Echidnas

Monotreme is an order of mammals that are so odd, they originally confounded scientists and were at first thought to be hoaxes. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals, but that is not the only odd thing about them.
The monotreme with which most people are familiar is the platypus, that delightfully wacky composite of duck and otter, with [...]

Tasmanian Wildlife

Wildlife is fascinating everywhere in Australia. However, there are places it is more concentrated, usually due to the presence of a better supply of food and water. Tasmania offers much that makes life easier for critters, from abundant greenery to rivers and surrounding ocean full of fish, as well as the abundant flowers and foliage [...]

Entally House

Our next stop, Entally House, is one of the oldest mansions owned by Australia’s National Trust, and is the most historic of the Trust’s holdings in Tasmania. It is part of a story that is so Australian, it would be unbelievable if it weren’t true. While my book details the numerous fascinating buildings and remarkable [...]

Cataract Gorge

Perhaps it was because I was still so weary and battered from my riding trip, or perhaps it was because I missed the silence of the mountains, but when we stopped at Cataract Gorge, I escaped the crowds and headed up a lonely path that carried me up a cliff face and far into the [...]

Green Tasmania

When one speaks of South Pacific islands, there are a variety of images that immediately come to mind. However, none of those images are likely to match what Tasmania looks like. Despite being an island in the South Pacific, it is in a mild but far from tropical climate zone, and as such, looks more [...]

Good-bye, Hello

After the riding trip, I had only one more day in Victoria before I boarded a plane heading for Australia’s island state, Tasmania. I was leaving behind the free-settled gold-rush state for the convict-settled apple state. (Tasmania has traditionally been the location of most of Australia’s apple growing —an industry founded when the Bounty’s famous [...]