Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

We had a full and fantastic day in Tasmania.  It was our first excursion from the ship and it was well worth it.  We first visited the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.  We were able to feed and scratch the chests of Kangaroos and Joeys.  (They don't like their heads scratched).  One little joey held onto my hand with his little paws while he ate out of my hand.  I thought I was in heaven.  We also saw Tasmanian Devils, Koalas, Echidnas (look like hedgehogs), and Wombats along with a wide variety of birds.  We were surrounded by kangaroos like you can be with deer in some sanctuaries in America.

Next we went to Mt. Field National Park (Tasmania's oldest National Park) and walked to Russell Falls which was breath taking, as so much of our trip has been.  We were only there one hour and we could have stayed at least a few days hiking all the paths and seeing all we wanted to see.  This is a place that we would want to visit again and again.

Tall Trees were similar to the Redwood forest in California.  The oldest one (which we didn't see) is 10,500 years old.

Russell Falls.  It is hard to give dimension but this is approximately 200 feet high.

 From an overlook part way up the mountain

You could see why we would like to return and hike more of these trails

We finished our trip with a visit to a sheep farm with over 750 acres of land and 3500 sheep. At Curringa Farm, we were treated to a delicious BBQ lunch with either steak or lamb that was cooked over an open fire pit by the owner, Tim.  Jane, his wife welcomed us and arranged us into a large group that was served quickly and assured that we were well fed and taken care of.  Both were so friendly and welcoming that I would return here as well.  They have cottages to rent and stay on the farm.  I would definitely stay here.  After lunch, we saw the 15th ranked sheep shearer in the nation shear a sheep.  He slowed it down for us to see and explain the process.  He sheared the sheep over the course of a minute or two but his best time is 23 seconds.  It was amazing to see and the whole shearing comes off in one piece.  Then he threw it out on a table and it laid out in a perfect outline of a sheepskin ready for trimming and grading.  Tim passed around a jar of lanolin, a byproduct of cleaning the wool, that made your hands feel like they wee baby skin soft.  Jane makes these herself.

We also watched the farm dogs herd a group of sheep.