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2008 - January - Back to index |
Launceston is a thoroughly pleasant town with an excellent brewery and a natural wonder of a park called Cataract Gorge.
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Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake are the most famous spots of the Tasmanian wilderness, and on this crystal clear day I certainly understood why. The photos fail to do justice to this heaven on earth.
Spent the day trekking round the Dove Lake along a great circle that went up to 1300 meters and passed by Lake Wilks, Twisted Lakes and Lake Hanson. Couldn't see any marsupials on the track, but the sunshine made the white-lipped snakes and lowland copperheads come out of their hiding places, while the currawong sang in a voice even more beatific than that of its cousin, the lovely Australian Magpie.
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Back at the wonderful and recommendable Cradle Mountain Lodge camping ground I had the opportunity to observe how quickly a Tasmanian Pademelon runs when it encounters a Tasmanian Devil in the woods. (Pretty quickly, I can tell you.)
At the end of the day my feet were sore and my mind was clear. They don't make grappa in Tasmania (I did ask) so I had to toast with another local product instead.
Went caving in Honeycomb Cave at Mole Creek. The cave is wet, although not overly so, as Tasmania is still suffering from the drought which is gradually easing in Eastern Australia. Some of the spots along the route were a bit squeezy, but the group leader Deb and the diverse environment guaranteed that both the tenderfeet and the daredevils were challenged as much as they wanted.
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Australia Day was celebrated this weekend over a period of three days, so I took the opportunity to visit the last state in Australia I hadn't been yet, Tasmania. I marked the special occasion with a cappuccino made by the barista of Virgin Blue Lounge - last of its kind, I'm afraid: I don't think I will be renewing my membership this year.
Wineglass Bay on the Freycinet peninsula was postcard pretty, and the hike to the lookout was strenuous but by no means difficult, like the girl at the national park information desk tried to claim. (Am I starting to look like I'm old and fragile??) -However, Tassies certainly have a very good taste in naming microbrewery beer brands.
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Early next morning the Cape Tourville lookout offered more magnificent coastal views, and a pod of some forty-ish playful dolphins in the ocean. A bit later, I managed to spot a grumpy fairy penguin in a cave dug in the coastal sand dunes of Bicheno opposite Diamond Island (my first penguin, yay!)
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Soundtrack of my life Ripu Rapu Ella ja Aleksi |
More ecotravelling by train and bicycle, this time to the Boondall wetlands, where cute penny-sized crabs crawled all over the place.
The summer has been exceptionally rainy, so the waterfalls in the national parks of Gold Coast Hinterland are as glorious as they get. The Twin Falls Circuit in Springbrook meanders behind several waterfalls and across some beautiful rugged scenery.
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Started the new year with a riverside picnic underneath the iconic Brisbanese symbol, Story Bridge, and was treated to a magnificent show as a tropical thunderstorm passed over the city, going as quickly as it came.
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