Advertisement
Published: September 27th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Hello everyone. We are now in Tasmania (Tassie, as it’s locally known), but I thought I’d fill you in on everything that has happened so far on our great southern-hemispheric adventure. We got into Syndey on the 22nd and checked into our hotel that was right next to the famous Opera House. Seeing that was cool, but I’d seen so many pictures of it (and the Harbour Bridge) that I felt as if I’d already seen it. Plus there were millions of tourists there, so we had to come back the next morning at 6am to get half-decent photos.
Sydney was super expensive. Minimum price for a meal at a restaurant was $20, not including anything to drink. And all of the touristy stuff cost and arm and a leg. Since I need those for later use, we decided not to do a whole lot of that there. And after a day we pretty much taxed our bank account. No worries for us, however, because out of that darkness that lasted a horrendous day and a half, we discovered a cheap alternative so amazing that I can barely contain myself; HUNGRY JACKS! It’s what Burger King is called here, and
it is fantastic! It tastes way better than any fast food in Canada or the US. I think I’m in love! My waistline proves it.
In a bizarre and fortunate turn of events, Janina’s cousin is currently living in a van with her boyfriend in Sydney whilst going to school, so they picked us up from the airport and hung out with us for most of our time there. I met them both when I was in Germany in 2006, and it was great to see them again. Their van is a gorgeous 1978 Toyota Hiace (Google-image it if you don’t know what it looks like). It is essentially a Japanese VW Westphalia, complete with an extendable roof and a stove in the back. And theirs was a beautiful shade of once-bright yellow. I loved it! It’s the first car I’ve ever seen where the engine has a choke that you need to adjust every 10 minutes.
The one truly touristy thing we went to in New South Wales was the Australian Reptile Park. It was in the boonies, about an hour north of Sydney, and was half the price of similar experiences in Sydney itself. Enter the
Toyota Hiace! Armed with an iPhone with GPS, Nina's cousin drove us in style! There, we got to pet wombats, emus, koalas (which are so cute and cuddly but surprisingly stinkish!), pythons, and baby alligators. We also got to see all of Australia's most venomous snakes and spiders, and we watched a handler milk a tiger snake in order to make antivenom. I saw this happen in Thailand with cobras, but cobras are not nearly as venomous as tigers, and this time I was very, very close to the action. Essentially, the handler gets the snake to bite into a shot glass, and you can watch the venom shoot from its fangs. Cool! Fourth most poisonous snake in the world! Once they have enough venom, they slowly inject it into a horse so that it becomes immune to it, and then extract its blood or something (can't remember exact process; was too entranced to pay proper attention), which is what they give you if you have the misfortune of needing it. As one of my heroes in life once said, 'crikey!'
Off we flew to Hobart (Tassie's capital and biggest city) on the afternoon of the 25th. There we
It's not everyday...
...that a pirate goes to the opera were met by our mutual friends Selina and Dan, who are here doing their PhDs. They drove us to our little motel, where I sit writing this to you.
The Tasmania I have seen so far is very beautiful and very different from the rest of Australia. It’s somewhat temperate with the odd smattering of palm trees, and there is snow on the top of the mountain that overlooks our new home. There are rolling hills covered with trees that look like they are from B.C., and endless fields that run into the sea. It is hard to compare it to any place I’ve ever been to, but many have described it as Australia’s Newfoundland. It is kind of cold now, but Nina says I am just being a wimp. She has no rebuttal when I point out that there is a massive Antarctic icebreaker moored two minutes away in the local harbour. When it rains, it lightly spits for about 3 minutes; the weather report makes it seem much worse. I guess they’ve never been to Vancouver...
Nina and I have spent our time in Hobart so far looking for a place to live, and checking out the
local stores and restaurants. And I will admit that I am about to get my first cell phone. *GASP* I know, I know, I am as scared as you are, but they are very affordable here and I need one if I get on the TOC list. Plus if I get bitten by a tiger snake or mauled by a wallaby I am sure iPhones have an app that can cure you or at least teleport you to the nearest help. (This is me trying to justify it. Darn, it’s working...).
Haven’t seen any wild Tassie Devils yet (but I did in the zoo, and they are very cool). They are dying out from an incurable disease that causes facial tumours (which prevents them from eating). 75% of the population has died, and they figure the rest will go with in the next 10 or so years.
Yesterday, the four of us drove out to the Tasman Peninsula (Google it for a map). The roads here are littered with dead furry critters. Wombats, wallabies, and other little things get squished on an almost constant basis. No wonder all of the cars here have metal bumpers and bars on
HMS Endeavour
replica of Captain Cook's little boat their fronts! And sadly, those critters make up all the wildlife (outside of a zoo) that I have seen so far.
At the southern end of the peninsula is a historic penal colony called Port Arthur, where mainland Australia sent the most criminal of its criminals in the mid-1800s. It was kind of creepy; we got to walk through the old prisons, the settlement's insane asylum, and the cemetery. Nina was not impressed when I told her that she was inhaling the dead prisoners’ souls. She was even less impressed when I later tried to exorcise her.
NB: After the penal colony was closed down in the 1880s, the insane asylum was converted into a public school. I couldn’t think of a more fitting use!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0405s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Wendy
non-member comment
WooHoo!
Good to hear from you and get such a comprehensive and well written overview of a week in Oz!! We can't wait to visit - stinky koalas and all! xoxoxo W