Tasmania is the island state of Australia, separated from the “mainland” by Bass Strait at 40 degrees south (it’s summer here now). Due to the relative isolation of this continent, here you find highly unusual fauna and flora, particularly kangaroos and wallabies, numerous other marsupials as well as bottle brush, waratahs and wattle. The Tasmanian Devil (yes it really exists) is now a relatively rare nocturnal, while the Tasmanian Tiger became extinct in the 1920’s.

The vegetation is dominated by myriad varieties of eucalyptus (locally referred to as gum trees) with several other timber species such as Huon Pine - once highly priced for ship-building - and the rich furniture timber of Blackwoods unique to Tasmania.

Some 40% of Tasmania is national or state forest or reserve with most of the southwest a World Heritage Area. We kayaked there last year on the majestic Gordon river (didn’t see another soul for four days) - an area that was preserved by the famous protests against the “Franklin Dam” development in 1983. Demonstrators from all over the world stopped that project and in the process gave birth to the “Greenies” as political parties in many countries.

Australian birds in general distinguish themselves, not through song, but through their brilliant plumage - an abundance of colorful parrots, including lorikeets, rosellas, sulfur crested cockatoos and galahs. The biggest raptor is the Wedge-tailed Eagle (about the size of a bald eagle) and we were also fortunate to spot a family of sea eagles.

Our most treasured sighting was a very rare Azure Kingfisher (about 3” high). The largest Kingfisher of all, is the ubiquitous Kookaburra. Kookaburras mate for life and their young help in the incubating of the next lot of eggs. Of course their key claim to fame is their raucous “laughter” that acts like an alarm clock early in the morning in the bush (and many suburban areas).

Cheers, Peter Saam