Don’t step in the Roo poo!

February 18, 2009

What do blow holes, hissing devils and steel cold leg irons have in common? That would be a day in my life in Tasmania, AUS. FACTOID: Did you know that Tasmania is actually just a state of Australia and not a separate country on its own? Ya ... me neither! Kinda like Newfoundland to Canada – it’s an island off the mainland but still part of Australia. I know some of you didn’t know that ... so sharing this factoid helps me feel not quite so Duh!

After three days at sea, we were eager to put our feet on terra firma again. By 8:00 am, we were well on our way from the car rental place in Hobart and headed to the south east peninsula of Port Arthur. This lovely landscape housed the second penal colony established in Australia (first was in Sydney – I know you were wondering:) Along the way, as always, we encountered some very cool sights and sounds. First stop was a very interesting rock shelf that was formed by the tides of the sea (called the Devil’s Kitchen). It literally looked like someone had taken a huge machete and sliced perfectly formed squares into a large flat area of rock that ran along the coast for a mile or so. As the water got in between the cracks, it caused some of the squares to round off their edges and raise slightly in the middle to take on the shape of rising bread dough in a pan. It’s kind of hard to find words to describe it – a picture would tell the tale in an instant – so I think I’ll include it on FB when I download later. Suffice it to say, it was a very cool, bizarre effect that was fun to rock hop over and observe. The impact that was made when an unrelenting force pounding down on an impervious fortress of rock year after year, century after century was undeniable and striking ... there’s a life metaphor in there somewhere!

Further on down the road, we made a quick stop to listen and view the spectacle known as the Tassie blow hole. For any of you who have ever seen these phenomena before, you’ll know that you hear them long before you see them. There is an eerie, low, hollow hissing sound that precedes a violent eruption of water each time the powerful waves are forced down a narrow corridor and out a tiny hole on the side of a rock wall. Kind of like the sound of whales spouting in the foggy ocean or geysers exploding from deep within the earth’s core. While I have seen blow holes before, this was a particularly beautiful one. When the tide was out I could clearly see into the rock cave where the blow hole was all the way out to the other side of the rock wall into the ocean – it was like looking out through a naturally formed rock window. Very picturesque. More stops along the way produced equally gorgeous landscapes/seascapes. Keep an eye on FB and I’ll post pics when I get back.

One of my “tens” for the day included a stop at an Australian conservation area which housed some native critters of AUS. Possums, wombats, and Kangaroos ... oh my! Lorikeets, Koala’s and my favourites ... Tasmanian Devils! Yep – they really do exist – and though they look nothing like the Bugs Bunny Cartoon version, they are as ornery, ugly, snarly, vicious and unmannered as the one portrayed by the cartoon Taz! Picture this ... they have short, course black fur with 2 white stripes or markings, they are the size of a 30 pound dog – all muscle, they have the face of a black bear/rodent, teeth of a cougar, legs and body of a hyena, tail of a small monkey. They don’t see well, smell well, hear well or hunt well (food of preference? Road kill). They fight and growl for their food, for their bed, for their space or even if you just make eye contact with them. Their bite is four times more powerful than an average dog – they can break bones in one chomp. They literally “wake up on the wrong side of the bed” every day of their lives! So why were they my favourites? I am impressed by their passion to remain miserable. They are so intensely focussed on being ugly it pulsates out of them. I give them credit for sustainability:) Side note – they do have a short lifespan – usually 4 years – I think it’s either because they are so programmed to kill each other or the stress of being so ornery takes its toll on them - I think there’s another life metaphor there:) OK – on the complete flip side of the ornery scale is the lovable Koala. FACTOID: In a 24 hour day, Koala’s sleep for 20 hours, eat for 4 hours and move for 15 minutes. They hang out in eucalyptus trees and literally flop over its branches to sleep. They have perfected the art of “chillaxing”. Their whole focus in life? Look cute and cuddly. Their life span? 20 years. Hmm ....

Final hi-light from this place was walking in amongst the roo’s. They actually let people into the Kangaroo area and you can hand feed them and pet them to your heart’s delight. Surprisingly, they are very tame (I figured these ones must have been raised in captivity). Roo’s come in all shapes and sizes – there are over 40 varieties alone in Australia. Greatest risk to me in this pen? Stepping on roo poo with open toed sandals:)

Final stop of the day was the Port Arthur penal colony. We could have spent the whole day here. Talk about a sad life ... this colony was established to deal with the overpopulated prisons in England. Back in the 1800’s, 300 convicts, 100 soldiers and 30 trades people were placed on a ship and banished to the island of Tasmania for crimes as horrendous as ... stealing a shawl, vagrancy, over-charging for surgeries, pick-pocketing, being a street urchin, etc. Sentences were either 7 years, 14 years or life. The youngest “convict” was a 9 year old boy – the majority were young men in their 20’s. The soldiers, who were suppose to help keep the peace, were in fact court marshalled military “outcasts” themselves. Quite the group to start a new civilization eh? Not exactly your typical pioneers! The first building they erected was a church – the second was a multi-cell prison house and a solitary confinement prison a short distance away. To their credit, they did indeed manage to get a functioning village up and running which eventually led to the current day population of about 500,000 Tasmanian citizens. Most everyone on the island can trace their roots back to one of those original convicts – and though for the longest time there was shame attached to that, they are now quite proud of their heritage. Dad ... you would have delighted in this place :) Made the Edmonton Detention Barracks look like Club Med! Thought about you several times:) (FYI my dad was the warden of Military DB back in the day but NEVER a convict:)

All in all, a jammed-packed day with sensory overload of nature, critters and history. Definitely a memory filled adventure!

Things I learned:

1. Australian parrots speak with an Australian accent
2. Leg irons leave bruises
3. I could live in Tasmania