Tasmania 3

After 6 or 7 days with 10/10 weather, it finally rained. The fields look like they need it, and we were happy to hang out at the house, run errands, walk around Hobart some more (and literally smell the roses!), and to visit especially MONA.

The Museum of Old and New Art is relatively new, and was highly recommended by Heather's friends in Brisbane. Craig read tourism has increased in Hobart since it opened. We very much enjoyed it. The grounds, and the building itself are interesting; I loved the beautiful sandstone walls inside one part of the museum, much of the art was a bit too far out there for us, but there were many interesting pieces to look at, and definitely worth a visit. It was founded by a wealthy & quirky man, but did not seem as dark as some of the descriptions we saw, and there certainly is a lot to look at.
We again lucked out weather-wise on our last full day in Hobart. We drove to the Tasman peninsula, south east of Hobart, in drizzle, but this stopped. We did a very nice walk out to Cape Hauy, and back. We only did 4.4km x 2, but can see the attraction of a 4-day event our friend Tim participated in a few weeks ago in this same area, called The 3 Capes Walk. They hiked 46km I believe. The Park Service limits hiking in certain areas here, at least partly due to fear of further spread of some fungus which is damaging the plants.
The trail we were on, is easy to follow, and super well maintained. Lots of steps, made with rocks; board walks, and sand laid down in other places. Saw quite a few people out hiking on a Tuesday - mostly retirement age, but several in their 20s, and 30s; no little kids.
Crunchy, our charge at the house, was a very personable, and also spoilt cat. He made it clear he did not like us to be distracted by e.g. reading while petting him. He loved hanging out on Craig's chest, when Craig was stretched out on the couch, and also accepted me - potentially on the days I had fed him... He and Purrcy get the prize for the most fun cats I have met!

Link to Tasmania 3

Link to Craig's Echidna video

Link to sculptures in Deloraine


Now we are in Launceston, in northern Tasmania, until we leave this interesting country for SE Asia on Dec. 5.

Some further impressions from Australia: KFC, and Subway are popular chains here; the local Hungry Jacks sign is almost identical to Burger King's. The Old Gold Jamaican Rum Raisin chocolate sales have skyrocketed since I landed here - this is part of the Cadbury Co. Cadbury chocolate here is much better than at home, just as it is in the U.K. The cars here look more like those at home, than in Europe, but we see few pick up trucks. Gas is some AU$ 1.40/liter (80%for USD).

Unfortunately, the weather turned New England'ish, and it rained, at times hard, with strong wind gusts. The temperature was to be in the 40s, with no sun in sight, and we didn't drive the 2.5 hrs to Cradle Mountain National Park, where Craig had found nice hiking. The summit is at 1500m (5000'), and getting started in the rain, in the upper 30s didn't sound exciting - nor do we have enough warm clothes.
Staying in an old mansion, with the draftiest windows I have ever experienced, and even Craig pulling a blanket over his legs on the couch, probably also reduced our enthusiasm for getting up early. But we had  a very nice and warm Doona, which is Australian for a comforter with a duvet.

Before the weather turned this annoying, we had time for a nice ride north of Launceston, despite having some tire problems.
We hiked another steep and rocky trail, towards Quamby Bluff, but turned around when it seemed rain was on it's way, and it already was pretty chilly. On the way back, we happened upon a small town, where I enjoyed the sculptures along Main Street, even though Craig didn't think them of high quality. It was a local initiative to celebrate the area's natural beauty, and inclusiveness, and many different sculptors took part.
Yesterday we rode on our way back to Hobart, and the airport, with some sun, but still pretty cool temps. When I saw the front page of a small town newspaper, I knew we made the right decision not to hike in the rain earlier. There was unexpected sleet, and snow had accumulated on a road in the mountains not very far from where we were headed.

The internet was shared at the Airbnb house in Launceston, and we had a very slow, and difficult connection. Am finishing this at the airport in Sydney, where we are stuck all day, after mistakenly going through passport control, and thereby
apparently having departed Australia. We had hoped to run a couple of errands, and walk around Sydney. Am not sure when we get the last few pic's uploaded so I can post this, but it will be after we arrive in Thailand I think.

Craig just showed me a graph of how welcoming various countries are to foreigners. Australia ranks higher than the USA, or Finland, and we have definitely experienced the hospitality here. We hope to be back some day, as there is so much to see and do here.



Link to Craig's Echidna video!