We took a quick tour through the southeastern state of Victoria and the island (and state) of Tasmania in October 2010.
Dave and the kids in front of the Southern Ocean. Evidently they have added another ocean since we went to school in the 70s and 80s.Carol and the kids at the same spot in southern Victoria.Picking up shells in a small tidal pool.Our official trip photographer.It’s amazing how much Chris and Carrie enjoyed playing with this stick.Of course Chris ended up in the water.View of Melbourne from our hotel room. The Aquarium is the blue triangle shape in the foreground.Happy penguin.Lionfish.Colorful coral and fish.Tiki Carrie and Chris.Graceful ray. One of the rays had a wingspan of more than 6 feet.Zen crab. We should have put a kid next to him for perspective. He was about two feet wide, curled up like this.Our room on the overnight Spirit of Tasmania ferry.Tasmanian cows wondering why we’re out at 7 AM. The reason we were out is because the ferry dumped us off at 6:30 AM.Even on a cloudy day the cows have a nice view.Thirty minutes later, the landscape changed significantly.Hungry “Black Currawong” at the visitor center of Cradle Mountain National Park. He appeared as soon as I got out a piece of bread inside the car.This is what we saw of the view of Cradle Mountain over Dove Lake.Intrepid travelers on Glacier Rock in front of previous view.This is what that same view looks like if you are lucky to be there on one of the 95 clear days each year. Obviously we chose poorly.We see snow! Carrie and Chris got to touch snow for the first time since 2007.Pencil Pine Falls.Enchanted Falls.Carrie’s favorite Aussie chocolate at the Cadbury Factory in Hobart.Cadbury Factory amongst the many mountains surrounding Hobart. Dave and the kids took a tour of the factory while Carol checked out the Royal Hobart Hospital and was treated for bronchitis.View from our Hobart hotel room.Tahune Air Walk. This is the ground trail below the Air Walk.Tall, tall trees.So big.That’s the Air Walk.The end of the line. The end was cantilevered so you could see out to the rivers. The adults had a healthy respect (fear) for this section.That’s the view from the end of the line. Time to go back.Chris on the ground trail below the Air Walk.Pretty scenery in southern Tasmania on our final day. The sun decided to come out.Walking through the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park.Carrie feeds a kangaroo. Do you see the joey foot sticking out?Big joey. Time to move on, Joey.This is fun.Some don’t mind being petted. Food first, of course.Chris decided to make some sketches of the animals we saw.Carrie was on a mission to provide every kangaroo with some food.Infamous Tasmanian Devil. Cuter than expected. It was curious as to whether we had brought it food (no, they don’t let the guests feed the devils).Same devil with her babies, three sleeping in a pile.That’s the devil look we expect to see. Except this is a yawn, which they do to smell and exhibit their teeth.Okay, they are a bit crazy about food time. They worked together to tear this chunk of wallaby up. They pull it, growl, run with their chunks of it. Very interesting.This was a cool park.Chris got to help out during the mini bird show by holding the Tawny Frogmouth.Beautiful little pocket of a view of the Tasman Sea.We’re getting a collection of these wildlife signs.View across water to Freycinet National Park. Chris and Carrie have been great travelers.Similar view to the north.Finally! There’s Cradle Mountain off in the distance.The ferry boat that transported us and our car.Melbourne at 7 AM.Scenery around Victoria.This inland town had a submarine in its park! The man whom the town was named after was a submariner.Climbing around a submarine – quite a bonus.Pretty New South Wales.
