Hobart

We arrived in Tasmania early this morning, in the port of Hobart. This was my first time here. While overcast and cool, the day shaped up to be a beautiful sunny day and a pleasant temperature. 

I hosted another private tour with EyeSeeTasmania Tours. There were 9 of us today and we were bound for Mt. Field National Park, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, and the little historic town of Richmond. 

We started with an hour's drive out of Hobart and into the countryside up to Mt. Field. There we took a lovely stroll through gorgeous forests full of hundred years old trees, some several hundred feet high. We came upon two waterfalls along the way. 

Following our little hike, we drove to the other side of the parking lot to a picnic area and enjoyed a wonderful organic lunch provided by the tour company. The fresh vegetables and fruits were great!

Once lunch was over, we drove back down the mountain and to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. Here, they rehab and return to the wild as many injured and orphaned animals as possible. Kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, Emus, birds, wombats and koalas. Some are injured so badly that they will never be able to be returned to the wild. 

We spent about an hour here and it was heaven! I loved being able to interact with the kangaroos, feeding them straight from my hands. We were also lucky to see a couple of Tasmanian Devils being a bit active. 

Our last stop was a short drive through the historic town of Richmond. We stopped to view a stone bridge, built in 1823 by the convicts jailed here.  Britain sent many convicts here and to mainland Australia in the early 1800's. The myths are true - convicts and early bravery settlers built this country. 

We were due to visit another Tasmanian port tomorrow but a bad storm is coming at us and the captain has cancelled the port. We're going to try to skirt around the back side of Tasmania to escape the brunt of the storm, otherwise we were facing 24 foot swells. Not swell!!!!

Wish us luck!!!