Launceston to Bay of Fires

Today we got an early start and headed back to the East coast to the Bay of Fires. We started the day off with a hike along a river for about 1K then we hit the road for a couple of hours. We only stopped for restroom breaks until we got to the East coast. Then we went to several different beaches and a blow hole. I enjoyed the day. There were orange rocks along the beach which is unusual. Our first beach was Shell Beach which surprise surprise is covered with shells. I enjoyed that beach with its combination of shells, white sand and colorful rocks. Then we hit several others throughout the afternoon until we got to our hostel just before dark. Most of the group then went to see the little blue penguins but I did not want to spend money to see them once again. Tomorrow we hit Wineglass Bay and go to an animal sanctuary. Here are some pics...of course the tassie tiger is a pic of a pic.

Hobart to West Coast of Tassie

I left Hobart on Friday and headed to the North-West Coast. I am not on my bike now but rather on a 5 day bus tour with a bunch of young backpackers. I am enjoying the break in routine from my bike riding. We stay at youth hostels at night and during the day we pack in lots of stops to sightsee and hike etc. We went through Queenstown on day one stopping at various lookouts and things, some waterfalls, some national parks and things like that. We ended up in Strahan a small town on the second largest bay in Australia next to Sydney harbor. We stayed in a YHA hostel that was very nice. There were a few animals wandering around the area of the hostel and there were platypus in a small stream behind it. We saw bandicoots, possums and other ones that I don't know the names of. The next morning I went on a bay and river cruise. I enjoyed that cruise. We looked at the salmon farming in the bay, visited Sarah Island which is a famous penal colony, went out through Devil's Throat, a narrow passage to the open ocean, and we saw white bellied sea-eagles along the way. Our guide for Sarah Island, Kia, was very animated and entertaining. We also went 14K up the river for a rainforest hike. The river was black from tannins and reflected the trees and sky like a mirror. It was beautiful to cruise along. The next day, today, we went to Cradle Mountain and walked around. The group went on a hike around a lake that I am not capable of doing so I walked a little bit from the parking lot and took some pics. I ran into a wombat along the trail. I watched him eating some pink berries and took a few pics of him until he charged me to convince me to move along. I was never afraid of him but his grumpy attitude was entertaining to me. He bit my shoes a little but it was just to warn me off. So I left him alone. I also saw wallabies and bandicoots as well as a pademelon which is a small rabbit sized marsupial. The mountain area was very beautiful so I took pics of the snow and mountains also. Then we drove to Launceston on the Northern part of Tasmania. We stopped a few times along the way for parks and to walk around a small town, Sheffield. Wifi has sucked or been non existent until here at the hostel tonight so I have been a bit out of touch.

Tonight we are staying in a backpackers hostel in Launceston for the night. Tomorrow we hit the road again to Bay of Fires. I do not know much about the area so it will be all new to me. Here are some pics....