OK, so I was trying to get to Narawntapu National Park because that seemed like the best place in all of Tasmania to visit, not least because it is still a stronghold for Tasmanian devils. But at the Launceston info centre I had been told there was no way to get there without a car. Not being one to give up easily I took the bus to Devonport. The ride took two hours. The seats were comfortable enough but so close together that I almost ended up with deep vein thrombosis from having my knees tucked into my chest the entire [View Full Entry]

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My first day in Tasmania, also known as "the apple isle", "the holiday isle", "the prostitute isle", probably other isles too. On my way to the airport I kept having the horrible feeling that there was more than one Launceston and I was booked on a flight to the one in Western Australia or Christmas Island or somewhere. I am staying for the night at Lloyd's Backpackers, attached to Lloyd's pub. Its $21 for a dorm bed but I'm the only one in it so its a bargain (real single rooms are $51). My plan was to head tomorrow to Devonport [View Full Entry]

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Twas my last day in Melbourne for now. Tomorrow I would be winging my way off to Tasmania. So today I went to a place called Banyule Flats Reserve in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg (or Rosanna, I'm not entirely clear on that one). The reserve is a mix of wetland and bushy scrub. The track that runs round the area doubles as a cycle track and, being Sunday, there were lots of cyclists. It was another very hot day. Its funny that Sydney was so cool and Melbourne further south so hot, but there you go. The track follows the [View Full Entry]

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Melbourne Zoo was the order of the day today. I'd been there before about fifteen years ago and I really liked it then. Being Saturday the zoo was chock full of other visitors, and it was extremely hot. Once again the Melbournites came through and gave me free entry. I do like Melbourne. The zoo hasn't actually changed a great deal in general terms in the years since I saw it last but there have been various good and bad things occurring. The platypus house is now open all day long instead of for just a few hours. Its not as [View Full Entry]

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Off on another train trip outside Melbourne, this time to Sherbrooke Forest in the Dandenong Ranges. Its really nice there. The forest is composed of mountain ash, a type of Eucalyptus which is the tallest tree in the world. The tallest individual tree in New Zealand is also a mountain ash but the ones in Sherbrooke are much more impressive, both in stature and just because there are so many of them all towering overhead for as far as the eye can see (which isn't very far because you're surrounded by giant trees). The understory is mostly made up of giant [View Full Entry]

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Another zoo day. Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary is an hour or so outside Melbourne, easily accessible by train and bus. On the way there I saw a fox! Not being used to seeing foxes from trains I almost missed it. Having sent all their criminals over to Australia for stealing loaves of bread, Mother England then tried to rid herself of foxes by sending them all over there too for stealing chickens. Didn't work. Healesville was fantastic. Of course they let me in for free. Sydney Aquarium's not looking very hospitable right about now! I also got a free Hungry Hippo biscuity-type-thing. [View Full Entry]

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Being sick of Sydney and not being a big fan of cities anyway, on Monday I caught the train to Heathcote about an hour outside of the city. The Royal National Park is the second-oldest in the world, established in 1879. There are several good entry points but I had to settle for the ones by train stations, the two best of which are at Heathcote and Engadine because the trails start from right beside the stations. Unfortunately today was a bad day for birds. I'm not sure which was more at fault, the high winds or the driving rain, but [View Full Entry]

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After two days in the Blue Mountains I caught the train back to Sydney. I hadn't been overly impressed with what I'd seen of Sydney from the train on the first day when I arrived, but you can't see much from a train anyway. However Sydney really is a hole. The place I'm staying is all right but literally right round the corner is an overpass with a dozen homeless people sleeping under it. Yet walk five or ten minutes down the road and you're in the city centre with all the nice buildings and tourists pretending the whole place looks [View Full Entry]

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Well, the start of another little trip in search of wierd and wonderful wildlife. This time its Australia. It was going to just be Tasmania but its cheaper to fly into Melbourne and then to Tassie than it is to fly straight to Hobart, so I figured if I was doing that then I might as well throw Sydney in as well. The guy sitting next to me on the plane was an American living in Christchurch. He asked if I was an avid birder. Not too surprising a question given that I was thumbing through my Australian bird guide trying [View Full Entry]

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Time for another road trip, this time heading northwards. I had a free ticket on the Whale Watch boat in Kaikoura, so thought it could be combined with a Blenheim/Picton visit over my weekend. As astute readers will know, I do not take to the charms of the sea with any readiness. I like the sea, so long as she keeps her place. I'm sure the sea likes me too, just not when I'm on her. But this time I had a secret weapon to avert succumbing to the dreaded seasickness... Air Waves chewing gum! It appears that a combination of [View Full Entry]

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