Mostly, we stayed along the East side of Hobart everyday, except to go Southwest, about 90 minutes, to the Huon Valley to see the Forest. Oddly, the scenery on our drive there reminded me a lot of Upstate NY, aside from the slow controlled driving and dead wallabies on the side of the road. Even the produce was the same - apples and grape vineyards. What we were headed to was nothing like what the Finger Lakes Region where I grew up offered; The Southern Forest.
Okay, I could drone on about how beautiful and breath-taking it was and use words like "lush" and "magnificent". I'll leave that to the pictures. I want to hit on this part of our trip the most because I think it resonates the the dichotomy of Tasmania seems to stand for, and struggles with. Preservation (over 40% of the island is protected) and logging (huge Tasmanian Industry). This is an ongoing conflict in this area, and has lead to violence and protests between the two groups.
In the Southern forest, there stands the Tahune Airwalk, three storeys about the ground. It is the largest cantilevered structure in the world. It stands not for a record, but there to save the rain forest that it guards.
The only thing that I, sadly, can't bring to you on this page is the smell of this forest. It was so fresh and sweet, and evidently, hard to describe. If only I could smell that smell once again, I'd be in Heaven! Bottle it already!
Celery Top
Inside the Pine Forest:
Silver Wattle
Laurel
Arguably Tasmania's Tallest Tree - BIG TREE
Euclayptus regnens - Swamp Gum
Approx. 87 m - and was possibly higher until it was hit by lightning
for more information on Tasmania's Huon Valley area:
http://www.tasforestrytourism.com.au/
Lastly, for my next blog, I will be returning to Architecture, just for a week. I will be discussing Mario Botta, a Spanish Architect that has compelling building designs, and who happened to design the new Bechtler Museum in Charlotte, NC, which was last weekend's adventure for me and "hubby".
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