Travel journal: Feb 25 - March 12, 2011
Tasmania, an Australian island and state, lovingly called Tassie by its inhabitants, is located some 150 miles south of the Australian mainland. It is separated from the Australian continent by the notoriously rough Bass Strait, where countless ships have foundered and disappeared, So, the Australians, loving a challenge, created the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, one of the most difficult and tough offshore yacht races in the world. With its high winds and rough seas, it is typical for a good portion of the contestants to never even make it to their destination. For the occasional tourist there is an easier way; take the airplane from Sydney to Hobart.
Tasmania, the 26th largest island in the world, has a population of roughly half a million; about half reside in the greater Hobart area. Of Tassie’s 26,410 sq mi, the main island covers 24,096 sq mi; the main island is about 180 miles from north to south and about 160 miles from east to west. Tasmania is sometimes promoted as “The Natural State”, which to some may suggest that comely Tasmanians have a tendency to go about their daily business au naturel all over the place. Regretfully, Not so. The advertising pundits also pushed Tasmania as the "Island of Inspiration", and as “A World Apart, Not A World Away” based on its large and relatively unspoiled natural environment. Because almost 37% of Tasmania lies in reserves, national parks and World Heritage Sites. I suppose the issue is that they just don’t have enough people there to populate the island.
Tasmanians are justifiably proud of their country; it is a wonderful place to live. The air is clean and wonderful to breathe. It will add years to your life expectancy and reduce the time coping with respiratory diseases. They have beautiful and well-tended botanical gardens everywhere; in the bigger cities as well as in many smaller towns. On the West Coast, in the Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, the air is the second cleanest in the world, only surpassed by the atmosphere in Antarctica, where the penguins have not yet been able to develop carbon monoxide and soot-spewing contraptions. The landscape is varied with mountains and lots of water around; and because the air is so clear, the view is crisp and you can see miles in the distance. One of our traveling companions put away her puffer, which she had to use to keep her asthma in control. There was no need here for this stuff.
When our friends Peter and Rita Lieberman, who live in the Boston area, visited Tasmania a few years back they were seriously considering going back to Tasmania to retire. It was so attractive there. And that was easy to understand after spending some time in Tasmania ourselves.
Of course there are drawbacks in living there. They insist on driving on the wrong side of the road and their English sounds funny. “After brekkie this morning I aim to go to Vinnie to donate them my old tinnie”, which in our slang would translate to “After breakfast this morning I plan to go to St. Vincent de Paul to donate my old dinghy.”
And they think our English is funny. Come to think of it; it is the same all over Australia.
Another major snag is that in Tasmania there is barely any nightlife. For the younger generation that sucks. Perchance this is not as pressing for the testosterone-challenged, who probably don’t have the libido to care about these kind of thing anymore. And Tasmania can be expensive, especially for food and lodgings. Part of this is because the US dollar has plummeted so much. A few years ago, you could get an Aussie dollar for US$0.50 - $0.60. Now the dollars are essentially at parity and on some days the Aussie dollar is even stronger than the US$. And Tasmania does seem to be quite a distance away.
We found the Tasmanians to be in general kind and helpful. I broke a front tooth there and went to a dentist. When I told the receptionist I was a tourist with limited time, Dr. Puckridge, the dentist in Sorrell, made time to see me the same day I called. He worked on it for an hour and charged me 89 dollars only.
right: Because the crime rate is low, this sign on a camper truck is funny. The fleet of this rental company has outrageous signs on their cars anyway.
Their lifestyle is relaxed; there is little crime, and the people don’t seem to have a chip on their shoulders. You walk into a group of college-age kids swilling beer in front of a cafe, they will tone down the noise of their rambunctious banter and one of them will courteously open the door for you to let you walk inside. But that may be because I am 78 and I look like I am 10 years older. Well, they are courteous to the elderly and many more young people, relative to the USA, have offered me their seats on public transportation. It does show your age, regretfully.l
On the other hand, you will get a frosty reception if you asked the prim young lady behind the counter in the Tourist Information Office if you could have a look at her map of Tasmania, because you are interested in going north the easy way. That view would be interesting.
Why so, you say. If you are Australian, you know the answer. Otherwise you’ll have to get to the next page to find out.
1: Hear the Aussies guffawing in the background
