Week 2 Tasmania

After Sydney we flew to Hobart, Tasmania. Here we picked up a class C RV for 9 days of exploring. Our first and favorite spot was Mt. Field NP. The plants and animals were so different and unique. We took our flashlight and went out at night and saw pademelons, brushtail possums and glow worms. We did a day hike and a boat cruise at Lake St Clair - Cradle Mt NP. We stayed too late and had to drive to our campground in twilight - we were afraid a 'roo was going to jump out in front of the RV. We crossed over to the other side of the park, did some hiking and went on an Animals After Dark tour. Since most of the Australian animals are nocturnal, this was the best way to see them. We did see a platypus (not at night, though!), many wombats, wallabies and pademelons. Unfortunately no devils were out - I guess they had more sense than to be out on a very rainy night.We headed back to the east coast of Tasmania to see Freycinet NP, one of the most scenic parks you'll ever see. We went down to Port Arthur where repeat offenders were held. They used the convicts to build boats, cut lumber and stone and to make shoes. They stopped shipping convicts to Australia in the mid 1800's, when a gold rush started here. You always hear that England shipped its convicts to Australia, but for 150 years, up to 1775, they sent 80,000 convicts to America (this is more than they sent to any other country).Since we were unlikely to see a Tasmanian devil in the wild (they are shy of people as well as being nocturnal), we visited the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. The devil is extinct everywhere except Tasmania and he is in danger there because a cancer is being spread by oral contact between devils. The Park is breeding animals that don't have the disease in hopes of saving the population. Devils have a well deserved reputation for being fierce. When they find food, usually dead or wounded animals, they eat the entire body - leaving nothing behind! They can shatter a bone 3" in diameter! Only big sharks have more crushing power in their jaws.Tasmania is a very special place. It should be on everyone's list of places to experience. We will return someday to see all the places, flora and fauna that we missed this trip.