Tasmania
Breathtaking view from Cape Hauy! | Less than an hour away by plane from Melbourne, Tasmania lies just 240 km south of the Australian coast. Over a third of the island has been made into reserves, National Parks and World Heritage sites. Thanks to its largely unspoiled natural environment Tasmania is often described as the Natural State, and is a heaven for outdoor activities. And it was also the ideal place for me to recover from the 2007 F1 season opener in Melbourne before moving on to Malaysia! Without much time to plan ahead I was on one of my "I am going to make it up as I go along" trips. A relatively stress free travelling strategy, which though might lead occasionally to some lost time, frustration, and missed opportunities. Not here though. Tasmania is relatively off the most common touristic routes, and you can enjoy the beautiful landscapes and the unique wildlife in perfect isolation. But the island is very well organised for tourism. All you have to do is to arrive at the airport, pick up your rental car and stop at the first tourist information office. There will you find a wealth of information on outdoor activities, hiking trails and places of interest... Which is precisely what I did, and within a couple of hours from arriving on the island I was hiking my way along the breathtaking cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula. I made the most of my three days off, before rejoining the Red Bull Racing team in Sydney. I was up from dawn till dusk to make the most any ray of sun light that brought Tasmania's colours to life. And even beyond dusk I was able to capture some remarkable shots at Remarkable Cave, thanks to the marvel of digital imaging sensors! |
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 After an hour of bushes and woods, the path led to the majestic cliffs of cape Hauy. | 
Wineglass Bay from the view point, half way along the trail from Coles Bay. |
 Changing light. At the first light of dawn the shores of Cape Tourville are fairly featureless and the pink glowing sky reflecting on the ocean is the dominant theme... |  ...after a short while the first rays of Sun light change the mood of the scene completely. |
 The Sun had gone to sleep already, and so did I a few minutes later after a long day hiking. The digital camera could still see through the darkness... enlarge. | 
The Sun sets on my brief Tasmanian adventure at Honeymoon Bay... enlarge. |
The elusive echidna! | 
A wallaby! | 
So long, and thanks for all the fish! | 
A curious seal apprached out boat! | 
A family of seals enjoys the sun after a good meal... | 
... as gannets do! |
| Invisible From Cape Tourville to the Friendly Beaches, from Wineglass Bay to Honeymoon Bay I had many encounters with local inhabitants, such as wallabies, fur seals, and the elusive echidna! A great opportunity to see some local wildlife is to take a boat tour around the Tasman Peninsula. It was a sunny and calm day and the conditions were perfect for the cruise. And also for the seals, who were out in numbers on a real feeding frenzy! They really put up a show worthy of a National Geographic documentary! Several seals were working together as a team to round up a big bunch of fish, which looked very concerned I must say, and simply gorged on them! And in all that action several sea birds, well aware of the situation, simply stopped by and took their share! The cruise finally reached Hippolyte Rocks, about a mile off the coast of Cape Hauy, which is home to hundreds of seals and sea birds, particularly cormorans and gannets. We slowly sailed around the little island, observing these animals resting in the Sun after their gorgeous meal, and banking several shots! |
My final mission in Tasmania was to sneak out that vicious voracious carnivorous creature that is the Tasmanian Devil! Made famous by the Warner Bros cartoons, I was really eager to see whether it lives up to its reputation! Unfortunately I soon learnt that the poor devils are not really doing very well. The facial tumor disease is threathening to wipe out the entire population... to the point that disease free Tasmanian Devils are now bred in conservation parks, hoping to preserve the species. I visited one of the such places, and saw that after all the Tasmanian Devil does not really look that menacing. They are like small cute dogs and I was really keen on holding and cuddling one. The park attendant though yelled at me "Are you mad?? They'll break every bone in your hands and arms in no time!".
Is it then as ferocious as they led us to believe?...
 A ferocius Tasmanian Devil on the hunt for food... |  A scary sight. A Tasmanian Devil... yawning! |
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