Tasmania 2

From Cradle Mountain, we moved on to Launceston, near the Bass Strait coast, then down to Scamander on the East coast, Bicheno further South - one of our favourite places on the coast from where we visited Freycinet National Park.  From there we went back to Hobart.

 One of Tasmania's specialities is the Black Currawong and it is a very common bird there.  On the mainland, the Pied Currawong is the common species but they don't occur on Tassie.

When it comes to colourful, the birds don't have it all their own way.  This shield-bug found in the Cataract Gorge in Launceston is a strong contender for the most colourful prize.

Farther along the Cataract Gorge we were amazed to see this New Zealand fur seal haul itself onto the rocks and lie there basking in the sun.  New Zealand fur seals are found with their  Australian fur seal cousins in the Bass Strait, but this one was about 50km inland up the Tamar Estuary.  Maybe he just knew a good rock when he saw one.

 This chunky spider we found just as we were about to get back in the car after pestering an echidna.  No idea what species, but she was a big girl and looked ready for a fight.

Pademelons are a Tasmanian endemic wallaby.  They are quite small with shorter legs and tail than other wallabies which makes moving around in dense forest much easier.  And it makes them seriously cute.  This one was cleaning up after the tourists near a waterfall by eating a banana skin.

Bottle-brush trees are an Australian speciality and many different species can be found there.  These two photos show the bud spike and flower spike of the Silver Banksia or Silver Bottle-brush tree.

Another Australian speciality is the Grass Tree.  These start from the ground and end up with a trunk one or two metres high.  They are always the first plants to regenerate after bush fires and many show by their blackened trunk that they've been there during a fire.  This one is a mere babe with no trunk yet visible.  I find that staring into the centre makes you lose all perspective and starts messing with your vision.

Back to birds, we had a brief visit to the Botanical Gardens in Hobart where this angry looking Little Wattle-bird had his fill of nectar from this showy tree.