Huon River somewhere near Dover
The morning after Thanksgiving can be hard... but it was a gorgeous day so we rallied! We were not off to an early start by any means but we decided we must go to the southern-most point of Australia and what better day than today! (Not today today, but last Saturday today...)
| We packed up some turkey-day leftovers and jumped in the Falcon. We were headed for South Cape Bay - the southern most point of land in Australia.  The Falcon |
Oysters in the Huon River (escapees from one of the many oyster farms no doubt!)
So this Thanksgiving (and everyday) I am thankful for many things. But one thing in particular on this day is that we both love spontaneous adventures. We have already had many of these spur of the moment adventures together and there are many more to come.
I am also happy to know that we both love collecting/harvesting/fishing for food...
especially seafood...
and especially oysters...raw ones...
| So when we discovered oysters along the Huon River, there was only one thing to do. They were a little "fresh" because we were a long way from the ocean here but they were tasty, there were heaps of them, and they were free!  |  |
After a brief snack, we were off again through beautiful farm land and forests. The landscape is serene and beautiful. There are giant eucalyptus groves with spiky long underbrush, lush tree-fern forests, wide river views with boats, salmon pens, and oyster farms, rolling green hills spotted with sheep, cows, kangaroos, and broken down muscle-car trucks... It is impossible to get bored looking at the passing scenery as it changes every 10 minutes. In all of these microcosms there are flowers. Bottle-brush shaped flowers (big ones, little ones, on trees, and on bushes - yellow, red, white, pink, purple...), rhododendrons - giant ones! bigger than a house!, proteas, and of course roses! (The flowers of Tasmania deserve their own post....).
Destination Cockle Creek, Southwest National Park 148 km from Hobart.
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From here we set out on a 3-4 hour RT hike to South Cape Bay... I will let the photos speak for themselves...
I will tell you, it smelled of penguins and leopard seals - no, we didn't see any...but they aren't too far away!
The most adorable creature...
Are you wondering about the most adorable creature?
I saved the best for last. :) On the way to Cockle Creek we spotted this guy along the side of the road...
I saved the best for last. :) On the way to Cockle Creek we spotted this guy along the side of the road...
Short-Beaked Echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus
Echidnas are monotremes (mammals that lay eggs). There are only three species of monotreme in the world - the platypus (next on the list) and two species of echidna, one of which is restricted to the highlands of New Guinea. Echidnas are currently ranked number 1 as the most adorable creature.
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