KatieTheKat

In my last I said that we would be out of contact with the world for a
week or so because we were planning on doing the Overland Track. Well, we
couldn't do that so we compromised on hiking in Lake St. Clair National
Park for three days. Highlights of that were close encounters with two
tiger snakes. yes, they're venemous! But, not to worry. No one has died
of a snake bite since the 1970's. The same old story, they're more scared
of us than we are of them. Second highlight was the Acropolis. An amazing
hike that actually required some climbing skills, to a place where columns
of dolorite tower and crumble. We were told it was a bit of a scramble
towards the top. That was an understatement. We shared the summit with a
school group, however. For me the conviviality took the edge off the
wilderness. It was worth the trip to Australia.
By the way, hi to Becca who has posted comments. It's great to feel in
touch with homebase. I had a dream about my class one night, but you had
multiplied. There must have been 120 in the room. I wasn't too sure how
to set about teaching anything. Luckily I woke up.
Katie and I were invited to stay with a couple whom we met on the
trail. So, yesterday we spent the evening in an Australian home talking
about politics, people, and music. We have rented a car for the rest of
our stay in Tasmania. Luckily, Katie has been riding her bike in Sydney
traffic for three months, so it wasn't too hard for her to adjust to
driving on the left. Today we've been playing tourist. Went on a little
nature walk to an aboriginal site first thing in the morning. (By the
way, bannock is called damper here.) Then we stopped at a wildlife park
where they raise orphaned wombats and breed Tasmanian devils. We got to
cuddle Millie the baby wombat and we petted the koalas. We saw kangaroos,
one with a joey peeking out of mama's pouch. Last night, we saw a
bandicoot in our hosts' garden. It's on the endangered species list, so
that was a privilege.
The wilderness is like the land before time here, and the settled
parts are like idyllic English countryside, or at least, the way I would
imagine it to be. Becca confirms my impression by saying in her comment
that it sounds like England. Now I want my next trip to be there so that
I can verify my ideas. It's neverending!
Tonight we're heading up to the northeastern coast. We're hoping to
see penguins. Then we will continue along the coast down the eastern
side. There are Maria Island and Freycinet National Parks to bushwalk in
and to enjoy beaches. This is a real holiday!

# posted by thekat : 9:43 pm