in morning dew.

Instagram Update

The transition to using Instagram is, like anything else, a learning curve. I'm really shocked to learn how clunky and cumbersome the IOS app is. No way to default settings, no template to insert hashtags automatically...no way to default anything much to save time when uploading. And don't get me started on the web interface. You can't even stay logged in to the site and must enter credentials each time. Not a big deal you say? This is the kind of thing that gets to be a drag after a bit.

After installing a couple apps (nothing is really simple, is it) and some late night (US time) testing, I think I finally have Instagram posts appearing on Twitter (with the image included) and Google+. We'll run with this for a while and see how it goes.

Finally Some Sunshine

Just so you know that it is not all gloom and rain here, we did have a day with a full spectrum of weather options. We awoke to a partly cloudy, foggy morning on the river.

South of Us

We picked a rainy day to have a drive south. There are no towns of consequence south of Huonville (which is north of us already). Just north of us is Franklin and next south is Geeveston. At least Geeveston has a grocer and pharmacy. South of that there is very little.

Finally, Another Cemetery

For all you cemetery aficionados out there, we have overcome the initial infatuation of sunrises and sunset (although we are certainly not done with those yet) and found a cemetery. I'm sure you are relieved to know that you don't have to wait for our return to the mainland.

Monty

One of our current charges is Monty. He's an energetic and playful puppy that seems to be everywhere at once. He's always glad to see you and eager to play.

The Evening Mirror

When the wind dies down and the sun begins to set on sky filled with broken clouds, the river turns to a sheet of glass and the sky to an impressionist painting.

Fog on the River

The clearing of the morning fog from the Huon River is often quite beautiful. On this particular morning, there were some soft scenes to enjoy.

The Tench

On a morning filled with fog along the river, but sun above, we drove into Hobart for some sightseeing and a movie. Along the way, we paused for a view of the Huon river and the lifting fog bank.

Instagram

For those of you out there that are instagram-ers, I have finally joined you. There's not much on there as yet, but I'm working on getting more as we go along. Here's where I'll be putting iphone images that are just snaps of interesting or curious things I find along they way. The 'good stuff' will still go on the blog, but you will see some lighter things on the 'gram.

My name on instagram is Steve.Whisnant. Come join me.