[fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="yes" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="100px" padding_left="" gradient_start_color="" gradient_end_color="" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center" linear_angle="180" background_color="" background_image="https://www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Pheasant-020-Cw-scaled-e1576328730692.jpg" background_position="left center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="fixed" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_blend_mode="none" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="600px" padding_right="0px" padding_bottom="0px" padding_left="0px" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="0px" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="50px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_title title_type="text" rotation_effect="bounceIn" display_time="1200" highlight_effect="circle" loop_animation="off" highlight_width="9" highlight_top_margin="0" before_text="" rotation_text="" highlight_text="" after_text="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="center" size="2" font_size="" animated_font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="100px" margin_bottom="0px" margin_top_mobile="40px" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" animated_text_color="" highlight_color="" style_type="none" sep_color=""] Bird's Eye View [/fusion_title][fusion_separator style_type="single solid" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="#8bc34a" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="20px" border_size="2" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="30px" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="no" min_height="" hover_type="none" link=""][fusion_text] The deer are back. Can you see the second one sitting behind the tree left of centre? It's nice that they feel secure enough to chill out around chez duck. True, it would be better if they chose their spots more wisely. You can't pick up a Ligularia fischeri v. megalorhiza 'Cheju Charmer' just anywhere you know and mine may now be somewhat flattened. And of course the deer could be reclining there all the while considering which of the roses had the best flavour this year and therefore which to make a beeline for come the new season. But let's just pass over that thought for the moment shall we. Pausing briefly to attend to an itchy back the grazing deer happened to notice Ptolemy Pheasant standing on the lawn. "Hey Ptolemy, what has happened to Jessica and Mike? She hasn't posted in weeks, nearly a month. I suppose they've hopped off to the Antipodes again, now the thermometer has dropped into single digits. No resilience you see, unlike us. Can't say I really blame them though, what with all the rain and the storms we've had recently." Ptolemy puffed out his chest and drew himself up to his full 18 inches, an appropriate posture (he surmised) for a bird 'in the know'. "Oh, they're still here alright. Banging and crashing around, working all hours of the day and night, long after I've put the lights out in the roost. Most annoying let me tell you." "I've been keeping an eye on them though." Never the sort of bird to stop at eight words when 800 would do, Ptolemy continued apace. "It's all been quite fraught, the place full of people. Men with heavy tool boxes, ladders and natty measuring devices which throw laser light shows across the walls. Jessica got into a right old state the other day when a hose appeared out of the front door and the end of it was carefully nestled right into the base of her Itoh peony 'Pastel Splendor'. She swooped in and snatched the hose out of the flower bed a split second before jet black water issued from the end of it, as indeed would be expected if the other end of the hose had been attached to the drain valve of the central heating system." "What do you make of it Ptolemy Too, is that a new radiator on the wall in there?" Yep. "Apparently there's a deadline. No, not the 'C' word, something even more imminent than that. The arrival of the two sofas back from the upholsterers, where they've been re-covered. So there's been a frenzy of plumbing, electrical work, painting.. and the floor now needs to be spotlessly clean. Jessica has been over it five times with a mop.. five.. plus once on her hands and knees with a scrubbing brush and the water is still coming away dark brown. Aeons of historical use and, more recently, seven months of builders' boots have a great deal to answer for." "And then this week voices were raised even further and crowbars were taken into the house. For all the screeching of wood against metal nail you'd have thought the floor above the sitting room was coming up. I'm quite sure Jessica will have many a tale to regale, as soon as she has a moment to catch her breath." "I wouldn't mind if they'd let us all inside quite frankly. I'd take the risk. It's blowin' a hoolie out here.. again!" Author's note: Ptolemy has asked me to mention, just in passing you understand, that he is currently appearing in pantomime: the critically acclaimed Much Malarkey Manor adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. He would be delighted if you would join him to witness his starring role as Ptolemy Ptinman (with silent P's). As would the narrator of the story, Denise, who is long past comfort snacking on biscuits under the stress of it all and has moved on to the serious stuff: cake. You'll need to be quick. The last performance will take place on Christmas Eve but the best place to start, as always, is at the beginning ( here ). [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="yes" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="https://www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Dares-Hill-SA-004-Cw-e1548329764169.jpeg" background_position="left center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="fixed" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="100px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="600px" padding_right="0px" padding_bottom="0px" padding_left="0px" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="" bottom_margin="0px" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="50px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_title hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="center" size="2" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="100px" margin_bottom="0px" margin_top_mobile="40px" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" style_type="none" sep_color=""] Would We Dare? [/fusion_title][fusion_separator style_type="single solid" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="#8bc34a" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="20px" border_size="2" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="30px" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" link="" target="_self" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_image_id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" hover_type="none" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="50px" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id=""] Dare's Hill Circuit, South Australia By Aussie standards not the most challenging of off road drives perhaps. But then, we hadn't come prepared for one of those. No jerrycans in the boot. No satellite phone. This was purely an opportunist adventure, an interesting line on a map while driving near the Clare Valley looking for somewhere a bit different to go. It started out innocuously enough. Deserted though, bar the occasional farmhand in a ute crossing vast fields like this one, a cloud of dust billowing in his wake. The hills to the right, the Razorback Range. As the road climbs steadily towards the Dare's Hill Summit we leave cultivated land behind and drive into native bush. Dare's Hill summit lookout The view from the top, looking down into the Piltimitiappa Valley and its vast tracts of mallee woodland. In the far distance, to the left, a range of mountains bearing a striking resemblance to the location of our last trip up this way: Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Range ( here ). Mixed messages.. Should we go on? Perhaps the private property refers to the land either side of the road and not the road itself? Yes, that must be it. While there is still a working sheep station on this land there's also plenty of evidence of times gone by and what a hard living it must have been. Piltimitiappa Homestead was established by William Dare (he of the hill) in the 1850s, one of the earliest homesteads of the area. Born in London he migrated to South Australia at age 14. In 1852 he went to the Victorian goldfields and made good, enough to secure a lease on this 50 square miles of country which, with the help of aborigines, he fenced and stocked with sheep. Dare ran the property for 35 years until his death in 1892 having survived three wives. Wind driven water pump Saltbush and bluebush cover the red earth. Trouble. And in our road. A dust storm. We'd come to a junction, the wider and better maintained road seeming to bear off to the right but the signpost indicating we should go straight on. We followed the sign. It didn't take long before the road deteriorated, becoming little more than a narrow track. A sensible bush explorer reviews his or her options at this point. On the plus side we had plenty of water. And 3/4 tank of fuel. But on the negative, no food. No mobile signal. Apart from the couple of farmhands way back down the track we hadn't seen a soul. And because we'd embarked on this journey on something of a whim, no-one actually knew where we were. Then the not insignificant matter of it being 43C outside the car. With very little shade. We retraced our steps. The following day we were back. My birthday. My choice. Better prepared. For one thing we now had a decent map and a full description of the route. Set the mileage trip to zero at the start of the road and each and every turn was marked off by kms travelled, with the bonus of detailed background information about all the places we passed. And if all else failed, if we didn't make it back for cake and candles as planned, this time someone knew exactly where to send the search party. A stock water hole with some rather unusual looking stock.. Any port on a blisteringly hot day.. The ducks are most likely used to the intrusion. In a wetter season this road would have been impassable without a proper four wheel drive, with several creek beds needing to be crossed. But you can see how dry it is right now. When the floods do come the rushing torrent is powerful enough to carry metres of soil away with it leaving spectacular erosion chasms like this one. Emu disturbed by the passing car. They were just ambling up the road ahead of us before they took flight. Well, not literally. Obviously. Another action shot, taken through the windscreen of a car still in motion as Mike applied the brakes. A shutter click a split second earlier or later would have been ideal. But here is our friend at the bottom of his bounce, the kinetic energy from the landing stored in his rear leg muscles ready to propel him into forward motion once more. You can almost see the concentration. How high to clear the fence? And where precisely am I going to land to avoid those prickly pears on the other side? Ouch. The kangaroo got away just fine. They make it look effortless. But the prize photo of the day just had to be this one. It's Dave's Hut. Built by one David Dearlove of nearby Ketchowla homestead in the 1930s it became a popular stopover for travellers. All that remains now is this clearly very well built fireplace and chimney. Could there be a better place for a kangaroo to shelter from the heat of the day? [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="yes" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" publish_date="" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="https://www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/33D8CA52-683D-4C6F-837F-C39C3E03F2EC-e1547271212524.jpeg" background_position="left center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="fixed" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="100px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="600px" padding_right="0px" padding_bottom="0px" padding_left="0px" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_separator style_type="none" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="" top_margin="" bottom_margin="0px" border_size="" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container admin_label="" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="50px" padding_left=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" min_height="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="left top" undefined="" background_repeat="no-repeat" border_size="0" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="" margin_bottom="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no"][fusion_title hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" content_align="center" size="2" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" margin_top="100px" margin_bottom="0px" margin_top_mobile="40px" margin_bottom_mobile="" text_color="" style_type="none" sep_color=""] The Devil You Know [/fusion_title][fusion_separator style_type="single solid" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" sep_color="#8bc34a" top_margin="0px" bottom_margin="20px" border_size="2" icon="" icon_circle="" icon_circle_color="" width="30px" alignment="center" /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="no" min_height="" hover_type="none" link=""][fusion_text] In the end we had to resort to a wildlife reserve to see a Tasmanian Devil. They are critically endangered in the wild. And mostly nocturnal, so not easy to spot. In 1996 a Devil in the far north east corner of Tasmania was observed to be suffering from a nasty facial cancer causing tumours to grow in and around its mouth. Unusually for a cancer it is infectious, likely transmissible to other animals through biting which the Devils so often do. Since the 1990s cases have appeared across virtually the entire island with 85% of the population now wiped out. It's a painful and long drawn out death sentence for an afflicted animal. Despite intensive research there is currently no cure. At Bonorong sanctuary, just outside Hobart, they are breeding healthy Devils to form part of an insurance population. Once the disease has run its course in the natural population these Devils could potentially be reintroduced into the wild. Tasmanian Devils can fly into a maniacal rage when threatened by a predator, fighting for a mate, or defending a meal. Early European settlers dubbed them 'Devils' after witnessing displays of teeth-baring, lunging and an array of spine-chilling guttural growls. So I expected something quite fearsome, which of course they can be. They are carnivores after all. I saw one devour a dead baby chicken. It was shortly after this that Mike dropped his reading glasses straight into the creature’s pen. (Remember the first pair he lost at the Twelve Apostles?) Fortuitously the keeper had a set of long handled tongs. I despair sometimes, truly I do. Yet in spite of their reputation Devils are also incredibly cute. Bonorong may have been an expensive day out. But it’s worth every Australian dollar for the fabulous work they do. An echidna, now sadly three legged having been rescued after an attack by a dog. They are darker brown in Tasmania compared to my much blonder acquaintance on Kangaroo Island. And talking of kangaroos.. One of the saddest aspects of travelling around Australia is the extent of roadkill. Kangaroos in particular are apt to launch themselves into the road with little warning and as they are also out mostly at night it’s very difficult to see them. Many of the roos at Bonorong were orphans retrieved from a dead mother’s pouch. A tender moment belies the potentially dangerous nature of these animals too.. When provoked or protecting young a kangaroo can literally hurl itself at another, or even a man, and deliver a severe injury using the extended claw on each rear paw. Ouch. At Bonorong though, they'll happily eat from your hand. Tawny Frogmouth We arrived in Hobart at an opportune time, after a somewhat easier journey than the first boats home from the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The town was buzzing. And that was before the celebrations for the upcoming New Year’s Eve.. Sponsors and competitors gather to welcome in every new arrival. It’s one of the most gruelling ocean races there is, crossing the Bass Straight between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Home of the Roaring Forties. “How am I supposed to keep the place clean when this happens?!!” Harbour sculpture. Reminding us just how far south we now are. The view from the top of Mount Wellington is one of the best ways to familiarise yourself with Hobart. It has a stunning setting, as so many Australian cities do, built around a natural harbour. Not such a gruelling journey up here though, it’s possible to drive all the way to the top. And what a lovely drive it is too. But take a coat.. it’s cold up there. Almost as windy as the Great Ocean Road. Reading glasses should be well secured. A bird's eye view of our next walk, around the tip of the peninsula above. The Arm End Circuit. Only a short drive from Hobart with constant views back to it, yet it feels a world away. Pied Oyster Catchers on the beach.. Exquisite hidden and deserted coves.. Broad sweeps of grassland. Beware snakes.. Carpobrotus rossii, a common coastal succulent in Tasmania. The native pig face. No-one has lived on the Arm End for more than a century but there is evidence of past gardens: Agave americana running wild. Around Port Arthur, to the south east of Hobart, the coastline is different again. Rugged high cliffs, hidden inlets and features created from the collapse of a rock face under constant pounding from the sea. Blowholes are formed when water enters a rock crevice so quickly it can only escape again by forcing itself explosively outward. It makes for quite a spectacle. The Remarkable Cave. Waves pass right through it at high tide to lap against a glorious little secret cove. And finally. We couldn’t leave Hobart without a garden and this has to be one of the best: the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. The Lily Pond Masked Lapwing, flitting anxiously around the lawn. Perhaps this was why. Masked Lapwing chick. Say aahhhh! Jacaranda mimocifolia, a late Spring flowering small tree that we saw everywhere across southern Australia. The strong Australian sun glowing through the fleshy leaves of Aeonium arboreum ‘Schwartkopf’. Clematis viticella 'Alba Luxurians' I had this once. It's a gorgeous variety. Funny that I had to go to the other side of the world to be reminded of the name. Back on the list for this year. In fact so much of the garden has an English flavour, this particular border a nod to the style of Gertrude Jekyll, it almost made me homesick. Almost. And for an England in summer, I hasten to say. I apologise for the gap between posts. Internet access continued to be patchy along with a growing sense of time passing and a need to make the most of the remaining days in Australia over and above the unequal struggle of editing WordPress on an iPad. I've got so far behind we are in fact now back in Blighty: cold, wet, wide awake well before four in the morning and asleep by four in the afternoon. There are two or three more posts to wrap up the journey, if you can bear it, before we return to matters at home. No, not Brexit. Enough already! [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]