Australia Part 4
We were up at OMG in the morning and Frank made his way to the airport (he was a pro at it by the end of our trip) We first encountered the “guess your gate!” game where you only find it out when the airport decided to tell you what gate. For people like us-frustrating! We were in a tiny little plane (but one of the most comfortable flights) and Frank took the middle seat and he sat beside a conversational young woman who was working on her citizenship (from US) I guess the Australians like foreign architects! (Her boyfriend was from Korea) Every American (and some Aussie we chatted with are all kind of horrified by our current political climate.
There were no customs things we had to do and it was pretty friendly. One of the strange things we saw in the gift shops was abalone and the strangest was candied abalone the stuff was PRICEY and we thought of cosmic irony but as with many things we saw we couldn’t bring it through customs
Hobart airport is tiny and I wonder if there is some deal that no matter what English-speaking country we visit, they will always play Disco Inferno and You Sexy Thing at some public location-almost as a welcome. Hobart played up Port Arthur (and the map covered various places but that one was the most bang for the buck in terms of seacoast so we opted to go.
Tasmania smells like eucalyptus, broken sage boughs, and an acrid smell like pee which might be the stinking mayweed but it’s distinctive! We saw lots of dead wallabies on the roadside and the speed signs have a different between dusk and dawn. Not for vampires but for nocturnal animals!
The trip down to and including Port Arthur was gorgeous. We stopped a number of times at scenic overlooks and the one to Pirate bay was spectacular. It must be more crowded as the day goes on since a hot dog truck was there at about 10:00 am all set up. We continued on to Port Arthur-known as a former penal colony and the site of a terrible shooting. It’s an emotional mix on the site of tragedy and amazing beauty. We spent a lot of time being quiet. We took a tour of the harbor and grabbed a selfie of the most Southern Point on the globe we’ll ever be and that was sad and sweet as well. I bought a sunscreen there that was awful (stayed white, wouldn’t spread, never dried, got on everything) but we grabbed lunch there and the café is really good. Because it was my B-Day I had a ginourmous piece (that I couldn’t finish) Carrot cake. But we wanted to see other stuff so…
We had spotted three cool looking things along the road but opted for the Unzoo which was fun and that’s where we saw our first Tazmanian Devils. Here are our first impressions-
they are small-the size of King Charles Spaniel
They are built like squished up Dachshunds and gallop/hop kind of the same way.
They have big heads/jaws in relation to their body
They tell time very well, they knew when feeding time was.
Devils have their own special sound
I appreciated the signage on the flora and although we went through quickly, that’s where I learned about the stinkweed and it was nice to meet the woman running the front desk.
From there we popped over to Bonorong to check our night booking. We were way early and wandered around. The pens were fairly open and something I noticed about Aussies is that they don’t put gates on things-just low walls. Not sure what that is about…
Anyway we saw most of the critters and tried to stay away from construction. Like Ecotarium, most of the critters are rehabilitated and there as an example of human harm. That afternoon I learned that kangaroos, like tyrannosaurs, have tiny forelegs so the way to “tickle” a kangaroo is to scratch its chest and it will throw its head back in ecstasy and he happy to stay as long as you scratch. And I’d been wary about the loose kangaroos just chilling on the lawn but once they see a feed bag, their interest goes up a notch. These were so drowsy that some we had to feed like they were at a Roman dinner, reclining. But they had us leave and told to come back in a couple of hours. We quickly hit the gift shop and Frank bought “Judgemental Womat” A stuffed wombat toy that general sits on furniture and stares at people.
So we checked into rather institutional Best Western and grabbed supper at Brighton's Best Bakehouse and it was mostly empty. We had some beef pies and tried some desserts. Frank had been taking over pokegyms and leaving bisons in charge.
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Then back to Bonarong.
Each group of 2-6 got their own guide and ours was Melissa. We were paired with another couple-one was an expat American. When she found out we’d worked at a natural history museum she was super-nice to us and in fact we got a 3-hour tour and Melissa closed up the place. A term we kept hearing was Crepuscular in regards to the animals
A collection of photos not ours:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g2503518-d256538-r122276919-Bonorong_Wildlife_Sanctuary-Brighton_Greater_Hobart_Tasmania.html#photos;geo=2503518&detail=256538&ff=234926325&albumViewMode=hero&albumid=103&baseMediaId=234926325&thumbnailMinWidth=50&cnt=30&offset=-1&filter=7
Kangaroos-we went down to feed these guys first but I kept back some of my feed since I was just as popular giving skitches. Kangaroos were not as big as I expected but their claws are terrifying. Seeing them in person really can make you feel like you are on an alien planet as their locomotion breaks the brain. Not used to seeing a creature rest with hind legs at 90% flat on the ground and then rise like a bizarre robot.
Tazmanian Devil- As I said smaller than expected and *strong* it is eerie watching it crunch through a bone. They used Wallaby and Kangaroo legs. We have no idea what their fur feels like. The first devils were full so we went to “Prince” who was raring to go. He was really annoyed at Frank, did a little dig and made muttering noises at him. It was stupidly cute even as threatening.
Wombat-Our wombat was Mariah and she was super-sweet. Frank really was captivated by her. They have a hard cartilage plate in their backside. We were told that when they get to be about 2 years old they turn solitary and sullen and don’t want pats any more. But at 18 months Maggie rolled over for more skritches. Melissa told us that to encourage den digging they are forced to collapse their burrows and make them work on it. It makes for cranky wombats. Two other wombats spent their day at the facility for socialization and one of the volunteers, a woman named Linda. She loads them into a soft-sided carrier to bring home at night. I guess wombats like to sit on things and be under things. They feel like raccoons or bobcats-stiff, gray fur. We fed her the kangaroo feed.
Echidnas we met Randall the echidna who was missing a foot due to a dog attack. He really wasn’t interested in us until he heard the plastic tub and was actually trying to pry it open on his own. He was stiff-furred with hard tips. He is soft-beaked and his tongue is like a butterfly’s-it curls out and snags things. You wouldn’t think that’s efficient but he made short work of the hamburger mix in our hands and left no scraps.
Tawnyfrogmouth-These guys are like owls-they see mice because of car headlight and *wham* that’s why they have so many of them in rehab/captivity. I got one with a lot of personality and he knew I had the pinky mouse and was happy to make it disappear almost instantly. I guess both males and females sit nests but the ones in captivity are not good parents so they take away the hatchlings right away.
Koala-this koala was very calm and didn’t care about much of anything. The other woman on the tour discovered we could draw things in the koala butt-it’s like felt or textured couches. I know a person that is obsessed with koalas so I felt mildly bad that I was there poking one as she could not.
Quolls-they looked like giant elephant mice with deer spots. These we had to feed with togs and be sure to be away from the wire mesh. After one snagged my meat bit, I can see why. I guess they will take on animals bigger than themselves and can rove in packs. Scary.
Possum-not like our possums, theirs are furry and cute. The one we met was brain damaged and a little food obsessed. Enough so that the other woman on the tour had to relinquish the whole food container to the critter so that she could get her fingers back. His fur felt like lamb’s wool and he LOVED strawberries
Bettong but it was dusk and it poked out a head to see what Melissa was doing.
Kangaroo sexy time-I tried to give the last of my feed to some little joeys (baby kangaroos) but a bigger kangaroo had just been rebuffed by a female and wanted some food so he punched me. We ended up going into an enclosure to escape. I guess males do a weird forepaw batting at the underside of a female’s tale to encourage her to be willing.
We were the last ones out and I think this was our tourist highlight.
A strange commercial series we saw everywhere: Hotels combined commercial
And Melissa told a funny story about how her Father bought a Lexus 4-wheeler and…took it four-wheeling. Apparently this horrified the Lexus dealer.
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