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Good Morning Everyone

Posted on by TravellinPenguin

Good Morning from Penguin and Me

Yesterday we had a bit of travel and camera work. Last week we started a new book. There are photos up today as well from a well known Tasmanian tourist spot.

Let’s begin. 

First the book. The latest book is by Tasmanian author Konrad Muller. He is a Tasmania implant as many of us are.

Konrad Muller grew up in Melbourne, studied Arabic in Egypt, and was posted as an Australian diplomat to Cairo and Tel Aviv. He now works on a small family vineyard in northern Tasmania. His literary writings have appeared in The London Magazine. My Heart at Evening is his first novel.

Robert Dessaix (author) describes it as: A glossy black cockatoo of a book, as black as midnight, menacingly courtly, with mischievous scarlet flashes.

There is Tassie history, nature and mystery I am told. I actually went to the launch of this book awhile back at Fullers book store so am looking forward to seeing what it is about. 

Now onto the travel. Yes it was only a day but it was still travel. I joined a photography tour run by Tasmanian Photography Tours. {Wilkography_Tasmania)

There were 8 of us with two professional photographer guides. Ben and Charles. We hopped into the mini van and drove the hour plus up to Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania. We then received a big box of yummy sandwiches and one of the members shared a wonderful almond cake. 

We hopped onto the Maria Island ferry with a million very excited Asian tourists (it is summer tourist season after all) and off we went on the 35 minute journey to the island. Once on the island everyone dispersed and the island seemed almost vacant. Except for us.

Maria Island is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The 115.5-square-kilometre island is entirely occupied by the Maria Island National Park, which includes a marine area of 18.78 square kilometres off the island’s northwest coast. It is a car-free national park. It is renowned for its pristine natural beauty, abundant wildlife (including wombats, kangaroos, and Tasmanian devils), and rich convict history.

Cape Barron goose

As it was a very bright sunny day the wombats, wallabies and devils of course were sound asleep somewhere out of sight. However we did have fun photographing the Cape Barren geese. These birds are of significant size and they do have quite the attitude.

We hiked up and down hills, through the bush and admired the beautiful views all while learning new photography strategies from our hosts. It was lots of fun. We got back to the dock at 2:30 and headed back to mainland Tassie. 

We were presented with a great big box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for afternoon tea and that just added to a lovely day. Another half hour drive to the north and we landed on Kelvedon Beach. We spent around an hour pr so there enjoying the Tasman Sea and surrounding area with our tripods and cameras. I finally arrived home at 7:30 pm, was in bed at ten and slept a good 9 hours as I was exhausted after the almost 9 km walk up and down hills, over loose sand, rocks and the freshest air on the planet. What is it about older age and fatigue?

I didn’t think one could do a lot on the island in just a few hours but I was wrong. It is certainly accessible from Hobart for a day trip. Some people were camping or staying in some historic basic colonial accommodation on the island. But the day trip is still very doable and a lot of fun. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I would like to visit again when not a hot summer day and the wildlife are more active.

So there we have it. Another week of life.

The Penguin has a good question for you all this week.

What was the last island you were on? 


Travellin’ with Penguin since 2012

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Author:

I live a retired life in Tasmania, Australia. I love books, travel, animals, photography, motor biking and good friends. I indulge in all these activities with the little Travellin' Penguin who has now shared five continents with me. We love book shops, photography walks and time with friends as all our family is in USA and Canada. I enjoy visitors to my blog so hope you'll stop by.

19 thoughts on “Good Morning Everyone”

  1. Lovely photographs Pam – it sounds like a wonderful place to visit. The book sounds interesting, and I love Robert Dessaix’s description of it!

    Last island I visited is Phillip Island, though I haven’t been there for a couple of years. There is lovely birdwatching to be had there.

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  2. Oh, I read this yesterday, and then got distracted before commenting. Maria Island is a beautiful place. Long ago my brother did the historical interpretation there – probably late 1990s/very early 2000s. He took us there on one of our visits – may be 2015, and it was memorable.

    Now, my last island was probably Shikoku Island in Japan last September. It’s a bit Island though – with at least three prefectures – so maybe it doesn’t count. Oh, I know, while we were on that island we drove part way across towards Okayama on Honshu, and we stopped at Omishima in the Seto Inland Sea because of the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture. It was fascinating though we didn’t get a great feel for the island as an island. We did get beautiful views though of the sea and another island from the museum.

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  3. The last island I was on was one of the Channel Islands but I couldn’t tell you which one!

    That island you visited is amazing! Great pictures (love the goose) plus sandwiches, almond cake and donuts??? What an amazing day!

    I hope you enjoy the book you talked about.

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    1. Thank you Ginger. It is certainly an important historical,place of Australia’s beginnings for white man. Aboriginal people have been here for 40 to 60,000 years. I can’t imagine what that was like. Beautiful I bet.

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  4. I was so excited about this post that I quite forgot to comment!

    (A young friend of mine is toying with photography as a career, and I sent your post to his alarmed grandmother to show her that there are interesting jobs to be had, including as a tour leader in Tassie!)

    Now, to answer your question… I think the last island I was on was Phillip Island, where we spent a week out of the house while our floorboards were re-sanded and polished. I should have blogged it on my travel blog. Phillip Island is in Melbourne’s back yard, to to speak, and it’s connected to San Remo on the mainland by a long-ish bridge, but it has that kind of island feel.

    Phillip Island is famous for its fairy penguins but that has been so touristified, I wouldn’t go anywhere near it. We took The Offspring to see them when he was about five, and it was ‘au natural’. We sat on a low dune and waited as the sun went down, and they burst out of the sea and scampered up to their burrows, coming so close that one of them went over his foot. It was an enchanting experience but when The Spouse and I went in the late 1980s there were signs and roped off areas and loudspeakers bossing people around (including in Japanese) and it was just horrible. I understand that they have to do it, but I’m awfully glad that we had the opportunity to be there when it wasn’t necessary.

    Anyway, we didn’t do the penguins but instead did a lot of loafing about and also indulged ourselves with pub lunches where Amber could sit with us on the balcony and we learned that she likes chips. She has never ever had ‘people food’ because our previous Silkies had stomach upsets if they did, but her digestion must be more robust because she snaffled it the moment it fell on the floor and also the ones that ‘accidentally’ followed it.

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    1. I remember visiting Phillip Island while on a trip to Australia before we moved here. It was exactly as you described. Sitting quietly while the Penguins arrived. Just beautiful. Have not been back. I hate it when tourism becomes so big and noisy.

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  5. what a nice day out! And, such a beautiful area too. The last islands we were on are off the coast of North Carolina, especially Roanoke Island, to visit Fort Raleigh. The Outer Banks are truly spectacular!

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