Tasmania

On our marathon stay in Melbourne, we took advantage of the ability to get cheap tickets from Melbourne to pretty much anywhere in Australia. It's not far to Tasmania, Henry didn't get to go last time, and it's not a long flight, so we went for a 36 hour trip. 

Our first stop was 7 Mile Beach. I think it's interesting that if a beach is named for it's length, it's always in miles, not kilometers. I suppose "miles" rolls off the tongue easier than "11.3 Kill-o-meter Beach."

Pretty snazzy entry, right?

The show was pretty good too.

The beach is covered in large shells. Loads of them.
I brought back more than I should but...I can't help it. My name is Shelly. 

We found out these are the egg sacks of moon snails.
Moon snails have tongues that are rough enough to drill holes in shells of other animals.
They get a grip on them and bore a hole to kill them.
And eat them. 

So if you've ever seen a shell with a perfectly shaped hole in it, blame the moon snail. 

I love the colorful rooftops you can see as you descend into the city. 

I just think it's so adorable. 

Trying to get a good photo at 100km/hour is stupid but I still do it. 

(Allen was driving, not me.)

We headed straight for the Botanical Gardens. They are so beautifully maintained and I love basking in the uniqueness of the Australian flora and fauna. Every state has them. And they are always free. We learned that 84% of the plants here are endemic to Australia, meaning they aren't found anywhere else. So that settles it, I'm just going to have to move here. 

   

 

Spiral Aloe. I want a start of it so bad. 

This is called Ox Tongue, which describes the rather ugly boring plant underneath this amazing canopy of blooms. 

And this one is called, "Old Man Cactus." Botanical name: Cephalocereus Senilis. 

Senilis. Ba ha ha. 

The trees are special to me. I can't explain it. But I just love each individual one. 

This Young's Weeping Birch made me cry a little. I know "weeping" refers to the drooping shape of the leaves, but the plaque made it feel like it was more like a sorrowful kind of weeping:

"A moment in time, Remembering loved ones, Past and Present, Precious Memories." 

Maybe trees really do represent a bit of our family connections. When you step under the canopy of a tree, you have roots beneath you stretching deep into the ground and sprawling wide, stabilizing the ground under you, but you have no idea they are there. Kind of like our ancestors. And the branches above capture your attention and reach high in every direction, finding their own way. Kind of like our children.

In our temples, there is a room called a sealing room where marriages and family are sealed for eternity. Large mirrors face each other on each side. When you look into them, the reflections bounce off each other so you see what looks like infinity in both directions, symbolizing your heritage and your posterity. 

It's fine. But I like the tree better. 

And when I stepped under the canopy of this tree, I truly felt different. I felt a calming reverence, like the rest of the world didn't exist outside its shelter. It felt so protective and safe. Quiet. Like our temples.  Forest bathing is a thing. Maybe connecting to our eternal heritage is why.  

Henry wasn't feeling awesome. (Later, when I also came down sick we figured it was probably Covid. But we'd gotten a booster just 4 weeks before so I suppose it made it *less* bad for him. And supposedly me. I was only sick for 3 days but it was a rough 3 days. Poor Henry.) But he was really interested in seeing the Antarctic Plant House, which promised a respite from the heat. But when we made it over there we found it was closed. Oof. So I mercifully walked through the amazing greenhouse rather swiftly while he soaked in the disappointment.

 

 

But I was glad he found some interesting things, including the Monet Garden. 

I took this same photo 7 years ago and never thought I'd be here again! 

Okay, Tasmania was all about the natural beauty. So our next stop was Fern Glade Walk. It's a rainforest hike that has lush green ferns and tall trees. I could forest bathe there all day. 

The thing that caught my attention the most was the amazing evidence of continuous decomposition. It's actually so beautiful! The fallen trees are covered in lush moss and fungi. You can see the trees breaking down to produce rich nourishment for the soil. 

This tree was very thick in diameter, but you could tell there was a lot going on inside. The nutrients were literally dripping out in liquid form from the bottom. I'm a soil science geek.

 

And seriously, who could be uncheered by this fellow!

More footage of this rainforest in the video at the bottom of this post.

Further up the road is the peak of Mt. Wellington. It usually has an expansive view of Hobart, but today was cloudy. It was good for Henry's energy to have a break from the heat and just focus on climbing the interesting rocks.

 

But we managed to go back the next day when it was clear:

The people have made an effort to respect the Aboriginal names of the landmarks.

The Tasman Bridge was struck by a ship in 1975. Notice the headlights of two cars pointing down from the top. Twelve people died in this accident. The support pillars were not replaced when it was rebuilt so you can still see evidence of the incident today. 

Australia has my heart, but my mouth misses Mexican food. They just don't have much here. The boys found dinner at Nando's, which is a spicy chicken place. I was enchanted by a place called Zambrero's. It basically served up food like Cafe Rio. I was so hungry and excited. But the portion size was about 1/4 of Cafe Rio and it was way too spicy for me.  

Henry took a shower at the hotel. Afterward I found these drawings of kangaroos on the wall. Ha! I love how he loves Australia as much as I do. 

 

 

Ages ago a friend said he wanted to open a restaurant just for desserts and even 

chose this name. I sent him the photo and he said, "you must be in Hobart." 

Whoa. Freaked me out. He'd actually been here!

The next day we headed to Salamanca Market. The artisans there are top notch and so creative. I didn't take any pictures. Henry was not interested so I tried to keep my shopping to a minimum and find food for him.  

I come from a long line of women with Elizabeth as a middle name. I love them all. 

So this cute street sign caught my attention.

That little green planter box on the left side says, "Season's Greeting." 

I just love that they can display live flowers at Christmas time! 

Our flight was delayed over an hour and it's a very small airport so we actually got to see the plane we would be flying back on arrive out the window in front of us. 

We only visited a tiny part of Tasmania. As I walked around the town, I saw families with children. Teenagers hanging out together. I wondered what it would be like to call this home. Maybe some of them have never gotten on a plane to see the rest of Australia. Or the rest of the world. Tasmania is just normal life to them. It blows my mind every time to think some people get to bask in this all the time. 

When we finally made it back to Melbourne, it was late on New Year's Eve. We tried to catch a glimpse of the famous fireworks over Melbourne, but we were all exhausted. Henry was more concerned with having his traditional sip of apple cider. We had to find a store before everything closed at 10pm. I also realized the next day was Sunday so I had to hurry and buy something for dinner. 

And we'd be taking that dinner to Phillip Island!

Henry has been making informative videos (with help) for his classmates in Utah. Here is one about this trip to Tasmania.