Leaving Tasmania

On our last day in Tasmania, January 1, we decided that our trip back to the ferry should include an excursion toward the west to see a little of that wild portion of the state. We wound along country roads that took us along rivers and through tiny towns. Above is a view of the cricket pitch in a place called Gretna Green. The mountains and clouds in the distance are interesting.

Tasman Island Cruise - Birds

After we saw the Black Faced Cormorant, above, as we were leaving Port Arthur, we rarely got close to a bird on this trip. But we did see them.

Tasman Island Cruise - Whales

Our cruise also including sighting of Humpback Whales. This fellow was swimming near our boat and made several dives.

Tasman Island Cruise - Seals

When we arrived at Tasman Island, we were greeted by a modest collection of Australian Fur Seals lounging about on the rocks. This fellow, and most of the seals were male we were told, is about to slide off into the water for a forage.

Tasman Island Cruise - The Land

In the distance above, you can see Tasman Island with its flat top sitting just off the coast. Although you cannot see any in this photo, we did see a few of the sailboats that had rounded this eastern corner of Tasmania on their way to Hobart and the end of the Sydney-Hobart Race. Of course, the really big, fancy, fast boats finished the day before, but these guy are doing amazing stuff.

St. David's Anglican Church

St. David's is a real landmark in Hobart. Much to surprise, it is filled with stained glass windows. After seeing St. Paul's in London filled with clear glass in nearly all the windows, I never expected to see such extravagance in an Anglican church.

Salamanca Market Again

On the way to the market, we passed the Daci & Daci Bakery and saw some amazing confections in the window.

Hop-on Hop-off Hobart

You can't get a feel for a city without a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. since we did this just before Christmas, I called it a HoHoHo...Hop-on Hop-off Hobart...tour.

Hartz Mountains

The Hartz Mountains in the summer are filled with small colorful flowers that bring the greens of the alpine meadows to life.

Cornelian Bay Cemetery

In Cornelian Bay, just north of Hobart along the Derwent river is what seems to be the main cemetery for the area. On this sunny day, we see that we are again standing at the foot of Mount Wellington.

Salamanca Market

Salamanca market is festive in the Christmas season and as time get shorted for shopping, the crowds get larger. Even the crowds of stuffed Tasmanian Devils is larger.

I realize that this months late, but so much has happened, I am way behind in blogging about our travels.

Fossils at Poverty Point

Another place we really had to make another trip to Poverty Point to see the fossils. Unlike our previous trip, there was no rain storm coming at us this time.

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart is a place we revisited because they have a special exhibit on now about the Tasmanian Devil.

Another Visit to Bruny Island

On our first visit to Bruny Island, we only just got the the southern part of the island. This, naturally, demands a second visit to see the parts we missed the first time. To give you an idea of the changeability and locality of weather here, you can see to the west of us that there is a rainstorm on the mainland. Meanwhile, there's no rain where we are standing.

Out and About on a Saturday

Not far from us, a short ways south along the coast is the village of Margate. Here we find a curious shopping center. A large fraction of the shopping is located an old train that is parked on a length of track here. In this train is a restaurant, the Pancake train.

North Hobart

On one of our visits to North Hobart to see a movie at the State Theater, we did some shopping just to see what we could see. I took a few images to show you the colors we find when out and about.

Lower Longley Cemetery

This is a cemetery we visited back in the winter and since Jeanne was here, we thought we'd stop by for look in the warmer season.

Mount Wellington

When last we climbed (in our car, we're not silly!) to the top of Mount Wellington, it was winter and we were greeted by clouds and a brief snow squall. This time was entirely different: it was summer and we were greeted by clouds and a brief snow squall. See? Entirely different.

Blackmans Bay

Our house sit this summer in Tasmania is in Blackmans Bay. On one end of the bay is a rocky outcropping. Around the corner is a blowhole but we haven't been there yet.

Adventure Bay

Adventure Bay is on the north shore of the southern part of Bruny island, just south of the neck that joins the two parts. It is a beautiful and historic part of the island.