Tasmania

Tasmania is a beautiful place. We only had 6 days there and managed to see plenty, but we know there was much more to see. Arriving early in the morning we drove west and visited Wings Wildlife farm in Gunn's Plains. Here we got to see a few things we haven't seen in the wild yet: wombats (extremely cute), tasmanian devils knawing on bones (not so cute, but cool), and echidnas (again, extremely cute). A cockatoo chatted to Boppy saying 'Hello Boppy' (or Poppy?) and another pretended dramatic sneezing. An emu tried to sample Dad's camera lens, sneaking up beside him as he photographed another. A monkey growled at Kyra, and 3 donkeys were very attentive to Mercedes's singing. It was an eventful outing. We knocked an assortment of poo off our shoes and moved on.

A few days later we visited the Salamanca markets in downtown Hobart. We had a great time here, sampling, perusing, buying. The girls and I watched a busker: a very tall contortionist/sword swallower. Kyra and Mercedes found it hilarious and shocking.

On Mother's Day we got a special treat: frolicking dolphins. We watched them off the Freycinet Penninsula. We continued up the east coast and stayed at Lagoons Beach for a night, enjoying a big campfire and meal. Black swans floated on the lagoon and people fished from the beautiful beach. Fairy wrens scouted our campsite for crumbs in the morning.

The next day at a marina in St. Helen's we had delicious fish and chips. Dad and Kevin met a man with a sailboat from London, England. He's been sailing for 10 years and counting.