Devils, but No Tigers

The most famous symbol of Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil.  However, there were once also Tasmanian Tigers.  They are now extinct and they were no more tigers than Tasmanian Devils are devils.  They were a marsupial with stripes on their hindquarters and resembled a medium size dog.

This tour took me to Bonorong Sanctuary where injured animals are rehabilitated.  There must be a lot of injuries to kangaroos because we saw and fed a lot of them!

I had him eating out of my hand!

What are you guys doing sleeping.  These people have FOOD!

Ah! a neck scratch feel so good.

How about some table service here.

Not all the animals were so friendly.  The Tasmanian Devil has nasty teeth and does not hesitate to use them.  He may only be the size of a large cat, but don't try to pet him!



















Wombats are another animal to avoid.  The one we saw was small, but larger ones will bite or even charge and try to knock you down.












The koalas were doing what they do over 20 hours a day -- sleeping.








The echidna looks like a porcupine, but it has a long snout to get at insects and grubs in the ground.

What's on the other side of this fence?

Bonorong also has birds, including emus and kukaburras also called the Laughing Kukaburra.  Does anyone remember the old Girl Scout song about them?

Kukaburra, but no gum tree.

We also went to the very English town of Richmond.  It boasts the oldest bridge in Australia and cottages surrounded by English gardens.  The settlers tried to make their homes look just like the ones they left behind.  This is a tourist town with all kinds of art galleries, ice cream parlors and even a Lolly Pop shop with lots of varieties of candy.




 Darrell took a tour around the Hobart area and visited the botanical gardens.  Tasmania has no native deciduous trees, but the gardens have trees and plants from all over the world, including some Giant Sequoia from California.  Some of the trees look familiar, but others are quite strange appearing.