M-whY

As we stopped to photograph some plains with mountain ranges in the background, a herd of cows a couple hundred yards away took notice and started ambling over. Quicker and quicker they came, right up to the fence. It was quite an amusing scene. Three tourists taking in the view, and here are these cows, checking us out.

"Oishi," said Yuki. Haha... yeah, I could really go for a steak just about now.

As the narrator of this blog, I guess I have the freedom to depict Tasmania however I want. I could portray the island as a barren rock, full of dying trees. Or I could give a picture of lands teeming with native vegetation. I could show acres of trees with crags in the backdrop. Or I could show a pretty lake with mountains in the distance. All this can be seen in a morning's drive across Tassie.

The last picture was of Cradle Mountain, situated next to Dove Lake. We were incredibly lucky that the weather was perfect. Rain fell for about two-thirds of the year, and on most other days, the sky was overcast. Cradle Mountain in its entirety is only visible for on average 30 days a year.

The national park has an extensive network of hikes, ranging from very short 15 minute walks to 5 day, 80km treks. I wasn't quite sure how much the girls could handle.

"Do you two want to do a couple short walks, and I'll do the Dove Lake Circuit. We'll meet back at the carpark in a couple hours?"

After some discussion in japanese, Chieko announced, "We'll do the walk around the lake too."

The Dove Lake Circuit was fairly easy two hour walk. An easygoing two hour stroll with only a small section of moderately difficult steps. I had a notion to leave the girls behind and actually climb Cradle Mountain itself, a six hour return trip. Going up wouldn't be a problem, but I would be descending in darkness. Maybe not the greatest idea. Perhaps next time.

We had sandwiches along the shore, prepared the night before by Chieko. As we ate, we ran into a Scottish couple we had seen a couple times before. We had crossed paths three days ago at Coles Bay, had stayed in the same hostel two nights ago in Launceston, and now ran into them at Cradle Mountain. Such coincidence had to be captured on (digital) film.

The best part about exploring Australia is catching glimpses of native wildlife. So far, I had seen quite a few kangaroos (or are they wallabies?) in the wild. I saw a possum the day before at Cataract Gorge. I saw Tasmanian devils and shared some Eucalyptus leaves with koalas, both in captivity. As most of Australia's animals are nocturnal, seeing these unique creatures during daylight is very special indeed.

Chieko's alertness noticed something rustling in the bushes. "Look!" she exclaimed. A wombat! At least the rear of one. Wombats, like kangaroos and koalas, are marsupials. Due to their burrowing nature, they've developed unique pouches that open down, so dirt doesn't get in while they dig. About the size of a small dog, but shaped like a rock, they burrow into the ground whenever threatened, leaving only a hard leather backside exposed.

Unalarmed by our presence, it continued to make munching noises as it fed on the grass. We tried to coax it around to see its face. After a few minutes of ignoring us, it finally turned around to see who was disturbing his meal. I wonder if it found us as interesting as we found it? Apparently not. We stared at each other for about a minute, before it decided that its lunch was more appealing and disappeared into the bush.

The walk was advertised as two hours, but it actually took us a little over three to complete. We had a long drive ahead of us. Originally, we were going to spend the night in Queenstown, but several travelers had told us that Queenstown was quite a dump, and to just continue on to Strahan. For the rest of the day, we drove, all the way on the west coast of Tasmania. There was only one backpackers in town, so deciding on accomodation was easy.

Like I mentioned, traveling with two girls has its advantages and disadvantages. After spending the last four days with them, I sort of needed some time to myself. I left keys to Chieko, in case they wanted to go someplace, and headed out for a walk. I stopped for a snack at a local fish and chips place, to satisfy my craving for some greasy food. While eating, I had a chat with an Australian visiting Tasmania for the first time.

"Not much to see in this town, is there?" I asked.

"Nah, it's nice during the day, but in the dark, there's not much. You can walk along the road to the far side of the town though, and get a pretty view of the Strahan's lights on the water."

"Oh really, I think I'll go check it out. Thanks."

"No worries, mate."

Following his advice, I walked in the darkness along a path I could barely make out. Despite being so far away that each step I took was on my way home, I've never felt safer. I reached the point he was talking about. Yes, it was pretty. But at the same time, I was glad I didn't live in a place like this.

I'm pretty sure I would die of boredom here.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!