April 28 Hobart to Eaglehawk Neck and back to Melbourne

We stayed at the Grand Chancellor Hotel on the wharf in Hobart.  Magnificent place that we would highly recommend and will stay at again if we get this way.  The views were superb, the staff friendly and very helpful and the breakfast was one of the best I've ever had.

The breakfast was a buffet.  Everything on it was high end and interesting.  Cheri got and egg white omelette with HOT peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms with a smoky flavor - sublime!  Right next to the chef station was a fresh honeycomb. It looked so interesting that both she and John tried it.  Cheri generally doesn't like honey (as most Tiggers do not!), but this, oh my, it was nectar of the gods!!  Sweet, subtle, and addicting!  The coffee was French press and you could have as much as you want: a rarity in this part of the world!

Clearly, well fed, we headed off to the Tasman Peninsula for more scenery and another hike.

The Tasman Peninsula is another great national park with nice coastal scenery and walking tracks.  On the way we stopped at a place were the tide was low to catch some reflections and bird shots.  A man was hauling out a giant squid.  Turns out they leg their eggs and then head to sea to die, but the portal to the sea has been closed for hundreds of years.  The squid seem to still be programmed to go that way, so they die in the cove.  Another group was there to buy it for dinner.

We hiked to Waterfall Bay and enjoyed the scenery.  It was warm enough that Cheri zipped off her legs!  After the hike we stopped in Doo town for some local seafood from a van.  Popular spot!

We then headed towards Port Arthur and on the way found a Tasmanian Devil conservation center.  We'd been looking for devils in the wild, but because the cancer has taken 90% of them, we had had no luck.  This was our last chance to see the devils and oh what sightings we had!!  They fed them as we entered the place and we learned alot about them as well as got to shot them!  We went to a second enclosure and there were two more devils.  They were quite active and the light was even better for shooting!

After they fed the Tasmanian Devils, they fed kangaroos & wallabies & pademelons!  In fact, we got to feed them too!  And to touch them - so of course, as I am sure you can imagine the big kid in the group was right in there with all the little kids feeding and petting!!  Kangaroos are very soft and like their stomachs scratched. 

From there we went to the bird show.  They had several cockatoos and two frog mouths.  We had never seen a frog mouth before, what a bird!!

By then it was 4:15 and time to head for the airport and back to Melbourne.  A nice Indian curry and to the airport.  Back into Melbourne around 9:30 P and off to bed to prepare to return to work!  

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

Tasmanian Devil

Tasmanian Devil

Tasmanian Devil

Kangaroo

Frogmouth

April 24 – Hamilton to Halls Gap – The Grampians!

It rained and blew like crazy all through the night.  It sounded as if there was a hurricane outside our hotel.  Hopes were low until we opened the curtains and lo and behold – sun and blue sky were making their way into view!  The day was fresh as the Aussies say.  Clear, blue sky and about 15 deg C.

We had a quick bite at McCafe for breakfast, the fastest thing we could find and then hit the trail for Halls Gap and some hiking.  It took about an hour from Denkeld and the scenery was great.  Once we got to Halls Gap we stopped at the visitor’s center to get the lay of the land.  We were quickly informed that if we wanted to see wildlife, the best bet was to walk the 2.5 km loop right there at the visitor’s center.  We had already picked out some hikes for later in the day and they showed us where to start.

That loop around the visitor’s center was a jackpot!  Kangaroos resting and willing to let us walk up close.  Parrots were in the trees and on the ground.  Two Kookabara’s in trees and again willing to let us come close.  A nice little wallaby hanging around!  Jackpot!

We grabbed a meaty pie for lunch and then headed to hike the sundial.  This was a nice meandering walk that had a steep part at the end with superior scenery.  The woods were alive!

Do you remember when you were a kid and you got your first box of 64 color crayons?  I remember there being many shades of green and at the time wondering what they were for.  Today, if I had any doubt, I know what they are for because every color green was in the rain forest we walked through.  The ferns were healthy and a main part of the forest.  The smells were amazing!  There was eucalyptus at one point and it made my nose tingle.  The sky was blue, blue.  The trees ranged from white to brown to burnt black from previous fires.  The rocks were all bumpy and interesting;  some grey, white, red, orange and more.

After we hiked the Sundial pinnacle we drove to the Reed lookout and hiked to the Balconies.  Stunning views.  In fact, we plan to head back there tonight to capture the Milky Way!

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Red Kangaroo

Kangaroo

Grey Kangaroo

Kookabara

Pied Crow

View from Sundial

View from Sundial

The Balconies

April 23. Mt Gambier to Hamilton and the foothills of the Grampians

The Barn was spectacular. We were sorry to leave such a fabulous place and sent some extra time there in the morning downloading images, blogging and just relaxing.  The food was all locally sourced and oh so delicious. That included the wind. 

Now on the road again, it feels and looks fall like as we see giant sheep, elk, and cattle  ranches.  It's lonely, but beautiful country.  The light makes everything look like its a water color painting. 

We finally made if to Hamilton around 2 PM and checked Into our hotel.  Quickly we threw our hiking and camera gear into the car and headed to the base of the southern Grampians.  There was a very helpful woman at the info station who helped us with choices of which hike to make. 

We headed off for Picciny and ended up doing Mt. Sturgeon. It was a beautiful hike with ups and downs and ups and downs.  As we got to the steeper final section we were hiking quietly along and Cheri looked up into the eyes of a Wallaby!!  Holy cow...there she was....right in the path watching us intently chewing on a piece of grass.  She looked as if she was a toll collector and had her hand out for a $1 coin!  Cheri had her small lens on and she shot so as not to miss her.  John quickly changed out his lens to the 100-400 mm while Cheri kept her focus.  John shot away!  Cheri changed lens, but she hopped off into the brush.

We kept hiking and before we knew it we had found another smaller one.  This time we were both loaded for bear and got some great shots!!how exciting!!

The hike was about 8 km and took about 2.5 hours.  Glorious!  When we got back to the car and headed off and quickly found a large group of kangaroo in the fields.  We stopped for some picies.  Next thing we saw was a goshawk all lit up by the sun.  Cheri grabbed him in the air!  Next the sunset was spectacular!  What an end to the day light hours!

Off to dinner now!

Plover

Goshawk

Enjoy!
Cheri & John