And Here’s Another Thing

Besides having residents who never meet a stranger, who are open, anxious to learn about you, and willing to laugh and knock a joke about here and there, besides having incredible mountain views, farm scenes, long, curving white sandy beaches with aqua-toned waters, and towns seeming stuck in a time warp, can Tasmania offer more?  Yes, there is more.  Tasmania has become eco-minded.  Sure they suffer the impact of closed mines and the shame and worry caused by nearby acid-laced rivers, but today Tasmanian people seem to understand the impact of industries that harm the land, rivers and streams, the air, and the sea.  Limited space for landfills could drive this, but then again, it could be that the people here are keenly mindful of the environment because its glory is all around them and because they are reminded of what can happen when they see the river damage caused by long ago before anyone knew better.  My point is Stan and I have not seen one scrap of Styrofoam, one plastic straw, or one piece of plastic dinnerware here.  Takeaway food is packed in heavy BioPak paper dishes with paper or recyclable plastic lids, takeaway cutlery is made of a bio-degradable wood product, and even the tiny square clip on a bread wrapper is made of paper.  Very few drinks come in plastic bottles – recyclable cans or glass bottles are used here and we often find free water bottle refilling stations.  As a note, some glass bottles here are recyclable and people who return them get a 10-cent refund for each eligible item; some colored glass such as that in wine bottles is not recyclable.  I’m not sure why . . . too expensive to sort by color, or to wash and reuse???   Creative environmentalists offer suggestions on how consumers can reuse non-recyclable wine bottles for other uses, like planters, candle holders, birdfeeders, pendant light fixtures, and more.  I looked the list over and saw none that looked doable or appealing to me.   Fine wine connoisseurs that Stan and I are, we look for wines in recyclable boxes.

This small Australian state, not a country, is surrounded by sea and the entry to the seas is beautiful beaches. This whole land mass is bordered by beautiful rocky or white sandy beaches – north, south, east, and west, entry to the seas is via spectacular beaches!

Tasmania stirs my longing and lust for the possibility to live close to water, a lake would be ok but living near the ocean is my dream, not just any ocean however.   I am past the point of living on a sunbaked shore with hot temperatures and high humidity.  I long to be able to walk the beach year-round and feel refreshing breezes on my face, find a sunny place sheltered from winds on a cool day to read, or doze like a reptile, and absorb the warm sun for just an hour.   I want to wake up in the morning to the sound of sea birds and see a wide shore with white foam on blue waves,  and go to bed at night with the ocean breeze creating natural air conditioning that demands a blanket on the bed.  Maybe someday???

As we drive from town to town, first I think of Mary Mattson, my dear friend who loves houses, houses from all eras.  Oh, can she decorate; she has a natural flare!  She would surely like this place.  I think there must have been a tremendous building initiative in about 1850, then again in 1950, and then again in 1970.  It is easy to pass through townships and neighborhoods and give them a date.  In Stanley, the houses on the water appeared to be circa 1850.  They were small, frame houses with windows facing the ocean and peaked roofs with lightning rods on each end of the roof.  In Devonport, most houses are 1960-70 ranch-style houses but mixed in between are amazing Victorian designs and brand-new ultramodern box-type glass houses.  Some older homes have been updated to add a garage or to expand windows to capture the expanse of ocean view; some remain as they were built, just cleaned and repainted to keep the house looking fresh.   Most all properties have lawns perfectly trimmed with beds of roses and fragrant trees.  It’s just the way life is here.  It is simple but life is serious.   It’s been this way for the last 150 years and this is the way it will be for the next 100 years.   I like it!

Speaking of driving, Stan has been doing all of the driving, every single inch.  And here, cars drive in the left lane and the steering wheel is on the right.  Thank God I don’t have to do this!  But Stan is a master driver.   He is, I have ridden alongside him for 48 years now and we’ve had only one minor bump up in all that time.  We’ve captured a few speeding tickets though and I bet most people who ride in the car with us will say he scares the crap out of them because he drives so fast.  Honestly, I’m not throwing him under the bus, but facts are facts.  Still, I will put my hand on a Bible and say this, Stan is reliable.  He gets us where we are going safely and securely without fail.  Thank you, Stan, my love.  I’ll add just this one thing; we’ve only been honked at twice and yelled at once.  But all that was in our first few days here.  J

We arrived in Bicheno, Tasmania today.  Oh Lord, this is a pretty place and what a beautiful name,  Bicheno!!!  The temps are far too cool for swimming for warm-blooded people like us, but a handful of Tassies accustomed to the temps here are brave enough to swim and splash in the bay.  Just watching them gave me chills!  The beaches are curved, sugary, and white – like the Gulf Coast sands and the water is aqua near the shore then blue out o sea, clear, and wonderful.  Huge rocks colored orange with lichen lie on the beach and out in the water.  Signs warn people about swift and strong rip tides.  Still, people swim.  We followed the white marks on the gigantic rocks and walked the trail from our beach past The Gulch where the Lobster Shack restaurant rules, and to Blow Hole and return today.  I became excited today when I spotted a pair of Kookaburras in a tree!  I thought, “I found wildlife all on my own!”   I told people we met along the way, “We found a pair of Kookaburras just there.”  No one was impressed.   We learned . . . these beautiful big birds are as common here as Blue Jays are to us. 

Stan has done it again.  It is my job to figure out where we go and the calendar of when we get there, what we do there, and when we move on, and it is Stan’s role to book the car or the flight and also to find our Airbnb accommodation.  He has become an expert at finding just the right kind of place to stay!  I am astonished every time we open the door of our next “home.”  Our beach house here, Blue Haven,  is perfect, just right!  This beach house is inviting, and roomy with walls of windows, a lovely well-stocked kitchen, three bedrooms, and everything we need for a comfy stay.  Why aren’t you guys here with us??   I am tempted to just stay here in this house and walk on the beach each day, sit in a chair on the deck and read a book, do no excursions, do no wine tastings that are famous here, and go nowhere.  This beach place on the central-eastern shore of Tasmania is where I want to be.

I know, it seems I fall in love with most places we visit.  It is not that I am not critical or discerning.  . . just ask Stan or my girls!  The truth is there are so many wonderful, miraculous places here on our earth, who could not love all of them?