Day 15 - The highest priority in the day was Ikea. Now this may be strange to some of you but both Kirk and Sidney love Ikea. Sidney loves the play areas and Kirk loves to shop. Then they top off thier time with a meal in the Ikea Cafe. And by going to Ikea in Australia, we can say we have been to Ikea on three continents. By the way, all of the stuff is basically the same, including the food in the cafe. Sidney got her adventure in small land while Kirk and Kimber looked around. Then we all went to lunch in the cafe. The one different item on the menu which we enjoyed was salt and pepper fried squid. It was very tasty.
After Ikea, we wanted a Target. We found quite a large mall with a Target and found a suitable parking space for the camper. Parking was one major adventure with the camper. Many groceries and other stores had parking garages which were not suitable for a camper. Or they had the smallest parking lots ever and we had to take up 4 spots. We enjoyed walking around the mall. Very civilized. Target was also pretty standard although the kids clothes were different styles and characters. Some were really cute.After that, it was time to return the camper van. We had to drive through Melbourne to do that. Fortunately there weren't any problems and we were ahead of the worst afternoon traffic. We took a taxi to the ferry terminal where we had a couple hour wait until we could board. We did get to see three ducks being loaded. These aren't "quack, quack" ducks, but Citroens. We learned later that someone in Tasmania has a duck fetish and purchased three ducks to add to his colection. Kimber loves ducks so she enjoyed seeing these.
We had to wait until a large school group boarded and then we could finally get on the ferry. The ferry was made in Finland and was pretty standard to the ferries we were used to from Europe. We had a nice standard room at the front of the vessel. Four fold down beds and plenty of room (slightly bigger than a closet, but hey it's one night). We quickly dropped our stuff off and then went to get a meal of Tasmanian cuisine. We were all really tired though and headed straight for bed after that. We were more tired the next moring though because it was a rough night at sea crossing the Bass Strait. The motion wasn't a problem for any of us even though the waves were 6 meters. However, the waves hitting the ship sounded like metal on metal and were every thirty seconds or so. It was so loud, only Sidney slept. Kirk and Kimber didn't sleep at all. Rough night. 
Day 16 - Arrived Davenport, Tasmania, exhausted but happy to be in Tasmania. We picked up our car and headed south. It was a cool morning and we all needed some hot drinks with our breakfast. We stopped in Launceston at the city park. The city park has a large troop of Macquau monkeys on display. We enjoyed watching them try to warm up also as the sun came up.
We spent the rest of the morning walking around an old car museum with a surprisingly nice display of cars and motorcyles. Additionally, they rotate their selection based on various themes. The museum doens't actually own the cars, but people who live in Tasmania do and loan them on request to the museum. Kimber, who spent much of her childhood around old cars, found this to be a bit of a trip down memeory lane.
Lunch was fish and chips on the waterfront watching the cormorants fish. It was quite warm and sunny and we had a nice time. After lunch we drove to the east coast of Tasmania. We stopped for ice cream in a town with logging history (Campbell Town) and tried to find an old water mill but we struck out. Just outside of town though we saw a flock of cockatoos in a field almost like you would see blackbirds in the US. 
We made one more stop to try to find Lost Falls before we reached the coast. They were lost all right. Lost in fog. We very nearly couldn't see them but we enjoyed the short hike and chance to strech our legs. We also encountered a funny sign to add to our collection of pictures of funny warning signs.
We also drove into Bicheno to try to see the little penguins who live there but you have to sign up for a tour to see them and the tours don't run in the winter. We did get to see another blowhole before we drove down to Coles Bay and Freycinet. Kirk and Sidney picked up 2 dozen oysters at a local marine farm. The farm uses an honor box when they are closed so we took our oysters from the frig and dropped our money in the box. We stopped at a small restaurant to pick up some pasta for Kimber and a bottle of wine and had a nice little dinner by the fire at our cottage. And of course we watched some olympics.
Day 17 - We started the day with an odd breakfast of cereal and cheese. At this point we are trying to use up things we have bought that we can't take home (mostly cheese and fruit). Then we packed up and cleaned up the cabin before heading to Freycinet National Park to see Wineglass Bay. Wineglass Bay is listed consistently as one of the top ten beaches in the world.
After a snack on the beach and gathering some sand and shells, we continued our hike around to the Hazards. Not sure of where the name came from but Sidney found the hike slightly hazardous. There was a short section where you walk on a board walk. It is only a foot or two above the surface and Sidney was looking back at Kimber while walking on this. About the time Kimber said to not fall off the baord walk, down Sidney went. Nothing injured and it wasn't even wet. but we all got a good laugh out of it. Our total walk that day was 11 kilometers (about 6.5 miles). Sidney led the way for most of it and there were plenty of good hills. Including snack stops and veiwing breaks, it was 4.5 hours. Sidney kept a great pace that had Kirk and Kimber really proud of her. What an awesome little hiker. 
We stopped at the lighthouse overlook for a few more great views before we left Freycinet. On the way to Hobart we stopped at the Spiky Bridge. The bridge was built by convicts but no one knows why it has all the rock spikes along the sides. We arrived in Hobart in time for dinner. After we checked into Custom's House hotel, we walked to the water front and had a two tier seafood dinner and Tasmanian wine at Mures Seafood restaurant for dinner. The seafood was fantastic and we left stuffed and ready to rest up for our last Australian adventure.
Day 18 - This day starts with a bit of sadness knowing it is the last great adventure in Australia. Tomorrow we will fly back to Brisbane and the next day back to the US. So we are intent on making the most of this last glorious day.
We start the day with a hearty breakfast at the hotel before we head to he Tasman Island Cruise office to catch our bus to Port Arthur for our cruise and Tasmanian Devil Park visit. The drive from Hobart to Port Arthur is about an hour and a half and we learn some history and interesting facts from the driver. We learn some convict history including about an area that is a narrrow bit of land surrounded by water. this land would have dogs chained at 6 foot intervals and the convicts would be told there were sharks in the water to delude ideas of escape off the souther tip of Tasmania. We also learned much of the Tasmanian infrastructure including cananls and bridges were dug or built by convicts (by hand!)
We stopped for tea, coffee and muffins at a beautiful recreation area associated with Tasman cruises. One could easily relax away a week here on the beach and with nice walks, fishing and boating. After our small snack, it was time to get kitted out for our adventure. Tasman Island Cruises provides wind proof oversuits for thier guests. As usual they are one size fits most. Most does not inlcude Kimber or Sidney. Kimber and Sidney looked like Oompa-Loompas with Sidney's suit nearly dragging ground in back. Kimber felt like she was wearing a Norwegian survival suit again.
We boarded our boat, described as the 4 wheel drive of the southern ocean, then started a breathtaking journey. We passed sandstone formations, sea cliffs and caves. We even took the boat into some of the caves for amazing views. We saw a yellow beaked albatross, a tern and a seal in the water.
Additionally, there is a lighthouse on Tasman Island. Operation of the light house used to require enough people to fill two 6 bedroom houses. Families lived there and they had gardens and animals. Trnasportation to the island was by boat. From the boat you threw things (groceries, clothing, etc) into a large basket and then got in with your kids possibly. The a pulley system took your basket up to a landing point where you moved everything to a nearly vertical railroad for the rest of the ride. And this happend in all seasons. The lighthouse is now unmanned and maintenance personel arrive by helicopter. Can you imagine the adventure of living on the island?
After the lighthouse we headed into "rough water". This was a breeze. We had the nicest 1 to 3 meter seas. There are only a few days a year that calm. Sometimes in rough weather the waves break over the 30 meter cliffs. We also spotted some shy albatrosses in this area and enjoyed seeing the water crash to shore and go through blow holes even in the calm seas. 
Once we re-entered calm water back towards Port Arthur, we saw the Island of the Dead. Over 1000 convict bodies are buried on this very small island. All the kids, including Sidney, had the opportunity to drive the boat (with speed and power) around the bay before we docked.
The weather was quite warm for Tasmanian winter but we were still glad to have the suits and were all a bit chilled once we got off the boat. We had a nice soup and sandwich lunch at the penal colony museum before we headed to the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. 
Fortunately for us and especially Sidney, the park was very quiet. I think when we arrived we were the only visitors. We started by visiting the kangaroos, wombats, and wallabies for feeding time. We didn't think this would be very exciting though as by now we had fed all of the above several times. However, there was a park attendant who provided a lot of great information on the dynamics of the group of animals they have. The largest kangaroo ate first followed by smaller kangaroos. Then came the wallabies and last the wombats. There was a definate order to who ate first and this was the first time we had seen that. Additionally there were the geese. The geese ran the show. There were two pairs. One pair had active chicks running around and it didn't bother mom and dad in the slightest to chase, peck and yell at any one of the kangaroos. The other pair had either smaller chicks or eggs and only one participated in the bossing of the roos. It was hysterical and goes to confirm why Kimber avoids geese at all costs when running. Mean birds!
After the roo feeding, we went to the devil feeding. The two devils getting fed received the torso of a wallaby, bones and all. Only one devil will eat a small catch like this at a time. The lady devil won the prize and started first after a great deal of wallaby tug of war and growling and snarling. They are "devils" at dinner. She just crunched right through the bones. They can exhibit huge amounts of force from their jaws.
Here is the important part about the devils though, and why we had to go to a conservation park to see them. They have become endangered. They have developed a facial cancer that is transmittable. The cancer is transmitted when they go about their "discussions" (the growling and snarling and nipping) over dinner. The tumors that develop affect the devils ability to survive in the wild. Therefore, parks and zoos are trying to maintain a population of cancer-free devils. And you generally won't see any devils outside of the parks and zoos.
After devil feeding we took in the bird show. Show is a slight stretch. Only two of the five birds could fly. The first bird was the tawny frogmouth. He has only part of one wing so he sits in the same place day and night eating what flies by quite happily. We were able to pet him and he was very soft. We also met a peregrine falcon who was missing an entire wing. We had a cockatoo who danced and a parrot who would (in theory) fly to get a penny from your hand. However he had a problem with Sidney's and Kimber's hair. He would land on their head rather than arm and then scratch them trying to balance. Sidney was not keen on this. The final brown hawk could fly and would fly in between peoples legs if they were standing on the ground. that was the greatest excitment in the whole show. Oh well.
We ended our visit to the park by visitng the quolls. We never knew such a creature existed. We had not seen them in any zoo in Australia. These are small carnivorous marsupials that are smaller than a possum. They are quite cute being gray with white spots on thier back and snoozing happily in thier tree. However, when dinner (another section of wallaby) arrives, it is chaos. They will jump off of tree branches or rocks to hang by their teeth from a bit of food until they get a peice off. It was at least entertaining. After the quolls, we took the bus back to Hobart. We were truly exhausted and a little sad. We ate at Mures again but downstairs. It was still very good. Then we headed for bed (except for Kirk, who popped down to the hotel pub for a couple of the local Tazzie brews!).
The next morning we did have time to visit the Cadbury chocolate factory. This was the second Cadbury factory in the world and the first outside of the UK. We picked up some treats that they make thier including Freddie Frogs and Caramel Koalas. Some of these went int the treat bags for Sidney's birthday.
After that we flew to Brisbane and spent the night. The next morning we were back at the airport and headed for home. We arrived home at 3 am Thurday morning completely exhausted. Then we all fought jet lag for days. Kimber even had the worst jet lag she has ever had.
We are now fully recovered and back in the groove. Back to work and school.
