Tasmania 1

Hobart = Hills!
We are staying in Mt. Nelson, which is in the city, only a couple of miles from downtown.
3 straight days of bright sunshine, temp's in the mid 70s (24C), no humidity, and 4 very different outings! We had feared spring here would be cool, but have heard the weather changes on a dime here, just like in New England. So for now we are very happy, and doubt we would like to be here in the summer, when it apparently can be 104F (40C).

Link to Tasmania 1

We first spent 2 nights at an Airbnb adjacent to conservation land, and walked out the door one afternoon, and were surprised at how steep the trails were. The house is at the top of the hill, and some paths went straight down, maybe even at a 25% grade.
The house where we are cat sitting, is down the road from there, and is very convenient to everything. Crunchy the cat, is a personable 14-year-old male, whom we reluctantly let out as per our instructions, and hope he will continue to come in when it is time.
We have a car for the duration in Tasmania, and first drove south of Hobart, to ride in the Huon Valley area. Saw many locals out for their Saturday rides, but am glad we didn't ride the narrow, winding, and pretty busy road leaving Hobart. A nice older couple, whose son lives in St. Louis, told us the shared bike path we happened upon, would continue for 15km, and we rode some of it, but decided to leave exploring the forests for a day of hiking later.
The next day we drove NE of Hobart, and rode in totally different scenery - drier, almost desert-like. There aren't many paved roads here, but fortunately some of the dirt roads were totally fine, as riding with weekend traffic near the coast, wasn't fun despite an adequate shoulder

Today we visited the Maria Island National Park, and thought we would stop, and ride some more on the way home. The island is narrower, and only 12 miles long, and Craig knew there would be some dirt roads, and maybe some sandy parts... And no cars! The island is an old penal colony, and also a World Heritage Site, which hasn't changed much. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to see all the ruins, and read the plaques, as I took too many pictures on the way out in the morning..., and then the road deteriorated to a hiking trail essentially, on the way back. Road bikes over big rocks, in loose sand... it takes awhile. I was determined not to leave the cat alone some 14 hrs, and didn't want to take the last ferry back.
Seeing how beautiful the scenery was, I commented on how lucky we are to be here. Craig said he would be even luckier if he got to see a wombat. At a cross roads (meaning paths), near the beach, I casually said we should go inland for lunch, as he might get to see a wombat. He rode some 30 yards, and saw one! Later, almost back at the ferry landing, I, too, got to see one close up, by the path.
The island is also home to many Tasmanian Devils, but one needs to camp out, and be lucky to get to see one I believe. They are nocturnal,  but there still are many of them here, compared with elsewhere in Tasmania, where they have some type of cancer that spreads between them.
And we heard Laughing Kookaburras - they truly laugh!

For those who don't think Craig gets grumpy, you should see him when he has to push the bike through soft, deep, beach type sand. Later, it was my turn, when the sign that said we had 4 km to go, was off by at least that much.., and we 'barely' made the ferry. So we didn't even make the 24-mile round trip on the island, but have enjoyed the variety of scenery we have experienced in just a few days!

Craig's pictures usually get added at the end, and aren't necessarily in order relative to mine. Haven't made the time to try to figure out how to sort pic's within an album yet.. I also don't know how to add captions to his pic's, but the very last one is a wombat!Tasmania 1