Wednesday 30 August 2023

11 Tasmania: Devonport - Hobart

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

(Feeding the skippies at Bonorong)

Day 11: 30 August 23 (Wednesday)
Route: Devonport - Sheffield - Bonorong - Lutana
Distance: 265 km
Hotel: Waterfront Lodge Motel, Lutana


We had egg sandwiches for breakfast. This morning we checked out early as it was going to be a long journey to Hobart. We will be making a few stops on the way.

(Beautiful country road with Cradle Mt in the background)

Our first stop was at Sheffield, the Town of Murals located about 26 km from Devonport. Sheffield has rightly earned the reputation as Tasmania's Outdoor Art Gallery. Murals adorn the buildings on the main streets in town and have spread into the neighbouring areas. Over 200 murals are now available to view. The murals in town tell the history of the area; people that have lived here, events that have happened and some of the natural attractions in the municipality.

(Sheffield outdoor Art Gallery)
(A peaceful quaint town)
(Collections of Arts on display)
(Some murals on the walls of Sheffield buildings)
(Each painting tells its own story)

After our self guided mural tour we visited a local store and bought some souvenirs. Later we went to the Post Office and paid our long outstanding traffic summons.

(The town General Store and the Post Office)
 
From Sheffield we drove on Highway 01 bypassing the towns of Campbell and Oatlands. We made a brief comfort stop at Saint Peter Pass before we headed to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. We had light lunch at Bonorong cafรจ before we started our self tour of the sanctuary.

(Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary)
(Tasmania's largest 24-hour wildlife rescue)
(The statue of three little Tassie Devils)
(All about the Tasmanian Devils)
(Tasmania is where Tassie Devils are found in the wild)
(Adult Tassie Devils can be as big as a dog)

Bonorong is home to a rescue service, a wildlife hospital and a seabird rehabilitation program among other efforts like breeding programs for endangered species.

(Emus live only in Australia)
(The tiger quoll, also known as the spotted-tail quoll)
(The short-beaked echidna covered with spines)
(The laughing kookaburra is the kingfisher subfamily)

There were not many animals so we could get close to what were there, especially to the elusive Tasmanian Devils and the kangaroos. There was a big open kangaroo pen where we can hand feed them, which was probably the highlight of the tour.

(Visitors are given a complimentary bag of food)
(The land was originally owned by the Mumirimina people)
(Tame Kangaroos eating out of our hands)

From Bonorong we drove direct to Waterfront Lodge Motel located in Lutana, our lodging for the night. As we were too lazy to go out, we had a light dinner in the hotel room.

(Waterfront Lodge Motel)

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