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Day hikes around Hobart, Tasmania

March 7, 2017

Since departing the United States in mid-January, I had been traveling more than 5 weeks at a frenetic pace throughout southeast Asia before casting up in southern Tasmania.  Spending 6 weeks here in the southernmost state in Australia, two in the south and four in the north of the island, is a welcome relief.  (The Calendar Tab shows my current travel plans).  After sleeping in a different bed almost every night (not as salacious as it sounds), knowing that one doesn’t need to grab one’s things and head out the door early the next morning has been quite a luxury.

During my first two weeks here, I went on five or six short day hikes within a 2.5 hour radius of the rural cottage I had been staying at south of Hobart.  These hikes encompassed some of the diverse ecosystems nearby, from rain forest in the lower elevations of Mt. Field National Park to coastal forest and heath southeast and southwest of Hobart, to a sub-alpine environment on the higher slopes of Mt Hartz.  I assembled the photos that follow from these jaunts as well as a trip to Hobart’s Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden.  Some dramatic and beautiful scenery, strange endemic flora and fauna, and great late summer weather added up to yet more wonderful hikes for

The Vagabond Hiker

Hobart and the Derwent River from Mt. Wellington’s Eastern flanks
Coast view near the Devil’s Kitchen, Tasman Peninsula
The Devil’s Kitchen. Yes, to get this shot I climbed over a restraining fence (to everyone’s amazement).
Fossil Island, Tasman Peninsula
Fortescue beach from the Bivouac Bay track, Tasman Peninsula
Tiger Snake (Notechis scutatus), Tasman Peninsula. I have encountered several of these venomous snakes, but only photographed this one.
The boardwalk track through the heath from Cockle Creek (the southern terminus of the south-most road in Australia) to South Cape Bay.
View West toward Lion’s Head at South Cape Bay, reached after a two hour walk from Cockle Creek. Mighty combers were rolling in off the Southern Ocean.
A White-lipped snake (Drysdalia coronoides), South Cape Bay. While venomous, their small size (diameter about that of a pencil) makes them much less of a threat than Tiger or Copperhead snakes in Tasmania.
Heath bog along the Hartz Peak track, Hartz Mountains National Park
View SW from Hartz Peak summit into the South West National Park
Lady Barron Falls, Mt. Field National Park
Tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), Mt. Field National Park
Horseshoe Falls, Mt. Field National Park
A 78m tall Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus regnans) in Mt. Field National Park. These are the tallest flowering plants in the world, reaching 99m (324 ft).
Russell Falls, Mt. Field National Park
The Lily Pond at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden. At one time it supplied all the water for the flora at this 14 hectare site.
A spectacular 150 year old Cork Oak (Quercus suber) at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden
Naked Lady (Amaryllis belladonna) in bloom at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden. I just had to take a photo…

 

 

Australasia, Australia Kent

Thailand undersea

February 18, 2017

Capping my Indochina adventures (see previous two posts), I spent this past week diving in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of southern Thailand.  Our live-aboard boat, the M/V Similan Explorer, cruised the Similan and Surin Islands for five days, allowing our group of twenty divers plus crew to dive at some of the best sites currently open in Thailand, including the world-famous Richelieu Rock.  (Several of the islands are closed as a marine reserve and four additional islands were closed for the princess’s annual scuba trip.  She clearly has no desire to mingle with the peasants.) My Nikon Coolpix camera, while technically waterproof to 30 meters (100 feet), would have been of little use at such depths without a complex flash set up.  As many of our dives were close to or slightly deeper than 30 meters, rather than worrying about whether my camera would leak and being distracted attempting to take photos of dubious quality, I left that task to an expert.  Specifically, on board we had the services of an award-winning professional underwater photographer, Rich Carey [richardcareyphotos.com].  Below are some of the more interesting photos he took during as many as eighteen dives we made over the five days.  These photos go a lot further in conveying why I like diving than any mere words could.  Enjoy!

The Vagabond Hiker

PS I did take two of the above-water photos!

Fishing boat at sunset leaving Khao Lak
The Vagabond Hiker diving the Similan Islands. Everyone else wore a wet suit or at least a rash guard!
A Manta Ray at Koh Bon, one of two we saw fairly close up on that dive
Some amazing coral
An Emperor Angelfish. A Moorish Idol is to the lower left of the angelfish.
Red Tailed Butterflyfish and coral
Spot the 2 Ornate Ghost Pipefish
Some more of the beautiful corals we saw.  In places, though, there were lots of rubble, possibly from the Tsunami on Christmas Day 2004
Schooling Barracudas near sunset
Your guess is as good as mine
Appropriately named Harp Coral
A Bluespotted Stingray, one of a few we saw on different dives.
A jelly. On one dive we were inundated by them.
A diver showing the complex camera set up necessary for underwater photography
A yellow seahorse at Richelieu Rock.  We saw two different species there.
Anemonefish and coral
An ugly and deadly Scorpionfish.
One of many Giant Moray Eels we saw
A Porcupine Pufferfish. They particularly were attracted to the Boon Sung wreck, but we saw them on many dives.
A Banded Sea Snake.
A Pacific Lionfish. Native to the Eastern Pacific, they are aggressive invasives in the Caribbean Sea.
Honeycomb Moray Eel at Boon Sung wreck, the only location we saw them.
A colorful Nudibranch. These small sea slugs are quite popular – and difficult to spot – with many divers
An Angelfish looking in a mirror at Boon Sung wreck. Someone dumped the scooter into the hull of the wreck a few years back.
Sunrise at Koh Bon
Our dive group and crew. As always, I am bored with group photos.

 

 

 

Asia, Thailand Kent

Indochina by boat and foot

February 10, 2017

After all the emotional intensity of Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek near Phnom Penh (see previous post), my Indochina travels at first continued in the same vein, visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels used by the Viet Cong outside of Saigon (now officially Ho Chi Minh City, though natives frequently use its former name) and the pull-no-punches Remnants Museum in that Vietnamese city.  We also visited a local farming and fishing village in the Mekong Delta, at risk from upstream hydroelectric projects in Laos and China.

The Vagabond Hiker in a Cu Chi tunnel, used by the Viet Cong during the American War and enlarged somewhat for the physique of the Western Tourist
Vietnamese lady and sampan
A lizard in the Mekong Delta region south of Saigon

I won’t dwell on my south and central Vietnam excursions in the interesting but touristy town of Hoi An (we were there for the Lunar New Year of Tet), in the beach resort of Nha Thrang, or the industrial city of Hue; suffice it to say that after one week in Cambodia and another in Vietnam observing the lingering effects of the American War, I was more than ready for a return to nature.  A short boat excursion on Ha Long Bay, a two day slow boat trip up the Mekong River from Luang Prabang, Laos to the Thai border, and finally a day spent hiking in the Mae Tang area of northern Thailand, provided the antidote to excess civilization.

Our Explore! group headed out on a morning Junk trip from Ha Long City on Ha Long Bay.  Literally translated as “Descending Dragon Bay,” Ha Long is a UNESCO World Heritage site and perhaps the most-photographed bay in the world; unfortunately, continued gray skies in northeast Vietnam were not ideal for photography.  I think, though, that the photos below do capture a little of the feeling of the bay and its limestone karsts and islets in various shapes and sizes.  The cooks on our Junk conjured up a fantastic lunch buffet; that plus our molto simpatico group made for a superb morning before heading back to the frenetic pace of Hanoi for the following two days.

A local fishing boat on Ha Long Bay
The Vagabond Hiker on the prow of our Junk in Ha Long Bay
View of Ha Long Bay islets from our Junk

Of all the various cities and towns where I spent time during this past month of traveling around Indochina, the lovely northern Laotian town of Luang Prabang on the Mekong River was my favorite.  At the time I was on a hiatus from photography and in any event French architecture and Buddhist temples do not fit with the theme of this blog post.  Even a pleasant 3-hour hike in the northern Laotian jungle between two nearby Hmong villages and featuring a waterfall and lovely pools for swimming did not elicit in me any desire for photography.

That all changed when we left Luang Prabang. There is no better way than to enter or leave Luang Prabang than by slow boat.  That is exactly what we did, taking two full days to make our way up the Mekong to the Thai border at Huay Xai with an intermediate overnight in the hamlet of Pak Beng, Laos.  The trip upstream in the low water of the dry season featured a myriad of minor rapids which we had to navigate around.  We had two tasty lunch buffets on board, a pleasant dinner overlooking the Mekong River in Pak Beng, and plenty of time to chill and watch the world go by.  We stopped at the Tin Tang caves featuring several thousand Buddhas (many more have been stolen) on the first day and at a Hmong village by the river on the second day before arriving at the border town of Huay Xai and transferring to the northern Thailand city of Chiang Rai and thence on to Chiang Mai the following day.

Mekong village just north of Luang Prabang, Laos
A working elephant along the Mekong in Laos
Buddhas in the Tam Ting upper cave along the Mekong in Northern Laos
Our Slow Boat for two days on the Mekong River
View inside our Mekong River Slow Boat
Mekong River bridge in the morning mist
Maggie with two young girls she befriended at a Hmong village along the Mekong

Somehow the temples of Chiang Mai, Thailand held little interest for me during our two-and-one-half day sojourn there, so I once again headed into the jungle.  A fortuitous last minute booking of a full day trek in the Mae Tang Valley north of Chiang Mai, source of the Mae Tang and Ping Rivers, was the perfect solution.  Maggie and I experienced a lush jungle, a waterfall with obligatory swimming hole, cabbage fields, a bat cave, and miles of trails and paths featuring bamboo and wild bananas.  Despite the extensive cultivation and the Hmong villages at the start and end, most of the hike had a distinctly wild feeling to it.

Hike vista, Mae Tang valley, northern Thailand
With Maggie on the Mae Tang hike
Swimming hole on our Mae Tang hike
Cabbage farmers seen on our Mae Tang hike
Valley vista with cultivated bananas on our Mae Tang hike

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  I am currently in Bangkok and tomorrow will be heading south to Phuket for five days of diving in the Andaman Sea before continuing on to Australia.  If you are interested,  my schedule out to early August is on the “Calendar” tab on the upper right of the home page of this blog site.

My next blog post will likely be from Tasmania.

Happy trails,

The Vagabond Hiker

Asia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam Kent

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