Sunday 4^th March, 2012

Konrad hat to be at the airport at 9am as he had to go back to Sydney. The next time when we will see us is when I go to Sydney. With the car I drove to the Swan Valley. My first stop was in Guildford and I informed myself in the information office about what to visit in this area. I already knew that there are many wineries in the Swan Valley. First I walked around in Guildford, then I drove to the Sandalfort Winery, as it can be visited without tasting wine. After I went to Bells Rapid. There I had a great view over the valley and you could also see the skyscrapers of Perth. The next stop was the Honey House. Here they explain how honey is produced and I could tasted many different kinds of honey. With a lovely honey ice and a honey lemon water in the stomach I continued. Passing many vines I went to the Maali Park and walked along Swan River. I had lunch at the Houghton Winery. First I went walking in the big park, after I visited the museum and the gallery. In the gallery they sell glassware and pictures. In a chat with the artists I learned that that Margarete, the photographer, is from Germany. But she understands Swiss dialect very good as she worked for more than 30 years in Basel. She told me that there are not many Swiss in this region. As it was only early afternoon, I was thinking what to visit next. I just continued driving and reached a road sign pointing to the John Forrest National Park. Over a scenic drive it went through the park, but for a long time I did not see a hiking path. At one spot there was a barrier and I had to buy a day pass to enter the park. Also here I went walking. As it was 35° allowed myself something to drink in the bush restaurant. In the garden veranda there were two green parrots walking on the tables. Looking right I saw a few kangaroos which got feed here. There were also some young ones, one I could observe while suckling. As I got slowly tired from the heat, I went back to Perth. Here I will stay the next few days.

Sunday 26^th February, 2012

My Sunday excursion led to Bruny Island which the locals like to call little New Zealand. As in New Zealand there are two islands, but here they are connected with a foodbridge. Also the vegetation is not the same. On Bruny Island there are white wallabies as one day albino wallabies escaped. As they could not be caught again, they mated with normal wallabies and now there are white ones which are not albinos. At pleasant 25° C I went to the meeting point. The air was weirdly misty. The guide told many things about the region when we went by bus to the island. The said that yesterday someone made a camping fire. This was not allowed due to danger of bush fire. Promptly the fire got out of control and led to a rapidly growing bush fire north of Hobart. I saw the smoke cloud already yesterday when I was on Mount Wellington. It looked like when I am looking at the nuclear power plant in Gösgen out of the window at home in Olten. I already thought then this looks like a bush fire. Now they hope that the rain predicted for tomorrow will eliminate the fire. Now back to the tour. With a ferry we went to the islands. First we saw a fish farm in the sea. Here young salmons are raised in containers. From time to time fresh water is added. This should resemble the natural cycle of the salmons. On the island a small part of the fishes get smoked, the rest will be sold. Many inhabitants live from sheep. They export merino wool. Another income are cherries. There is a huge plantation of big cherries. They mostly get exported to the USA. Another interesting detail I learned. In Tasmania there are three wind power stations and many hydropower plants. If Tasmania produces much energy, it is transported to Victoria (the state where Melbourne is). To do this there is a cable on sea bottom connecting the island with the mainland. If Tasmania is lacking water and cannot produce enough electricity, it gets it from the mainland. Now my tour continues on the south island. First we enjoyed tea and muffins, then we went slowly to the boat landing stage. When everyone was in the boat ginger pills were given out against motion sickness. As I get fast motion sick, I took my own pills before. They were small rubber boats and so we could get very close to the cliffs. We saw many cliffs and caves. To make sure that we did not get bored, the boat got quite rapid in between. Our destination was a seal colony. It was funny to watch these animals while sunbathing or playing in the water. On the way back we also observed birds flying and then diving into the water. Back on the land we enjoyed a salad for lunch. After a short stop at the seaside it was time to go back. At the ferry I had already to wait for more half an hour as also other people wanted to leave. Here I enjoyed the sight to the sea and watched the sky which got more and more misty. I went directly back to Hobart after the ferry brought us back to the mainland. It was good to make that tour today as it was still 35° C when I was back. To finish off: this was not my day. First the toilet door in the Pub fell out of the hinge and in the evening in my room the window was falling down. Good luck as nothing happened to me, I just had to change the room.

Wednesday 22^nd February, 2012

Today I had to go early to the harbour as the boat had to ship a group of seniors to the island. First we collected the group and then we went directly to the island, where we day tourists left the boat. I took my bicycle and started cycling. First along the coast and then a bit to the interior. The way was a bit hilly and the road not bad. Sometimes I had to walk if there was much sand on the road and I did not manage to pass. Often parrots flew out of the trees or somewhere a wallaby jumped away. Then and when I could take a picture from an animal, but I took also many pictures from the landscape. I never saw so many shades of green and blue like here. It was a magnificent to explore the landscape with two wheels. To get back to Darlington I used the same way. Cycling a bit, take a picture and walk sometimes as my knee started to ache. Back on the mainland I saw that there is a message in my voicemail. I learned that it was the camping asking why I did not bring back the key for the caravan. Back in the reception I explained to the receptionist that I paid for another night. The lady from yesterday did not note it! The gentleman believed me and I could sleep once more here.

Tuesday 21^st February, 2012

I fell in love, sorry Konrad. But Maria Island entered my heart. With the boat we went to island. There I joined a German couple for the rest of the day. First we went to the Fossil Cliffs. Here I could see up to 240 million year old fossils in the rock. Back in Darlington we continued to the Painted Cliffs. That are rocks which have different colours in the sunlight. The best time here is at low tide. We were lucky and the sun started shining as we were there, so we could marvel at all the colours of the different rock layers. Finally we hiked into the interior of the island and then back to Darlington. On the island I saw today some kangaroos, wallabies, goose, hen-like birds, a wombat and a breeding penguin. Unfortunately I did not see any dolphins. Then we went back to Triabunna with the boat. There I wanted to get some money from the ATM, but it did not work with any of my cards. According to the unfriendly lady from the supermarket some French had the same problem a few days ago. I said that there might be a problem with the machine. She did not believe as the problems are only with foreign cards. But as I could always get money so far, I believe more in my version. Anyway, my credit card was accepted and I booked another night in the caravan as I do not yet have enough of Maria Island and will go there tomorrow again.

Sunday 19^th February, 2012

My day started with a bird. When I prepared my breakfast, I saw a parrot on the tree outside of the kitchen window. As my camera is always ready I could take a picture of it. Here the climate is mild and Coles Bay advertises with 100 sunny days a year. That is why there are lemons and tree tomatos growing in the garden of the host. Freshly starched I drove into the National Park and hiked to the Great Oyster Bay. On the way again parrot were flying from the trees. I hiked in the bay along the beach and enjoyed the view to the mountains of the park. Next stop was Cape Tourville. Here I had a stunning view over the peninsula. On a lucky day you see dolphins from here and also whales if there is the right season. I for sure saw none of them. I shortely walked to the light house and went back to Coles Bay. I wanted to do sightseeing in the center. I realized that there is only a restaurant, a shop and a bakery. They definitively live from tourism as there are a lot of accommodation possibilities. I decided to walk along Muris Beach. After 30 minutes I was at the other end and enjoyed a picnic. On the beach there were two cyclists and soon I realized that is was Diana and her husband. I rented my room from them. Diana asked me, if I would like some zucchini and potatoes. I accepted in thanks. I got the fresh vegetables from their garden. She told me that next to my room is a bush with Tassie berries and I should taste them. The taste is difficult to describe, but they are fine berries. In the late afternoon I drove to the Friendly Beaches. Here I stayed more than an hour and was fascinated from the stones. As I had a lot of time, I tried to build a little stone man. At one place there are stones looking like floor plates, all have the same size. Here I also met some older Australians. It is interesting how many Australians come to Tasmania for vacation. At the parking I saw again a jumping wallaby. In the evening I prepared a nice dinner with the fresh vegetables.