Tasmania

Greetings friends and family! I hope you are all enjoying warmer weather (for those of you in the northern hemisphere) and the return of songbirds and flowers. I have spent the past month in Tasmania, where the weather has been relatively cool - I had to break out my toque (beanie in Australian-speak) a few times. Despite that, I was really quite lucky with the weather, as there were very few days which were miserable (today, however, is one of those!). I even got to experience some snow, a reminder of home that I could have done without! Including Tasmania in my travel itenerary was an uncharacteristically spontaneous decision that I haven't regretted in the slightest. Let me walk you through my adventures...

I spent a couple of days in Hobart, which is today a far-cry from the sordid town described by Bryce Courtenay in some of his books. I hiked to the summit of Mount Wellington, which afforded incredible views of the city below and surrounding area. I also took a day tour of Port Arthur, a historic penal institution in southeastern Tasmania. I should add that this facility has been not functioned as a prison since the early 1900's. Port Arthur is reputed to be haunted by a number of ghosts, and although I'm not quite a believer in the paranormal, if ghosts did exist, Port Arthur would definitely be a prime location!

View from summit of Mount Wellington

Port Arthur

I next visited Freycinet National Park, based out of a pretty little town called Bicheno. I really liked Bicheno - there isn't much going on there, but there is a lovely walk along the foreshore and amazing coastal scenery. The scenery at Freycinet NP is amazing - I hiked the Wineglass Bay/Hazard Beach curcuit, and passed through eucalypt forest, rocky outcrops and incredible beaches. Not to mention a few new birds and some very bold wallabies! I also visited Douglas Apsley NP, located nearby Bicheno.

Wineglass Bay, Freycinet NP

Hazards Beach, Freycinet NP

After spending a day in Launceston, I caught a bus to Cradle Mountain National Park. I did some amazing hikes and managed to avoid the worst of the weather, which included SNOW! I did a three hour hike along a disused trail, in the pouring rain, and had a fantastic time (despite the leeches). My favourite spot was at Wombat Pool, located near Dove Lake. I did see a common wombat, although not at Wombat Pool - I love wombats, they are so comical!

Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain NP

Boardwalk through the tussock grass, Cradle Mountain NP

I spent the next three weeks volunteering for Shannon Troy, a graduate student from the University of Tasmania, working on a study of the ecology of spotted-tailed quolls in northwestern Tasmania. Although Shannon was focussing on quolls, she also included Tasmanian devils in her study because they are much more common in that area. We set traps along nine transects throughout a 5 x 5 km study area, and monitored them daily for about a week. My main job was cleaning the traps, as they had to be disinfected to prevent the spread of the facial tumour disease (we were working on a healthy population). We also had to wear coveralls and gloves, and try to remember not to touch anything after working on a trap before disinfecting ourselves. Our first site was the most productive, with six quolls and many devils. The devils are nothing like their reputation - they usually sit trembling in your lap like sacks of nervous potatoes and let you process them easily. Quolls, however, are incredibly feisty and never stay still! All good fun! Over the course of this project, I learned what a huge issue forestry is in Tasmania, equal to that of the oilsands in Alberta. There is practically no old-growth forest remaining in the state, and mature forest is also quite rare. We were constantly coming across smoking clearfells and eucalypt plantations - Tassie's forests are indeed "working forests".

Tasmanian devil

Spotted-tailed quoll

Next on my schedule is a short trip to Kangaroo Island and a few days in Adelaide, before I head up to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. I will be spending almost two months working around Alice Springs on a variety of Parks' projects, ranging from Slater's skink to red cabbage tree surveys. I will be in the field for 5 to 10 days at a time, with a week in between each trip that I will likely use to tour around the area. I'm not sure what I will be doing after I complete my work in Alice on July 10 - I may have opportunity to help with some biodiversity surveys on Pellew and/or Groote Islands. I'm definitely getting very ready to come home, but would hate to have regrets about missing out on opportunities here. By the next time I write, I will know when I'll be home, if I'm not already there!

I can only include a few of my photos in this blog, so please check out my photos at the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/elk2378/Tasmania?feat=directlink

I hope to hear from you all!