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Hello everybody
I'm back in Sydney after a LOVELY time in Tasmania. No phones, internet or TV for most of the time and it was great. We started off with a small group of 8 people - I got picked up first, then Britta from Germany then we picked up six Japanese girls who appeared to be in one group, although it turned out that only two of them knew each other. We made a really great team. Everyone was really sweet and lovely and we all mucked in to do the chores with no-one complaining and everyone got up on time for the early starts. It was really good.
Half way through the tour, 4 of the Japanese girls left as they were only on the 3 day tour and we picked up 2 girls from Essex, a young English couple, another German girl, a Korean girl and a girl from Hong Kong. They were all very nice but the English people split the group and kept wandering off on their own - they didn't seem too impressed with the beautiful scenery !! When we went to walk on the beach by some amazing rock formations where a blow hole had been formed, I overheard the comment "not another !?#@#??! rock !! wot we com ere for?". Oh dear. Never mind.
Everyone else bonded pretty well and we just let the Brits get on with it. We had another great guide who was able to give lots of information about the area and its fauna and flora. We had to adapt some of the more strenuous walks as the Japanese girls didn't have quite the right walking and rain gear with them, but it wasn't a problem. The scenery was spectacular. We went to the Henty Sand Dunes, to Cradle Mountain, Dove Lake, Lake St Clair, Bay of Fires, Wineglass Bay, Port Arthur - the list goes on and on. It was a really busy tour.
I also went to see the penguin colony one night with a couple of the girls, which was lovely. The penguins were coming in from the sea and were running round our feet. I will get some photos of them uploaded soon, but they're not all that clear as no lights are allowed except the guide's special torch that doesn't blind the penguins.
We also went to a wildlife sanctuary which specialises in trying to save the Tasmanian Devil from the terrible cancer which is currently killing them off in droves. Lots of sanctuaries are making "Devil Islands" to try and isolate the healthy ones from the sick, as this particular cancer is infectious.
When we got back to Hobart I had to find a hotel as the one I had provisionally booked turned out to be one of the most awful "hotels" I have ever set foot in - more doss house than hotel !!!! It was really bad and unsafe. So began the trawl of hotels in Hobart, with one after the other being full as it was not only Valentine's Day weekend, but also the Hobart triathlon was on. Anyway, I got a room eventually, at a grossly inflated price. When I asked the receptionist if it was the best price they could do, she sniffily said "it's the only room left in Hobart - that's the price". When I came back to Sydney I saw on a travel website that the average cost of their rooms is $64. They charged me $160 for a single room !!!!!! Anyway, I met some of the team the next day in the market and ended up spending most of the day sightseeing with Britta.
On a more sombre note, everywhere I go people are raising funds for the victims of the terrible, terrible bush fires in Victoria, some of which were deliberately started. The fires covered an area greater than twice the size of London. The death toll has been rising all the time and now stands at 201, which includes one fireman who was killed just as they thought they had control of the fires. Whole families have been lost and communities wiped out. The awful news is that yesterday another six big fires started in the area so the battle to control them continues. There is no record of any fires that have caused such devastation. Several million animals have also been killed and, of course, the survivors have lost their habitat. Quite a few species have now been put onto the "endangered species" list. It's absolutely awful.
Meanwhile, in the north of Australia they are experiencing the worst flooding that has happened in many, many years. Whole towns have been cut off, water supplies are contaminated, much devastation has been caused. And yet some of the people who have already received handouts to help them have donated these handouts to the Bush Fire Appeal on the basis that people in Victoria are in a far worse position than those in the flooded areas. This abnormal weather has a lot to answer for !!
Well, that's all for the moment. I shall be going back down to Malua Bay fairly soon and Ian and I are probably going to have a look round the Blue Mountains for a few days if he doesn't get too many baby-sitting duties once Sarah and the girls have moved in with him. I'll keep you posted.
Lots of love to everyone.
Issy xxxxxxx
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