Travels with No Shoes: Tassie Weekender

ELast night I ventured out to get a look at the hotel at night - lovely!

Then, party girls that we are, I was in bed and asleep by 8:00...

We headed off early for breakfast and we went to the fabulous place I scouted out yesterday in Battery Point Village. It was great - huge and varied selection of really good and cheap food. The joint was jumping - even at 7:15!

I got poached eggs with spinach, aioli and caramelised onion, which was delicious! Beautiful old building...

Then it's off to drop off Mum to meander about for the morning and I'm heading off to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary for the Feeding Frenzy encounter. I had gone to reception at the hotel to confirm directions and the lovely guy gave me a map - which is very helpful - Google maps is always a bit difficult to decipher. I mentioned to him how friendly the people are and he thought it might have something to do with the smallness of Hobart, and Tasmania in general.

I was on the right road but started to doubt the way I was going so I pulled into a convenience store that had the most unhelpful person behind the counter. I'm starting to wonder if Mum is the cause of the friendly factor as I have only encountered them when on my own! He couldn't even direct me to somewhere I could go to to ask someone who could help!

So back in the car, I consulted the big map and worked out it WAS the right road and to just keep going. And I soon arrived...

I meet Rob, who is my guide - a tour with just me and Rob - perfect! He reminds me a lot of Uncle Bruce. He's a retired volunteer who is very passionate about the animals. He's chock full of information and anecdotes. There are some photos but not a stack, coz it was more about feeding, patting, holding and watching.

Our first stop is to the kangaroos. As with most of the animals we visit, they know that his arrival means possible food and they come to greet us.

So we are quickly joined by one, then another and another. There are a couple of young ones, a couple in pouches. You tale a handful of food and hold it down to them. They nibble it out of your hand and sometimes hold onto your hand as they do. This is my kangaroo selfie!

We went past a couple of rescue birds - one is a 100-year-old cockatoo who is quite the grumpy old man. A woman received him for her first birthday. When she died, at 80, he came to the sanctuary. He won't be moved to a larger cage or have any friends in with him. He likes things just as they are. And he has a crush on one of the keepers - a young female keeper!

Next were one of the breeds of quolls. They're nocturnal and shy and so were hiding at first in their boxes. But one came out when Rob brought out the KFC for quolls - a baby chicken that had died of natural causes. Apparently they work with a chicken farmer and get all the chicks that die naturally - they are all environmentally sustainable.

Next to the little-known bettongs, who have to be hunted for coz they dig burrows and camouflage themselves.

Very cute. We only found two of the many that are in the enclosure. Had to watch your step as it would be easy to stand on one!

The next had a log and as you walked up, there was three little faces, dozing. The sugar gliders. They woke up as Rob brought in a little plate with some sort of banana mash up on it. The three little faces became four and they clambered down to have breakfast. I got to hold this one and the feeling of their little feet on your hand was great! As was the wee that came with it...

A quick was of the hands and then off to the wombat baby - so very cute!! Apparently they need to,be babied for a lot of their infancy and then all of a sudden, they're grown up and snarly. They are then released into the wild. We sat on the pine bark and played with her for a while, I did hold her and rock her but the camera didn't work!

Rob told the story of Mavis the wombat who he had at his home for a while and who came back to visit him after she was released. She could open his sliding door and would come in and smash the furniture around. She disappeared but came back a while later with her baby, to meet Rob and his wife.

This whole while Rob is giving me so much information about all the animals. Like the bettong is an actual fungivore - they eat fungus. And apparently I am the first person ever to not say, "so they eat mushrooms?" I said, "so not mushrooms." And that the wombat and Tassie devil and a few others have backwards pouches - so they don't drag dirt in as they are close to the ground. The other one that has a backwards pouch is the koala - coz they are stupid. Very funny.

Next to the Devils - I am very happy to see the Devils. There are three sisters in this enclosure. They all come up, ready for breakfast too.

Rob has the leg of something - I'd rather not know! He holds it over and into the pen and miss devil grabs a hold and doesn't let go. They have amazing strength in their jaws. When he lifted the bone up, she just hung on and lifted with it.

Amazing!

Then I got to have a go. Loved it! Though you had to be careful not to move your hand in too far....

Then to the koalas, who sleep for 20 hours a day and have two thumbs. We woke this guy up and had a bit of a pat - actually quite a good scratch, then he got fed up and tucked his head down again and back to sleep.

Next to the koalas is the little echidna. I go to feel his spines - they're made of hair! And there are plenty of ants in there for him and they are supplemented by ant porridge. Yum!

Around to the albino possum who is here because he is rejected by all his fellow possums. He comes down from his treehouse to feast on peanuts and corn. And he is nice and warm.

Then the other species of quoll. This guy is one of a very endangered species. I know the Melbourne Zoo is working on survival of this species. And he's very aggressive and cunning. Rob reckons he's got a chalkboard down the back of his enclosure where he makes down when he nips on a keeper.

He clambers up the cage when he hears Rob's voice. And it's KFC for him too and I get to feed him too.

The cute tawny frogmouths were next. They got chicken mince held in tongs and coming from above. You could see their frog-like mouths as they opened up for their food - no photographic evidence to show this...

Rob told how he loves it when he has Americans in a group because he can spin tales of how they determine when the frogmouths are ready to be released and they have scientific studies to check their flight. The flight studies apparently intrigue them. When all it is is you bring them out, throw them up into the air - if they fly, they're okay. If they don't, they don't release them yet.

The last of the animals is the blue tongued lizard. She was dozing in the sunshine when Rob brought her out to say hello.

She's ready to get back down to the ground!

That was the Feeding Frenzy and it was fantastic! There was a stack of information that Rob gave me and the animals were great and obviously well cared for. This is a place where it's all about keeping the animals safe and happy. They strive to release them back into the wild and those that can't be, they are cared for for the rest of their days - even if it is 100 years, like the cockatoo! Rob was great too.

He gave me a fridge magnet and oven mitt - both of Prada, the Devil. I had seen the oven mitt at the market yesterday and was tempted by it. I didn't get it then and I'm delighted to get it now!

Back to Hobart and collect Mum and we go back to the breakfast place to pick up something for lunch - I got a red pepper, asparagus and tomato frittata and Mum got a port, sage and apple sausage roll. Both were delicious!

Then I left Mum with the footy (shudder) and head off to the Penitentary Chapel. I was a bit early so went to have a look at the lovely Theatre Royal - unfortunately not open on Sunday's.

Grabbed a coffee and then back the to the Tench for a tour.

This was also a fascinating place. There used to be a prison here and they built the chapel when the people of early 1800s Hobart complained that the prisoners were going to their chapel.

The chapel has undergone a number of transitions. When it became less a convict prison and a prison for actual prisoners, they removed two of the arms of the chapel and brought in a couple of courtrooms. And a gallows was added and 32 prisoners were executed, including one woman.

The door just on the left in the above photo was to a tunnel that was where they would bring the prisoners up from the prison - so they didn't have to go onto the street. We went down through the tunnel and into the old chapel (what's left of it)