The Tamar Valley

Brrrr it’s cold here in Australia! Sights like these aren’t uncommon in the middle of the outback. HAH HAH! I’m just teasing you again—this picture was from Ithaca in December. But from what I’ve heard, it hasn’t changed much since then. My friend Bobert complained about having only a half day of school last week: “I still went to three of my classes, but was unable to attend office hours. Sledding was fun, I heard.” Congratulations, Bobert! You’re a true Cornellian.

Back in temperate Tasmania, I had left Cataract Gorge, left the hostel, and was heading north-west on the west side of the Tamar Valley. The drive had been recommended for the following reasons:

But most especially because of this, at Brady's lookout (go on, click on it):

I stopped when a seahorse exhibit caught my eye, and was able to see a male seahorse give birth to dozens of smaller seahorses (seaponies?). These gender-bending pseudo-equines are CRAAZY and have been known to eat another’s offspring, so the babies pair up by hooking tails together and appearing to be a larger organism. Let’s count our lucky stars we’re all born to females who spend most of their lives dieting. “Oh no, I just couldn’t,” she said, suppressing a belch and continuing, “that placenta was quite rich.”

There was also a sea dragon (an animal so flamboyant that Elton John, Tom Cruise, Velma from Scooby Doo, Ted Haggard, and all the Boston priests can’t even compete), and these other seahorse relatives that resembled blades of grass. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, sorry.

It was about four in the afternoon, and I wanted to get to Cradle Mountain National Park before sundown. Marsupials are known to be more active at dusk, and Tasmania's roads have more curves and less travelers than US roads. Additionally, I hadn't made any sleeping arrangements. The lovely couple had recommended a driving route for me through various forests, but I misread my map, as usual. I went about 20 kilometers out of my way.

There were still some pretty views as I drove past, including some solitary mountain whose name starts with an R. I hiked in a pine tree forest that could have been in North America, except for its incredibly strong pine smell. There was also a woodland area with many downed trees. I planned to ask about them when I arrived at Cradle.