We were told it would be a holiday in Hobart and that many shops and business might not be open. An annual agro-fair was going on somewhere outside of the city center today. We marveled at the small-town feeling of Hobart and its peace and quiet. I'm in no position to judge, but I do not think our perceptions had much to do the special event. Hobart seems like a clean, picturesque, but sleepy city. Free Wifi is offered all over the downtown area as a friendly incentive to spend time here.
We'd been a little afraid that we'd not be able to get out to a special animal reserve as we didn't book a tour from the staff on the Noordam. What a tragedy it'd have been if we hadn't gotten a chance to touch a kangaroo during our third and final stop in Australia! It was a clear and cool morning with a few puffy clouds over the mountains behind Hobart. We briskly walked to the Visitor Information Center in the middle of town. Our ship was only about one kilometer away from the place to sign up for a little, white van that would take us to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.
At our arrival at the office, we found the next ride wouldn't be available for an hour. We walked around Hobart a little. Things really looked deserted on the streets. Over at Salamanca Square, things were pleasant and warming up. By walking along the water, we returned to the place to board our van at exactly 11:00 AM. Yay, only 11 passengers in a van with exactly that capacity!
The sanctuary is approximately 30 kilometers out of town. We had two passengers to drop off in a historic town named, Richmond. I saw enough of it from the brief drive through, I think. Then, we continued via some back roads to interact with some Tasmanian fauna. The experience was delightful. Scattered kangaroo-feed boxes were placed around the inside perimeter of the hilltop location. This area is much drier than I might have imagined with the bulk of the rain falling on the other side of the inland mountains. The midday temperature must have been around 20C.
The many kangaroos had been fed by earlier visitors. Our ship and the holiday visitors provided that the animals didn't have to move a bit of their food. We held our hands right up to the creatures' mouths and they had no power to resist a bit more of a nibble. We saw many rescued small animals including wombats, Tasmanian devils, quolls, and some reptiles. Some were recuperating and would be released in due time. Unfortunately, some were no longer equipped for life in the wild and this place would become their lifetime home. The two hours we got to spend there were perfect.
On the ride home via a different route, we got to see a sample of land and housing in this section of Tazmania. We did notice a lot of sheep. Some of the range area reminded me a lot of central Washington State in the US. We spied a cove of many black swans when returning. We decided to eat on the boat, rest a bit, and return to walk around some of the city which we'd missed earlier. We did end up with a lot of mileage today as the Mi Band reported around 14 kilometers.
This was an excellent day and a fitting experience before we leave port and begin to travel east for the first time since we left Vancouver.