It has been an exciting couple of weeks down under! We have
had a lot of absolutely amazing adventures and I am once again very behind on
writing. I’ll probably have to split this blog post into two parts, so it isn’t
ridiculously long.
Mount Field National
Park
Our first adventure was two weeks ago on Thursday night. We
decided to go with the Bushwalking club to Mount Field National Park for a
night walk. Right before left I found out my flashlight decided it didn’t want
to work anymore and it didn’t just want new batteries (I used it the night
before and it worked). Thanks to my awesome friend Kate I was able to borrow a
flashlight. She saved the day and I was allowed to go on the night walk.
Once my flashlight troubles were solved and we were all ready
to go we headed down the TUU (Tasmania University Union) building to meet the
club. We waited for everyone who signed up for the trip to get there. Then the
club drove to Mount Field, which is about an hour away from campus. Once we got
there we started walking on a path. Thank goodness we had leader from the
bushwalking club showing us where to go otherwise I would have definitely
gotten lost.
Our first stop was to look for glowworms!!! This was part of
the reason I wanted to sign up for this bushwalk and I was so excited to
finally get to see them. Everyone had to turn off their flashlights because the
glowworms need complete darkness. We held on to the rail that was on one side
of the path and hoped we were still walking in the right direction. After a few
steps I started to notice little, blue glowing dots along the left side of the
path. As I continued to walk more and more glowworms were visible. It was
absolutely incredible! Walking by them
felt magical and I couldn’t believe I was actually checking another thing off
my bucket list. Ever since I got to Tasmania and found out they had glowworms
I’ve wanted to go find them and it was just as amazing as I was hoping it would
be. I wanted to keep walking back and forth looking at them, but we had more to
explore on our walk.
We continued walking for a while until we reached the first waterfall
stop. It was really cool to see a waterfall at night with just the light from
our flashlights. After we finish looking at this waterfall it was off to the
next one. This one was just as incredible as the first one. One of my favorite parts
of the bushwalk (besides the glowworms of course) was walking by the biggest
trees I’ve ever seen. These trees were super tall with enormous trunks! I was
completely in awe and I love every second of walking in this magnificent paper.
Before I knew it we had arrived at our final destination and last waterfall for
the night. It was beautiful and very serene to listen to the rushing water. Then
it was time for the walk back to the car park. I loved how peaceful our walk
back was and I adored being surrounded by such magnificent trees again. After a
fantastic walk we were back at the car and we headed home.
Hobart
On Friday Tanner and I headed down into Hobart to explore
the city a little more. We decided to go to the Tasmania Art Museum, which is located
right is by the beautiful waterfront. The first exhibit we looked at was the
about Aboriginal history and it was really interesting to learn about their
lives and see artifacts. After that found the wildlife exhibit, which Tanner
and I definitely enjoyed. Shocker right?!?! I prefer my wildlife alive not
stuffed of course. However, I did enjoy learning more about the amazing
wildlife and getting to see the animals up close. There was also an exhibit
dedicated to the Thylacine better known as the Tasmanian Tiger. This was my
favorite exhibit and I really enjoyed learning more about this spectacular
animal. There was an actual stuffed Thylacine in a display box and a video with
Tassie Tiger footage was playing in the room. It was actually pretty sad
because these were incredible creatures and it is upsetting to think they are
no longer roaming the Tasmanian wilderness. It is an excellent example
of the direct impact humans can have on animals though. It’s too bad in many
cases we aren’t learning from this mistake though…
After this exhibit we looked at the Antarctic and Southern
Ocean section, as well as the Great War sections. They were both also very
interesting and it was definitely worth seeing the museum. After we finished
walking around the museum we headed back out to the waterfront. We grabbed some
ice cream/sorbet (me) and sat by the water. Tanner kept making fun of me
because my raspberry sorbet made my lips bright red! Oh well it was delicious,
so it was completely worth it. While we were sitting there I heard and Tanner
saw a seal. I was bummed that I didn’t see it…. Still kinda bitter about it
actually! After we finished our delicious treats desserts we headed back to
campus.
Tasman Peninsula
Earlier in the week a couple people posted on one of the
FaceBook groups we are apart of that they were going to the Tasman Peninsula on
Friday to sightsee and bushwalk. They wanted to know if anyone was interested
in going with them. Of course we were! It sounded like an awesome day!
We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to the Tasman
Peninsula. One of our friends had a car and was nice enough to drive us. Thank
you Nick! After about 2/2.5 hours in the car we arrived at our first
destination of the day, the Blowhole. Actually it was longer than that because
we had some minor struggles finding it once we got there. We all had some
problems reading/understanding the directions on the sign. Eventually we got
there though and it was very cool. Then
we decided we wanted to explore more in this area, so we continued to walk
around. We found an area with awesome rock formations and Grace and I saw a Superb Fairy-wren. He was superb indeed and a beautiful blue color. Grace and I of course watched him for a while before we
continued/caught up with everyone. We climbed up a short ledge. Simply for
everyone else, but I struggled a tad. Being short did not come in handy then. I
made it though! The view from where we were was amazing. The rock formations
and ocean views were incredible. We found a path that led us to the top of one
of the rocks. Words can’t describe how pretty everything looked!
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| Blowhole |
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| Nifty rocks |
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| Superb Fairy Wren |
Once we were done there we drove to the Tasman Arch and then
walked a little bit to find Devils Kitchen.
The Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen were a lot bigger and steeper then I
had imagined from the pictures. It was super impressive! We also got some
phenomenal views of the rocks/coast. I have been wanting to see that view since
I got here and I couldn’t believe I was actually looking at it! AMAZING!
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| Tasman Arch |
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| Devils Kitchen |
We had another short drive after that to Fortescue Bay, so
we could start our longest bushwalk of the day. I’m not entirely sure what our
walk was called, but it was the absolute best walk I have ever been on! I can’t
express how beautiful, perfect, and magnificent it was. We walked up tons of
stairs until we finally hit level ground. We were all deep in conversation though, so it seemed to go pretty quick. We saw another hiker and she said we
were in for a real treat soon and she was completely right. Soon we were
walking down and then back up huge rocks… it’s hard to describe, but it was
awesome. On one of them Tanner and I saw an echidna! I wanted to see one so
badly and I didn’t think would happen. I could hardly get the words out of my
mouth to tell Tanner when I spotted our buddy! I felt so fortunate to see one.
Thank you Mr. Echidna for coming to say hi… I appreciate it even though he probably
hated every moment of our presence. We ended up losing our group during our
echidna stop, but we eventually found them. They were looking over a cliff to
see the Totem Pole. The Totem Pole was something else I’ve wanted to see, but I
choose life instead. I figured it was really windy and if anyone was going to
lean too much and accidentally fall off the cliff it would most certainly be me!
I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s day so I didn’t think it would be a good idea
for me to lean over to see a tall rock. Plus I remember thinking “I can’t die
now I have to tell everyone I saw an echidna”! Oh well! I’ll just have to look
at pictures and know I was standing right above my Totem Pole.
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| Proof I actually found an Echidna! |
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| Banksia... the only plant I can always remember from Plant Ecology! Therefore one of my favorites! |
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| Taylor, Bobbi, Grace, Tanner, and Nick |
After walking up and down tons of stairs we were back at the
car. All I can say it the view, incredible wildlife, and the beautiful
environment that surrounded me during our 5 hour hike was exactly why I choose
to study in Tasmania. It was one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited and
the Tasman Peninsula is officially one of my favorite places in Tassie. I couldn’t have
spent the day with more amazing people either!
Cockle Creek/Southwest National Park
After a good nights rest we were all ready for another
adventure! This time we were heading to Cockle Creek, Tasmania. We went with one
of our good friends, Kate. We didn’t know anyone else who was going, but that
was ok because we got to meet a lot of new, awesome people! Right away everyone
was super nice and I knew it was going to be a great trip!
Cockle Creek is known for being the Southern most road in
Australia and Tanner and I had been wanting to go there for a while. Other then
it being the last road I had no idea what was down that far in the state or
what to expect from the day. After about 2.5/3 hours we made it to our first
destination. We literally had to stop there because we ran out of road! Drive
as far south as I can in Australia… check! We went to check out the whale statue as soon as we got
there, which was only a short walk from our car. We took some pictures there
and hoped we would see a real whale for a little bit (at least I did).
Then we picked Fishers Point, a 2 hour return
trail, for our bushwalk. We ended up walking in Southwest National Park, which
was pretty cool. I didn’t realize that there was a national park right by
Cockle Creek Rd. Our walk took us along the beach and we were able to see part
of the beautiful southern coast. I was surrounded by mountains, pristine
beaches, and the ocean… what more could I ask for?!?! As we approached the end
of our walk Tanner found the Fishers Point Navigation Light and Pilot Station
ruins. Back when it wasn’t a ruins and whaling was completely acceptable, people
would there and watch for whales. When they spotted one they would quickly go
out and try to kill it. We reached a point where we couldn’t walk any farther.
I made sure to face Antarctica and wave to it! In my mind I was a lot closer to
Antarctica than I actually was. Once we were done exploring we headed back to the car park.
We ate a quick lunch and we were on to the next stop.
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| Fishers Point Navigation Light and Pilot Station ruins |
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| Next stop Antarctica! |
After a quick car ride we got out and started our walk to
see Mystery Caves. I had no idea there were caves on the agenda and I was
pumped to go find them. The walk was super
muddy and extremely pretty. A lot of the walk was rainforest habitat and
everything was covered in moss. Everything was so green! We can along some old
train tracks, shoes, and bottles that had been left there a long time ago,
which was really interesting and cool to see. We continued walking and came
across a sign that said our caves were close. After a muddy, steep climb down
we had arrived. I was standing in the cave talking to Kate when I realized there
was a glowworm colony right above her head! I have this new fascination and
love for glowworms, so I was beyond excited to see my little glowing friends.
It’s just so surreal to see them in the wild not just a picture. It’s also
really pretty to see little blue lights in a pitch-black environment. I watched
them the whole time we were in the caves. I’m sure they enjoyed my company as
much as I loved theirs.
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| Still on the right path! |
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| Train track remains |
After the cave we headed back to the car and started our
journey home. It was and excellent weekend and I’m so thankful people were
willing to have us tag along with them on their adventures.
Bonorong
On Monday I went on the coolest field trip ever! For my
Tasmanian Fauna class we went to Bonorong Sanctuary, which is a wildlife
rehabilitation center near Hobart. The person who runs the sanctuary gave us a
tour of the animals and taught us about Tassie wildlife. Many of the residents
we saw were permanent residents because their injuries were too serious to put
them back in the wild. The sanctuary does save and release tons of Tassie
animal thought. They don’t want them to
get use to people or stress them out, so we didn’t meet them. Our first stop on our tour was the wombats!
Our tour guide brought out a baby named Tina and then sat down to tell us about
wombats. Most of the time he was talking Tina was sleeping on his lap. It was
adorable! Then they put food out for the little wombats, so she woke up and
joined her buddies for some lunch. They are hoping to release all of the young,
orphaned wombats we saw. They were okay to be around humans because I guess
they don’t get habituated like other animals. Our guide told us that one day
they just know it’s time to be a wombat and stop liking their mothers presence
or in this case humans. They also don’t have to teach them how to do basic
wombat things like digging burrows. One day their instincts just kick in and
they start digging and practicing. I thought that was pretty interesting! Way
to go wombat instincts!
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| Sleepy little wombat |
While we were walking by one of the wombat exhibits some of
the keepers were putting on of the wombats into a big transfer box and getting
ready for his release that night. His whole world was changing and I couldn’t
help to be excited for him! Max, the wombat was going home! My favorite part of
interning at Willowbrook Wildlife Center at home was releasing animals back
into the wild. It’s a priceless moment that makes all the hard work and
cleaning you do seem totally worth it. I can only imagine how cool it would be
to watch a wombat take his first steps back into the wild!
After that we saw the Tasmanian Devils! Unfortunately, none
of them were able to be release because of their injuries. They did have a spacious
exhibit and were very loved though.
There was one that kept running around the exhibit. (Watching devils run
is pretty amusing!) Then she would try to sneak up on our tour guide (Tassie
devils aren’t very sneaky) and try to take a nibble of his boot. He would step
away from her then she would do another lap. Then she decided she was sleepy
and plopped on the ground. She was my favorite… I liked her spunky personality. We also
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| My sassy Tassie Devil friend! |
We also saw tawny frogmouths, possum, a spotted quoll,
bettongs, sulphur-crested cockatoo, and an Eastern quoll. We ended our trip by
feeding kangaroos, which is always the best! I love when they hold my hand when
they eat… so cute! Before I left I also got to talk to Fred, the
sulphur-crested cockatoo. We established that Polly didn’t want a cracker. I
wished I could have stayed longer, but I didn’t want to be left behind.
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| Wild Tawny Frogmouth! |
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| Spotted Quoll |
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| Well hi there cutie! |
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| View from Bonorong! |
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| These were wild Eastern Rosellas I believe! They were just chilling around the sanctuary. One of the prettiest bird ever right?!?! |
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| Fred! |
Plant Ecology Field
Trip
Tuesday we had our last Plant Ecology field trip. It was a
week full of field trips! It was a pretty long drive to Silver Plains aka our
destination, but I slept a lot of it so if flew by for me. One of the
highlights of my day was that we got stuck in the road because sheep were
blocking it. So great! There are LOTS of sheep in Tassie (especially the middle
of the state) and I find them very amusing to watch. They didn’t let me down on
our field trip. Once they moved we continued on our way.
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| So many sheep in the road! |
When we got there it
was raining pretty hard, so we waited for it clear. Then we made our way to an
area that has a research project set up. My professor is involved with this
project and needed us to help him set some equipment up. There are birds here
called currawongs (they look like ravens). Since they are intelligent and
extremely curious birds, they decided it would be a good idea to put out there
first attempt at setting up this soil temperature monitors. We were helping set
up the new and improved currawong proof equipment. It was pretty simple and it
felt pretty cool to be contributing (very tiny contribution) to a worldwide
science project. You go plot number H35! Hope your new monitor works well for
you!
After that we went on a short walk. Tanner wandered away
hoping he might see a deer shed, even though he wasn’t exactly sure when deer
shed their antler here. He missed shed hunting this year though, so I think he
was just happy to be out walking around in a place there might be an antler. He
did end up seeing some deer. He said they were black! Deer aren’t supposed to
be in Tasmania. They are one of the many introduced species here, but they keep
them around so they can have a deer hunting season. The situation seems to be a
lot like pheasants back home. Then we headed back to our buses and headed home.
I stayed awake the whole time and really enjoyed the scenery. I love Tasmania… it’s
all so pretty (even the parts the locals say aren’t pretty)!!!
Well I think that’s probably enough writing for one blog
post. Plus I really have to work on my Tas Fauna homework (I know weird
homework). Less than 40 days until I’m back in the States. I’m not sure I’m
ready for my life abroad to end… It’s going so fast! Darn Mom was right again.
I do miss home tons though, Seeing all the prom, graduation, and end of the
school year posts/pics definitely made me want to be home to see everyone.
Quick shout out to my “little sis” and Best Buddy, Grace! You looked absolutely
stunning in your prom dress and your date looked pretty darn handsome too! Hope
you had an amazing prom. You definitely looked like a princess. Miss you like
CRAZY Grace and Adam <3 Congrats to all my friends who graduated from
college too… you guys rock. So proud of all of you!
See you in less then 6 weeks everyone! I’ll make sure write
about my Cradle Mountain adventure soon.
Love Always,
Bobbi
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