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.

Saturday 11^th February 2012

I enjoyed breakfast viewing two grazing wallabies. Then I took the shuttle bus until Dove Lake. There I hiked via Lake Lilla to Crater Lake. As it was not very far from Marions Lookout, I also went up there. The view over the lakes Lake Lilla, Dove Lake and Crater Lake is gorgeous. To enjoy the view I had to pass a very steep section. The steps were nearly to big for me and I had to pull myself on the steel rope. Down the same way for about 30 minutes. Then I walked down to Crater Lake and hiked further to Ronny Creek. The last part was a boardwalk and there I saw a grazing wombat.

Then I took again the shuttle bus to another stop and walked to two waterfalls. The Knyvet Falls can only been seen from the side. On the way there was also a dam constructed by platypuses. I did not see any animals as they only get out shortly before dawn.

In the afternoon it got sunny. I walked for another our on the boardwalk and enjoyed the nature. There were many lizards and I had to make sure I did not step on one. As I wanted to look for wombat in the later afternoon, I went first to the Devils at Cradle Park. There they showed first a film about the Tasmanian devils. The animals are endangered because many of them die due to a infectious face tumour. I could even pet a devil, it has a fine fur. The Tasmanian Devils seemed to be very relaxed and the keeper could go to them. Then it started to rain slightly. It got stronger and I decided to go back to the accommodation. As I arrived it was coming down in buckets.

Friday 10^th February 2012, evening

Short after twilight I was picked up by the tour bus. There were only few people taking part on that night tour. There were big spotlights on the bus. I learned that on Tasmania there are different species of Wallabies, the smallest is called pademelons and is not bigger than a hare. We saw a some Wallabies during the ride. I knew already that there are many wombats here. A few of these bundles of joy we met. There was even a mom with its child in the pouch. The cub nearly touched the floor when she was walking. I learned that wombats may run 100m in 10s. I cannot think how this works. But they must be that fast as they have to be faster than the tasmanian devil. He loves wombats for dinner. We crossed also two possums. You see them rarely and if, them mostly overrun on the road. After 1.5 hours ended the interesting tour.

Friday 10^th February, 2012

Without a big brake I drove from Strahan to the Cradle Mountain National Park. Just before noon I arrived there. First I visited the visitor center. Here I learnt that there are shuttle busses in the park. Cool, like this I can walk from one point to the next. First I took a ride to Dove Lake. Like everywhere in the park, you need to write down your intended way. So I can be sure they will search for me if something happens. Then I started the hike around Dove Lake. Here you can see Mount Cradle from each side of the lake. A beautiful path led along the shore and through the forest. At the beginning I saw an echinda, but it did not let itself disturb while having lunch. Due to the black clouds, I decided to do small walks only. Along one of those tracks I met a Wombat. It was thinking already in the afternoot that it is now evening and was already about to get dinner. After this short encounter it started raining and I returned. I drove to my accommodation and found a hut with everything I need. The rain stopped again I went for a walk into the park. I saw a few birds, some of them of an to me so far unknown species, and a small wallaby. While I was preparing the dinner, there was also a Wallaby grazing outside.