Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? If Australia is Down Under, we’ve just fallen off the bottom of the world. We take an overnight ferry south out of Melbourne. We wish the boat would either go slower, or leave later, but, as it is, we arrive at a bit before 7 a.m. Siena certainly doesn’t think this is a reasonable time, but it does give us the whole day to explore. We are now 
in the smallest of Australia’s 7 states. This island was first populated by convicts from England. The prisons there were over crowded, and the crown needed somewhere to put the dangerous criminals who might have stolen a loaf of bread, or arrived late to work. England had previously exported their convicts to the American Colonies, but after 1776 we were unwilling to accept them. And thus, England turned to the New New World and sent them here. While Australia’s mainland saw many convicts transported to their shores, this state had the repeat offenders sent here. Today, it is better known for the elusive, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial: The Tasmanian Devil. This is Tasmania. Ethan and Siena are sitting overlooking Wineglass Bay. This beach frequently makes it on lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’m not sure how anyone can decide which beach is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, but I’d like the job of visiting and ranking them myself. And, we certainly agree that this is near the top of our list.
We find the animals here very tame. Evidently, the wallabies liked the salt on Siena’s hands.
We never saw any Tasmanian Devils; wallabies were as common a sight as squirrels at home. We hated seeing them dead on the road, but it was testament to how overpopulated their numbers have become to have cars hitting them so frequently.
We visited some beautiful parks, with majestic mountains,
pristine rivers, pounding surf, and the cleanest air in the world this side of Antarctica, it’s only neighbor to the south. Cradle Mountain provided spectacular vistas and was perfectly mirrored in Dove Lake, doubling its beauty.
The day we were going to go on a boat tour there were 25 foot swells. Although it prevented us from going out, it gave us amazing views of the surf pounding against the waves. We felt the spray on our faces although we were 350 feet above the sea by the
southernmost lighthouse in Australia. The wind was so strong at the top, we literally had to fight to stay in place. Holding the camera still was even harder!
We continued our streak of seeing at least one rainbow every day during my parents’ time with us. The optimistic viewpoint is, “How wonderful to see a rainbow every day.” More realistically perhaps, it means it rained every day as well. However, the rain always timed itself to allow our walks to be dry, and we were able to keep our sunny outlook despite some inclement weather.
The seafood on Tassie was especially noteworthy. Great fish like barramundi and the blue gurnard (sp?), Tassie oysters served on the half shell and fresh mussels made the majority of our diet here. Unfortunately, as all liquor had to be shipped, the booze and wine were very expensive. Luckily, the local brew, Cascade Draught, was good. Interestingly enough “draught” is part of the name, and does not refer to it being on tap. My father, trying in vain to get a lager on draught, was unable to convey his desire to the barmaid. It was a fabulous conversation to listen to.
She evidently thought he was a bit dim to be requesting such a thing, and my father thought the same of her for failing to know what a draft beer is, after all she was the barmaid. They went back and forth 
several times before Kim and my laughing put an end to the circular reasoning. Another rather curious fact about Cascade: It has a tiger on its label. The last Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity about 70 years ago.
Between the wind and the beers, Tassie was a drafty place!
The Beattie Clan + the Fischl Duo
in the smallest of Australia’s 7 states. This island was first populated by convicts from England. The prisons there were over crowded, and the crown needed somewhere to put the dangerous criminals who might have stolen a loaf of bread, or arrived late to work. England had previously exported their convicts to the American Colonies, but after 1776 we were unwilling to accept them. And thus, England turned to the New New World and sent them here. While Australia’s mainland saw many convicts transported to their shores, this state had the repeat offenders sent here. Today, it is better known for the elusive, nocturnal, carnivorous marsupial: The Tasmanian Devil. This is Tasmania. Ethan and Siena are sitting overlooking Wineglass Bay. This beach frequently makes it on lists of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’m not sure how anyone can decide which beach is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, but I’d like the job of visiting and ranking them myself. And, we certainly agree that this is near the top of our list.We find the animals here very tame. Evidently, the wallabies liked the salt on Siena’s hands.
We never saw any Tasmanian Devils; wallabies were as common a sight as squirrels at home. We hated seeing them dead on the road, but it was testament to how overpopulated their numbers have become to have cars hitting them so frequently.We visited some beautiful parks, with majestic mountains,
pristine rivers, pounding surf, and the cleanest air in the world this side of Antarctica, it’s only neighbor to the south. Cradle Mountain provided spectacular vistas and was perfectly mirrored in Dove Lake, doubling its beauty.The day we were going to go on a boat tour there were 25 foot swells. Although it prevented us from going out, it gave us amazing views of the surf pounding against the waves. We felt the spray on our faces although we were 350 feet above the sea by the
southernmost lighthouse in Australia. The wind was so strong at the top, we literally had to fight to stay in place. Holding the camera still was even harder!We continued our streak of seeing at least one rainbow every day during my parents’ time with us. The optimistic viewpoint is, “How wonderful to see a rainbow every day.” More realistically perhaps, it means it rained every day as well. However, the rain always timed itself to allow our walks to be dry, and we were able to keep our sunny outlook despite some inclement weather.
The seafood on Tassie was especially noteworthy. Great fish like barramundi and the blue gurnard (sp?), Tassie oysters served on the half shell and fresh mussels made the majority of our diet here. Unfortunately, as all liquor had to be shipped, the booze and wine were very expensive. Luckily, the local brew, Cascade Draught, was good. Interestingly enough “draught” is part of the name, and does not refer to it being on tap. My father, trying in vain to get a lager on draught, was unable to convey his desire to the barmaid. It was a fabulous conversation to listen to.
She evidently thought he was a bit dim to be requesting such a thing, and my father thought the same of her for failing to know what a draft beer is, after all she was the barmaid. They went back and forth 
several times before Kim and my laughing put an end to the circular reasoning. Another rather curious fact about Cascade: It has a tiger on its label. The last Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity about 70 years ago.Between the wind and the beers, Tassie was a drafty place!
The Beattie Clan + the Fischl Duo
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