Before I forget, we lost two more hours while we were “crossing the Ditch”. I know you had been wondering about that! We’re now nine hours behind Richmond time. Well, we’re actually fifteen hours ahead and into the next day. But that would change in a few days.
We sailed into Burnie in flat calm seas, a wonderful change from the previous few days. I was happy to be there and apparently they were happy to have us there as well. The mayor greeted us at the dock, which I felt was a nice gesture. Most ships that visit Tasmania dock in Hobart, the state capital, rather than Burnie so they were happy to get our business. Tasmania is a small island off the southeastern coast of Australia, about two hundred miles from Melbourne. The impression that I received is that most mainland Aussies don’t really think much about Tasmania as part of the country. I suppose it’s not much different than Alaska or Hawaii for United States residents. You know they’re states, just not the first ones to pop into your head. Anyway, Tasmania has the nickname “Tiny Tassie” and, apparently, most of the residents enjoy their isolation. They don’t really want a lot of new folks. They like their state just the way it is and I can understand. It’s a pretty little place.
If you remember from a long time ago, I said that there were certain things that were on my “must do” list for each of the places on our itinerary. Australia was all about animals! With only three ports and just a short time in each, I realized that it wasn’t possible to really see much of the country. But I knew I had to see a kangaroo, koala, wombat, Tasmanian devil, emu, etc. So today’s all day excursion, my last with Greg, included Truwanna Wildlife Park, along with several other stops. It was sort of an all-inclusive tour of Tassie.
We boarded the bus and set off through town towards Sheffield, our first stop. As usual, our guide provided all sorts of information about Tasmania in general and Burnie in particular. I don’t remember much from his talk but one thing stuck in my mind. There is a paper mill in Burnie which produces hand-made “roo poo paper”, made from just what it sounds like! If you don’t believe it, I found a news article from a couple of years ago:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1305282.htm
So we’re on our way to Sheffield which is known as the “town of murals”. Pretty much every building in town is painted with a mural. I have no idea why they decided to do that, except that it definitely makes them unique. The murals are very elaborate and painted to look three dimensional. Taking your picture in front of the mural can make it appear that you’re actually in the scene. Of course, the town is only three blocks long, so it doesn’t take much time to see all of it. Then we’re on our way to “The Honey Farm”, a store that
specializes in honey. All kinds of honey products, including ice cream. There’s even a honey museum! Everyone got a free cone of honey ice cream, then we stood around chatting for about fifteen minutes. To this day I have no idea why we went to that store. Maybe the tour operator got a commission. I think a few people actually bought some jars of honey to take back to the ship with them. I suppose that it would make a pretty unique souvenir if you didn’t mind hauling it back to the U. S.
Then it was onward to the “real” reason for this excursion, Truwanna Wildlife Park. We saw kangaroos as we were coming up the driveway, hopping around in the woods. This was going to be good! We left the bus, got a brief orientation talk and were turned loose to wander around the park. Most of the animals were in individual pens and the staff took them out while they talked about them. There were wombats, wallabies, blue-tongued skinks, Tasmanian
devils, echidnas, koalas, kangaroos and a dalmation. The dog was the local mascot, I guess. The koala was not in a pen but sitting in a tree, where you could get close for a picture and a pet. The problem was that everybody wanted a picture of themselves petting the koala, so there was a lot of waiting. You can’t come all the way to Australia without getting that picture, though. After seeing the other animals, Greg and I 
wandered into the woods to look for the kangaroos, which were allowed to roam freely around the park. We found them pretty quickly! There were quite a few of them, some lying down, some sitting up, some hopping around in the brush. I took about a thousand pictures, or at least it seemed that way. I didn’t want to miss a good shot! Of course, they all look alike once you get home. But I have them….
When we finally figured that we had enough kangaroo pictures, we went back
to the koala tree and took a few more shots. The crowd had cleared out a bit and we were able to get some clean pictures. Koalas are cute but I’ve heard that they are docile only because eucalyptus contains a natural chemical which acts like a sedative. Without it, they’re pretty vicious! Afterwards, we had a little time to wander through the gift shop and pick up a couple of postcards, a hat pin and whatever else I really didn’t need. We boarded the bus and left for our last stop, a chocolate factory.
The stop at the chocolate factory was okay but fairly anticlimactic after the wildlife park. When we arrived, we walked into a dining room where each table was set with four different chocolate desserts. I found myself staring at a large piece of chocolate cheesecake, which wasn’t the worst thing I could imagine. The problem was that, after almost six weeks on a
cruise ship, food was not really a big priority for anybody. It’s the old “know your audience” thing. However, I don’t think much of the food was wasted. But I also don’t believe that they sold much from the gift shop. I know I wasn’t interested. After strolling the grounds for a little bit, we boarded for the trip back to Burnie. The drive back was along the coastline and it was a beautiful drive. When we reached the ship, we were met by a bagpipe and drum band which was very enjoyable. I boarded the ship with a very satisfied feeling. It had been a good day!
We sailed into Burnie in flat calm seas, a wonderful change from the previous few days. I was happy to be there and apparently they were happy to have us there as well. The mayor greeted us at the dock, which I felt was a nice gesture. Most ships that visit Tasmania dock in Hobart, the state capital, rather than Burnie so they were happy to get our business. Tasmania is a small island off the southeastern coast of Australia, about two hundred miles from Melbourne. The impression that I received is that most mainland Aussies don’t really think much about Tasmania as part of the country. I suppose it’s not much different than Alaska or Hawaii for United States residents. You know they’re states, just not the first ones to pop into your head. Anyway, Tasmania has the nickname “Tiny Tassie” and, apparently, most of the residents enjoy their isolation. They don’t really want a lot of new folks. They like their state just the way it is and I can understand. It’s a pretty little place.
If you remember from a long time ago, I said that there were certain things that were on my “must do” list for each of the places on our itinerary. Australia was all about animals! With only three ports and just a short time in each, I realized that it wasn’t possible to really see much of the country. But I knew I had to see a kangaroo, koala, wombat, Tasmanian devil, emu, etc. So today’s all day excursion, my last with Greg, included Truwanna Wildlife Park, along with several other stops. It was sort of an all-inclusive tour of Tassie.
We boarded the bus and set off through town towards Sheffield, our first stop. As usual, our guide provided all sorts of information about Tasmania in general and Burnie in particular. I don’t remember much from his talk but one thing stuck in my mind. There is a paper mill in Burnie which produces hand-made “roo poo paper”, made from just what it sounds like! If you don’t believe it, I found a news article from a couple of years ago:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1305282.htm
So we’re on our way to Sheffield which is known as the “town of murals”. Pretty much every building in town is painted with a mural. I have no idea why they decided to do that, except that it definitely makes them unique. The murals are very elaborate and painted to look three dimensional. Taking your picture in front of the mural can make it appear that you’re actually in the scene. Of course, the town is only three blocks long, so it doesn’t take much time to see all of it. Then we’re on our way to “The Honey Farm”, a store that
specializes in honey. All kinds of honey products, including ice cream. There’s even a honey museum! Everyone got a free cone of honey ice cream, then we stood around chatting for about fifteen minutes. To this day I have no idea why we went to that store. Maybe the tour operator got a commission. I think a few people actually bought some jars of honey to take back to the ship with them. I suppose that it would make a pretty unique souvenir if you didn’t mind hauling it back to the U. S.
Then it was onward to the “real” reason for this excursion, Truwanna Wildlife Park. We saw kangaroos as we were coming up the driveway, hopping around in the woods. This was going to be good! We left the bus, got a brief orientation talk and were turned loose to wander around the park. Most of the animals were in individual pens and the staff took them out while they talked about them. There were wombats, wallabies, blue-tongued skinks, Tasmanian
devils, echidnas, koalas, kangaroos and a dalmation. The dog was the local mascot, I guess. The koala was not in a pen but sitting in a tree, where you could get close for a picture and a pet. The problem was that everybody wanted a picture of themselves petting the koala, so there was a lot of waiting. You can’t come all the way to Australia without getting that picture, though. After seeing the other animals, Greg and I 
wandered into the woods to look for the kangaroos, which were allowed to roam freely around the park. We found them pretty quickly! There were quite a few of them, some lying down, some sitting up, some hopping around in the brush. I took about a thousand pictures, or at least it seemed that way. I didn’t want to miss a good shot! Of course, they all look alike once you get home. But I have them….When we finally figured that we had enough kangaroo pictures, we went back
to the koala tree and took a few more shots. The crowd had cleared out a bit and we were able to get some clean pictures. Koalas are cute but I’ve heard that they are docile only because eucalyptus contains a natural chemical which acts like a sedative. Without it, they’re pretty vicious! Afterwards, we had a little time to wander through the gift shop and pick up a couple of postcards, a hat pin and whatever else I really didn’t need. We boarded the bus and left for our last stop, a chocolate factory.The stop at the chocolate factory was okay but fairly anticlimactic after the wildlife park. When we arrived, we walked into a dining room where each table was set with four different chocolate desserts. I found myself staring at a large piece of chocolate cheesecake, which wasn’t the worst thing I could imagine. The problem was that, after almost six weeks on a
cruise ship, food was not really a big priority for anybody. It’s the old “know your audience” thing. However, I don’t think much of the food was wasted. But I also don’t believe that they sold much from the gift shop. I know I wasn’t interested. After strolling the grounds for a little bit, we boarded for the trip back to Burnie. The drive back was along the coastline and it was a beautiful drive. When we reached the ship, we were met by a bagpipe and drum band which was very enjoyable. I boarded the ship with a very satisfied feeling. It had been a good day!
Did you actually get to hold a Tassie devil? They looked pretty vicious to me! Yikes!
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