Tasmania: Devils, Prisons, Kayaking and Steam trains

So, Tasmania is a state in Australia. For those that don't know, they do not have provinces, there are states. So do you remember the Bugs Bunny cartoon show? The Tasmanian Devil and how cute he was? They look really cute in person until they open their mouths and there are nasty sharp teeth that go along with the nasty sharp claws. They are scavengers who only hunt really slow things, ok, like road kill for example.

The devils have developed a nasty infectious facial cancer that they spread while biting each other. This will likely eradicate them unless the conservation guys can figure out how to stop it. Its not genetic but infectious, weird.

Ok, so, in the early 1800s, if you were a really "bad" convict you not only got sent to Australia but you got to go to Tasmania to the infamous Port Arthur. No way to escape because you are a long way from the mainland and you are surrounded by shark infested water. Now you can visit the old Port Arthur town site and see how nice it looks. I do not think it was quite so pretty then.

Off to the north east coast of Tasmania for a little sea kayaking. Dwayne was steering the kayak, thank god we did not end up in Antarctica!

(Side note; I resent that remark. DS)

Then we drove up to the north and over to the "Wild West" coast. Lots of uninhabited land and amazing scenery.

This is also a fishing, mining and pining (forestry) area. In the late 1890's a rich man bought a gold mine for the costly sum of £5,000. He soon realized the gold was not going to make him richer but the copper deposit was going to. He managed to build an amazing railroad through uncut wilderness, over huge gorges and mountain rivers.

He had to build it up a steep mountain (and therefore it had to come down the other side) and figure out how to keep the train on the rails. Thanks to a Swiss inventor named Abt, he used a rack and pinion system to get the engines up and down the mountain and just sheer determination to get the track built through the wilderness. Track and train was restored about 10 years ago, so we took the train ride through this amazing area.  They still turn the engine on the turntable using power by "arm strong".  Check out the photo.

Unfortunately up until 1994 the copper mine was dumping its tailings into two rivers that the trains cross and parallel. As a result the rivers are a bright orange color, and are dead, but they are working on reclamation now and hopefully the rivers will eventually return to life.

Thus ends our Tasmanian adventure and we are off to Adelaide for some touring of the Limestone coast (yeah, geeky geology stuff!) and some world renowned wineries. Oh yeah there were some fine pinot noirs in Tasmania, who knew?

Andrea