Thursday, November 2, 2006

Slept in since we had such a long day yesterday. Showered and reorganized my suitcase for the packing tonight. We leave tomorrow for Sydney but first we have another busy day. Had our usual breakfast of coffee and cornflakes with the added bonus of yoghurt. We then headed out with Alf (today is his day to ferry us around) to the Bonorong Wildlife Park. It was in a beautiful setting away from the city near a town called Brighton - a lovely ride on the way there. We met up with the rest of our group for a tour of this indigenous animal park. Our guide Greg, was a young Tasmania who introduced us to all the native animals. He had spent a year in high school in America - somewhere in Ohio - so he liked to talk to the Americans who visited. He was a well-spoken young man and you could tell he had a passion for his job. He showed us a white peacock, a wombat, an echidna and fed a couple of Tasmanian Devils. They are highly endangered now as they have some form of facial cancer that is decimating their numbers. They are small, rodent-like creatures but are solitary. They feed on carrion which is another detrement to them because they get hit and killed by cars along the roadside. They seemed pretty docile until he fed them and the two they had on display got into a fight over the chicken he was feeding them - boy, are they loud and they can look pretty ferocious. But they shy away from people in the wild and unless they find a cure for their devastating cancer, won't be with us much longer. He then brought out a koala bear, who when provoked made a pretty loud screeching sound also. I always think of them as slow,docile and silent but after hearing one of them defend his territory and seeing their sharp claws, I now have a second opinion. Although after the initial display, the bear settled in on the guide's hip and let everyone come in for a pet and a picture. They are very soft and cuddly - just plain cute as in all the pictures you see of them. When we'd finished with this, the guide told us we could walk out thru the rest of the park and feed the other animals. We went thru a gate on a hillside and lo and behold there were hundreds of kangaroos, wallebies, emus, ducks - all sorts of animals. The park is a wildlife rehabilitation and education center so a lot of these animals were found in places they shouldn't be or were injured. At any rate, they were very friendly and we spent the better part of two hours feeding, petting and playing with them. Then Alf encouraged us to wash up and head out for the next part of our adventure.
Alf drove thru this beautiful countryside to our next stop - historic Richmond. On the way, he passed by some beautiful farms and pointed out one in particular as being that of their very dear friends. We didn't have time to stop in - maybe on our next trip. It is a fascinating and beautiful country like nowhere else I've been on earth. I wish we could spend more time here but soon we arrived in Richmond where we purchased meat pies and drinks at a little place called The Bakery to take to the Coal River for a picnic. Once again the weather is cooperating with a beautiful blue sky and very nice temperatures - picture-perfect. After eating (and being accompanied by many, many ducks) we walked to the historical bridge built in 1823. It is the oldest bridge still in use in Australia. Very picturesque and I took many myself. We then toured the town on foot taking many photos of the beautiful old buildings. Very serene even though it's become quite trendy and touristy. Some parts of it reminded me of the French Quarter in the architecture and use of wrought iron. But mostly it had a lovely smalltown feel to it with lots of artists and craftsmen cottaes. We ended up at the historic Richmond Gaol built in 1806 and had more photo ops.
We headed back to Hobart for a rest and catching up before our ending dinner cruise on the Emma Lise tonight. And we'll have a farewell party after that. I tried to get the packing organized. It seems impossible. I'll just have to repack in the morning after showering and dressing. In the meantime, we got ready and headed to the docks for our cruise. We walked around for a few minutes efore going on the Emma Lise. Whilst waiting we met a lovely couple from Malta. They have been in Australia - he for 54 years and she for 30 years. It was his 60th birthday and their five children gave them money to come from Melbourne for a weeklong trip to Tasmania as a sort of second honeymoon and birthday present. They were very nice and certainly enjoying themselves. Again, a business card and a Red Stick pencil for them as I thoroughly enjoyed talking to them.
We found out that our group was to be the only one on this particular boat this night. They had us order from a pre-set menu before we boarded and Wil and I both ordered the sirloin steak with gravy, pinkeye (new) potatoes and salad. The boat was really crowded. Somehow, Wil and I got separated from Alf and Maggie and got jostled into the window seats of a table that seated 6 but 8 squeezed into. It was very uncomfortable but we just laughed our way thru it as the scenery was spectacular and the company delightful. We sat next to a couple who grew up together 50 years ago, went their separate ways and were reunited just two years ago at the funeral of her brother. Her name was Ann and his Steven and they seemed so happy and carefree that we just laughed our way thru dinner, drinks and dessert with them. The meal was wonderful and included a delicious chicken soup and for dessert, ice cream with meringue and your choice of several sauces. Just marvelous! They do like their meringues down there!
During dinner, we motored up the Derwent River for quite a way passing under the famous Hobart Bridge, which was rebuilt after a serious accident many years ago. The weather was becoming windy and cloudy but we had a most spectacular sunset and there were many sailboats out in a regatta of some sort. We passed by so closely to some of them you could see the deckhands working hard at whatever it is they do to keep those things going where they're supposed to. And it was quite choppy but we didn't feel it because of the type of boat we were on. We even saw a factory that makes amphibeous vehicles for the US Army - that was quite interesting. The whole trip was wonderful and the ride back down the river to our starting point was done in twilight with the twinkling lights of the city on the hill in the background and the bridge lights on. Quite mesmerizing.
We disembarked and went to Carol Edwards' host family's house for the farewell festivities. The house was perfect as it was set up on a hill with the living room overlooking the town below and one half level lower than the dining room where we all performed our little skits - so we were like on a stage. Of course, ours is always a Second Line this time complete with real violin music, masks and beads. We had a great time throwing all those heavy beads and thinking about what I can buy on the next stop to fill the empty space in the suitcase. They performed a "beauty pageant" - Ms. Tasmania complete with MC and many different contestants. It was knee-slapping funny and we all had a wonderful time. Darwin announced that he had just received word that the Friendship Force Baton Rouge had won the Humanitarian Award at the Friendship Force International conference in Ireland for our work after Hurricane Katrina. What wonderful news and well-deserved, if I do say so myself!
We said some tearful farewells and will meet at the airport at 8:45 a.m. I can't believe this week is already over. We met some wonderful new friends, had some exciting new experiences and experienced an absolutely gorgeous new land. I hope I can come back someday.
Next stop Sydney!