Oh you Tasmanian Devil

The standard operating procedure for this cruise is that we leave port anywhere between 5:00 and 7:00 in the afternoon, and we arrive at the next port around 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning.  Docking is a quiet, smooth process, so we don't even know we are in port until we get up, open the curtains, and look outside to see where we are.

In some places, it is truly an awesome site.  For example in Sydney, we peered out onto the magnificent Sydney Opera House.  In other places, not so much.  That was the case as we pulled the curtains open in Hobart, Tasmania ... and looked out at docks loaded with shipping containers.  That is the more typical scene that greets us.  But look beyond the scuzzy foreground and often a gem of a town awaits.  Now, I'm not saying Hobart is a diamond, but it's not a hunk of coal either.

I first learned of Tasmania as a very young child (as probably most American baby boomers did) when the Tasmania devil was an appealingly repulsive cartoon character that I watched almost every Saturday morning on TV.  As I grew older, I lost interested in the cartoon devil, and thusly Tasmania.  But experiences encountered at a young age (even Saturday morning cartoons) are often indelibly etched in a child's fertile mind for life.  So when I discovered this cruise was actually going to a place called Tasmania, the site-seeing option for me was a no brainer.   I wanted to see the real Tasmanian devil.

I hiked over to a tourist info center, where I was told a bus was about to leave for Zoo Doo, a place out in the country where you can hang with the animals and see real Tasmanian devils.  I was sold.  

The half hour drive to Zoo Doo took us through rolling hillsides, dotted with small vineyards and wineries.   We also passed through empty fields where the driver told us poppies are grown ... poppies used for opium.   This is the place where much of the world's pharmaceutical opium comes from.   They say 99% percent of it is actually used for legitimate purposes.   One percent makes it to the black market.  And there is no security (so they say).  Here's why.  The government distributes the poppy seeds, and 98% percent of the seeds produce top grade opium.   The other two percent produce opium that causes instant death.   The government does not announce which fields are the deadly ones, so, you take your life in your hands if you want to rip off the opium fields.   They say that two years ago, two dopers died after choosing the wrong field.   How much of this is true, how much of it is government propaganda, how much of it is an embellishment from an over zealous bus driver, I don't know.  

But what I do know is that finally, I got to see my devil.  They don't look much like the characters from my Saturday mornings long ago.  You know, the one with the big head, gnarly mouth, who moved around like a tornado.   The ones we saw were the size of small dogs, like a terrier. Apparently, the Tasmania devils used to be all over Australia, but they have pretty much been wiped out.  They are still found on the island of Tasmania.     They ran around a bit, stared at us, one snarled at the other, but they were pretty docile looking (however, we were told not to put our fingers into the cage because the devils are fast moving and they love to bite off fingers).

Fortunately, the kangaroos are much more friendly.  We were able to just hang with them, and with a handful of kangaroo food, they would come right up to you, put their paws on your hands, and eat right out of your palms.   The camels and the emus also ate out of your hands, but you had to be careful they also didn't chomp down on your pinky finger (keep your hand in a fist and put the food on top of it).

Back in Hobart, we discovered a cool little seaside town, population 210,000 (half the population of the entire island).  It has a New England appeal to it, with a clean waterfront and marina spotted with shops and restaurants.  A custom wood boat show was taking place on the docks, and craftspeople were selling their wares.  All, very expensive compared to U.S. and Mexican standards.  The people here are very friendly. And when they ask where we live and we tell them Mexico, they look perplexed.  Most have never left this island, many have never left Hobart.

One thing that struck me about Hobart and the surroundings.  The climate is very similar to California and the Mediterranean.   Cool nights, hot afternoons, and very dry.  The hillsides are all brown now, just like California in the summertime.  And perhaps you have heard the news about the disastrous wildfires now burning through parts of Australia.  That, unfortunately, is happening to a large extent around Hobart.  By the time the ship set sail, the wildfires had flared significantly, with towering billows of smoke rising behind the town, and a thick smokey haze enveloping the city.  Some passengers complained that they were having trouble breathing, but to me, it just brought back memories of those long hot summers where I would spend days and weeks on the fire lines covering the infernos for News10.   

Next, in two days, we will be in Adelaide, Australia's wine growing region.