Tasmania- go there before you die!!!

[ea81slush]

We live in Central Victoria the southern tip of the Australian mainland and it is beautiful country, hilly, lakes, farms and various scenes of where our famous villain Ned Kelly roamed and robbed and shot (and killed)police and got shot in his famous iron armoured suit.

But my family originate from Tasmania. I am aware some souls on the other side of the world dont know where Australia is let alone "Tassy". Tassy is the island below us in the shape of a female crutch!. But that's not all that is to be admired about this island.

If you tour this land take at least 3 weeks to see most of this island. The west coast is still not fully explored. That's why the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) is still living according to the die hard believers. In the centre (sorry guys (Center) of the west coast is MacQuarrie Bay and inside that beyond the rip is Sarah island a snake infested small island settled by the British in the 1820's for 12 years to be used as a torturous prison.

Two important things occured at Sarah island:

First the last ever ship to leave the island in 1832 was mutineered by prisoners. It was sailed towards Antartica then up to Peru where the men enjoyed 20 years of lust from Spanish women before the British did a deal with the Spanish and they were taken into custody. They all were jailed for life.

The second was when 6 men escaped and entered the south west wilderness. They began to eat each other due to lack of food. Pity they didnt dig up some tree roots and other berries and such that local aborigines did because within 15 feet of their campsite they had enough food to last them months. Anyway there was only one prisoner left after the other 5 were consumed. He then made it to civilisation and was caught. He tole his story but wasnt believed. Then 10 or so years later he escaped again and arrived at a farmhouse where he killed and ate the married couple there. He was caught agian and only then was he believed!

Tasmania is rich in history. Port Arthur a once famous large jail site at the south east tip is good for a tour. Pity it is more remembered for the massacre of 1996 when an idiot called Bryant shot and killed 35 men women and yes little tackers.

The scenery is amazing. When it isnt cold be prepared bacause the weather can change in 10 minutes. There is a daily ferry to the north of the island but touring around the coast is the way to go.
Driving north to south will take you 3 hours- gives you an idea of the size. There are free camping sites all over or one dollar for a shower.

There are dairy farms, apple orchards, fishing villages (Stanley), gorges, mountains (Cradle mountain is a popular place), old towns and people there wave at everyone. Life is slow in Tassy......and the rest of us are affectionately called- mainlanders! no...bloody Mainlanders.

You gotta go before you die!

You can hire a VW trike from Oz trikes one hour north of Sydney, 9 hours ride to Melbourne, hop on the ferry and in the morning enjoy your trip. Alternatively fly there from Sydney and hire a campervan.

Smokey


This is one of several trees at Legerwood north east Tasmania where they carved out world war 1 tributes to fallen souldiers, local nurses etc. there is a story on each tree.

[Bikerbozo]

Hey, sounds good. But what about the Tasmanian Devils?

[ea81slush]

its ok trikerbozo....one look at you and you'd be safe....they scare easily especially with makeup!

The little blighters well, more than half have been wiped out the last 5 years due to a cancer in the mouth that spreads easily from mouth to mouth. The devils bite each other all the time as a power game (only the strongest survive principle). there are many people trying to save them. some on nearby islands, some quarrantined form the masses.


Devils sometime gather under houses and they make a real devil growl in the middle of the night.

like I said Bozo- you're safe. fly here and trike around tassy in your gear.

p.s. here is "Yobbo" from 1981. I did charity work for a while.

[Nana]

It is on my bucket list for sure, along with Australia and New Zealand.
Those carved trees are incredible! and thank you for the fascinating history; I had read only a much more limited bit of that before .

[ea81slush]

No worries.

The story of the mutineered ship, the last one to depart Sarah island is in a book called "The men that God forgot".

for those that are avid readers the book is at:

Amazon.com: The Men That God Forgot (9780552115902): Richard Butler: Books

There are also a few web sites on Google that tell about the horrifying conditions on Sarah island in MacQuarie harbour.

One thing I forgot to mention about Tassy is their Huon Pine Boat building became huge down there after they discovered trees up to 4000 years old. Huon pine is light and perfect for boats. Because they take so long to grow most are now protected. There is only one mill left. In the 1970's the Tassy Government were going to dam the Gordon River where there was a massive protest. The protesters won and the river remains free to flow.

[Blondie Gal]

Come to Texas. We got most o' that - - well, the ships are all along one coast and all the 'devils' are at the other end of the state - - no cannibals though, unless you're talking about some of our legislators. Maybe we could do an exchange program!!! Oh, yeah - it takes a couple of days' rides, sometimes 3, to go from one end of our Great State to another. We're mostly hot rather than cold, but totally understand the 'be prepared' part . . .

Thanks for the vivid description - - sounds like a super place to live, and we can tell that you love it! Come spend some time with us, you might enjoy this place, too!

[ea81slush]

Well you never know your future. Texas eh? What do I know about texas? George W would often mention "In texas we call it..." etc. I imagine dusty cowboy towns with tumble weeds. Rodeos. Cars 25 feet long with cow horns on the hood (bonnet here).

And Galveston...of the famous song by Glen Campbell. And of course Dallas. We had the series here in the early 1980's. We were all glued to the TV to see "who shot J.R"?

Thats about it. So it sounds like there is a lot more to Texas than what I know.