… to Hobart, Tasmania …

… to feed more hungry kangaroos and taste some Tasmanian wine. Hobart is Australia’s second-oldest city (after Sydney), established in 1804 as a penal colony for England. Hobart is on the south coast of Tasmania, an island south of the Australian mainland known for its parks and mountains.

Our day began with a bus ride to the Bonorong WIldlife Park. The Park rescues animals, responding to more than 5000 requests for help last year. The animals are rehabilitated, and returned to the wild if at all possible. Park residents include kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils, koalas, cockatoos, possums, sugar gliders, and more.

 

The wombat keeper is responsible for all wombat youngsters rescued. She takes them home with her at night, feeding them 5 or more bottles a night when they are very young. She currently has two charges, one about 17 months and the other only a few months old. Sadly, after all that tender loving care, around two years old the wombats suddenly turn on their keepers, and can attack them quite viciously. At that point they are released back into the wild. It was hard to believe that anything with a face this sweet would in a few short months become nasty.

This koala is about 3 years old, and was eating eucalyptus leaves with enthusiasm. Koalas sleep about 20 hours a day, so it was a treat to catch him doing anything energetically.

 

There were scores of kangaroos, mostly the smaller grey variety; we have yet to come face to face with one of the big red kangaroos which are almost as tall as a person.

After the wildlife adventure, we went to the tiny community of Richmond, site of Australia’s oldest gaol (or jail), and home to one of the first bridges built in Australia. The village’s buildings are quaint, and we managed to find both an antique store and a bead store! 

 

 

We left Richmond for a wine tasting at Moorilla Estate. In addition to its winery and restaurant, the estate is the home of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), with a somewhat controversial and diverse collection which has become the most-visited tourist attraction in Hobart. We saw only the outdoor sculptures because our time was consumed with an antipasto-style lunch, accompanied by seven wines, four whites and three reds. We were tickled to find that our new friends from Oklahoma were on the same excursion with us. From left, Nancy and Lynn, and Terri and Lyn, and, if you look closely, on the phone are our absent friends, Lee and Troy Harden who joined us in spirit.

Instead of returning immediately to the ship, we walked into Hobart’s business district to check out some of the shops. Hobart’s streets are lined with Victorian-era cottages, and the business section has many charmingly old-fashioned buildings.There was also a dog named Thompson (!), and the bustling harbor, filled with returning fishermen cleaning fish and stowing nets.

 

   

Back on the ship, it was Halloween, and Cabin 8046 was suitably spooky!