One of the great things about Tasmania was that distances between cities are not very long, especially compared to mainland Australia. So as we moved on from Launceston to Strahan, the final stop on our Tasmania tour, we were able to easily make a couple of stops along the way.....like our first one at Tasmazia, a quirky collection of mazes.
We had a fun time charging through the mazes, since running was the boys' preferred speed. The boys solved each of the hedge mazes in under 2 minutes... even at running speed, it was pretty impressive how quickly they found their way to each end point.
They left Bob and me behind to figure out the mazes ourselves, gleefully reminding us how much quicker they were.
In addition to the mazes, Tasmazia had a miniature village full of quirky buildings, including "Embassy Row". The "bell gym" (Belgium) was one of our favorites, as it required moving a lever to turn a wheel and ring a bell.
Due to the running, we completed all the mazes in just over an hour, so it was a quick but fun stop.
We drove on to Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, one of the most visited sites in Tasmania. We parked at the Visitor's Center and took a shuttle bus to Dove Lake, which was beautiful with the mountain behind it.
From there, we set off on a couple hours' hike along the lake and through alpine vegetation.
We passed Crater Lake and a couple of waterfalls as we continued to hike through this beautiful area.
While hiking, Colin spotted our first wild wombat! He was eating plants just off the trail (the wombat, not Colin), so we stopped to watch him for a while.
At the end of the hike, we passed through a field where lots of wombats were starting to come out for their late afternoon/evening meal.
After a beautiful afternoon at Cradle Mountain, we ended our day in Strahan, on the west coast of Tasmania. It was a really small and sleepy town very close to the Indian Ocean. I read that the air coming off the ocean here is some of the cleanest in the world since it's traveled across 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) of water since it was last over land.
We walked and played on the breach and were pretty much alone the entire time, except for a handful of other people who passed by.
We also walked a wooded trail in the People's Park that ended at a small waterfall. We were on the hunt for a wild platypus since, of the 3 animals on Emmett's "Australia must see list" (a koala, a Tasmanian Devil, and a platypus), we had a better chance of finding a wild platypus in Tasmania than in the other parts of mainland Australia we'd be going to. While we didn't find our wild platypus here, we still enjoyed the walk.
One evening we attended a performance of The Ship That Never Was, which tells the incredible true story of a group of convicts who built a ship, hijacked it, sailed it to Chile to escape from custody, and then evaded conviction for their crimes due to bizarre loopholes in British law. The show included a lot of improv and audience participation, and both boys ended up on stage to play minor roles in the show's finale.
Being the outgoing, not-shy-at-all boys that they are, both Emmett and Colin were thrilled to have an audience and participate in the show.
Especially for a show with only 3 actors, The Ship That Never Was was really well produced and entertaining!
Our stay in Strahan was short, and after our couple of days there it was time to head back to Hobart to fly out of Tasmania. On the way we stopped at the Salmon Ponds, located in the Derwent Valley about 45 minutes outside of Hobart. When we arrived, we realized that the reception desk was already closed and entry into the park was by using a cash-only honor box. We were almost completely out of cash, so we were preparing to get back in the car and leave...but just then, a guy on a mower came past, told us he was the owner, and welcomed us in, even though we couldn't fully pay the admission fee. It was such a generous and friendly encounter, and we ended up talking with him for a while as he explained the history of the area and the facilities.
The Salmon Ponds was originally a hatchery built to receive salmon eggs from England as the British were introducing non-native species to Tasmania (and other parts of Australia). The salmon didn't thrive as well as trout, which were also introduced by the British. Today, the Salmon Ponds are a beautiful collection of ponds and garden areas, with mostly trout in the large ponds instead of salmon. We walked through the beautiful grounds, which we had all to ourselves, and fed the fish.
The owner told us that there were also platypuses (platypi?) that come on and off the property, and that usually the animals would come out in the late afternoon to feed. We crept around the property, keeping our eyes open for the elusive platypus but didn't see any. We were just about to leave (for real this time) when Emmett said he wanted to check out one last pool, off to the side from the others. We walked over and, lo and behold, we spotted our wild platypus!!
Platypus are very shy and scared of noise, so it's a wonder this guy stuck around with us in the area. We watched him for 15 minutes or so as he'd dive to the bottom, searching for food, and them come up to the surface for a breath of air. He was so cool looking!
Checking "platypus" off our list of must-see animals meant that we flew out of Hobart the next morning feeling completely satisfied with all that we saw and did in Tasmania. Tasmania was such a rustically beautiful place, and with only 500,000 people on the whole island (and half of those living in Hobart), there were so many isolated and natural areas to enjoy. We were so glad to have had a chance to explore this wonderful part of Australia!
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