The Sum Of It All

It's been an amazing (almost) 60 days since we left Seattle for worlds unknown, and had I not taken the time to journal and blog, I doubt I would be able to remember half of the details of our experiences. To say they were grand would be quite an understatement. I sometimes feel my head is about to burst with new information of countries, cultures, and people. It's certainly made me realize how little I do know about our world and the problems faced by other people in other places. Although I cannot completely identify with them, my heart is heavy to hear their stories of war, loss, natural disasters, poverty, and economic troubles. But without a doubt there was always a connection, and most often hope for a better future.

Airports - 40
Hotels, motels, B&Bs, motor inns - 32
Countries visited (or made connections in) - 10
Meals eaten out - over 170
Different modes of transportation - 13
Photos taken - over  3,000

They really do exist!

A rare sighting of two Tasmanian she-devils, previously thought to be extinct, was documented near Launceston on Friday, March 22, 2013. This rare footage was released today. The sighting was reported by Allan Vance and Paul Oen, two Americans on holiday in Tasmania, who were walking in the Cataract Gorge Reserve when they heard shrieking sounds coming from a nearby cave. They stopped to investigate and were startled by the appearance of the two strange-looking creatures. Afraid to approach the she-devils, they called the police and the local news station who promptly responded. The camera crew was able to capture these images on film before the creatures retreated into the woods nearby. After reuniting with their wives, who were in another area of the reserve at the time, Vance and Oen attempted to explain their strange encounter. The women dismissed their delusional behavior as the need to provide some excitement after their uneventful fishing expeditions.

Some days are like that . . .

. . . even in Australia. For the first time on our trip Allan and I had a chance to play golf. We enjoyed our time together and the nice, albeit windy, weather. As far as the golfing was concerned, that's another story. Of course, we have a myriad of reasons for a poor game---not having golfed in months, the wet course which was aerated yesterday, using rented clubs, not having our golf shoes, the number of rabbits and turbo hens on the course, as well as debris blown from the string winds yesterday---but the bottom line is we're just not that good. Oh, we'll, some days are like that.

Gorgeous Gorge

The Cataract Gorge is a lovely expanse along the Tamar River. On Friday we explored the trails along the Cataract Reserve. We were lucky we had Allan along to hold back the treacherous rocks blocking our path. The clear skies were certainly a welcome break from Thursday's continuous rain. On Thursday night we ate our final dinner with the Oens at the quaint Gorge Restaurant and enjoyed the local cuisine as well as the company.

Watch me wallabies feed, mate*

In four hour hours we crossed Tasmania from Hobart in the southern part to the Cradle Mountains in the northwest section of the state with not too many towns along the way. Cradle Mountain National Park covers a wide expanse and is one of the most popular areas for hikers. The terrain of the area was formed when glaciers flowed from the edges of a huge ice cap carving the landscape into dramatic shapes. On Tuesday we hiked a five mile trail with an elevation change of about 300 meters passing a couple lakes on our route. We were favored by excellent weather and were able to spot wallabies, paddymelons (a variety of marsupials) and a wombat. The terrain itself was quite unusual, even stark in some places, and we often felt we were off in a world of our own. We accomplished number 2 on our list on the aforementioned post but still haven't spotted any Tasmanian she-devils. We'll keep a lookout on our continuing journey.

*recalling one line from Tie Me Kangaroos Down Sport

Prison Break

An hour an a half drive from Hobart is the town of Port Arthur. The penal colony there was constructed in the 1800's for the most hardened criminals from England and Ireland but is now a world heritage site. The complex also housed a women's prison and Puer Island, the first juvenile facility establish by the British for young boys. The bucolic setting which included beautiful gardens and churches seemed at odds with the original concept of a prison, although this prison touted its efforts to develop psychological methods for prisoner reform. Perhaps the prisoner's favorite song would have been "Unchained Melody."