Ten days in Tassie 4th-14th

From the peace of the Blue Mountains it's back to Sydney airport and a short trip across to Tasmania. I'm expecting Tasmania to be cool and fresh like the mountains but instead when we land it's 42 C! The highest recorded temperature in Hobart. And this is a problem as bush fires have started SE of the capital- I could see plumes of smoke from the plane as we came in to land- they are raging out of control. People are evacuated and the Tasman peninsula (SE of Hobart) is cut off. Over the next few days many bush fires burn and are fought, hundreds of homes are lost. Listening to the radio a few days later there are lots of updates and information for residents about whether they should watch and act or activate their bushfire plan- ie evacuate or stay and try to defend their homes.



I read an account of neighbours- 1 family leaves, another stays, dousing their home with water until it runs out, but then their escape route along the road is cut off and their only recourse is to dash down to the water, running with the wallabies and possums also trying to escape. They huddle at the end of a jetty for 2 hours breathing through wet towels, their home survives, their neighbours' explodes.

It's another side of Australia- this constant threat of bushfires whenever the conditions are right. When a cold change comes with rain a few days later the situation improves.


Discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642 and originally named for the govenor of the Dutch East Indies; Van Diemans's Land, it wasn't until 50 years later the bass strait was discovered and it was no-longer thought to be part of the mainland. It had a reputation as a prison-island hell and the demise of the Aboriginals at the hands of the British settlers is particularly barbaric. But now it's a gentler place with astounding natural beauty- the main draw.

Tasmania is about the size of Ireland. Actually closer to the Antartic circle than Cairns. It has some of the freshest air and cleanest water and Tasmanian produce is top quality. 40% of the island is protected in National parks, the West is wild, almost inaccessible, then there are glacial mountains and river systems harnessed for hydroelecticity. In the midlands rolling hills and cultivation- we passed fields of sheep, fields of opium- charming villages reminiscent of England. The East coast has the best weather and beautiful beaches, there are also numerous areas of cool temperate rainforest.