#LittleDevils

Launceston, 03.05.2018

We were herded out the door early again in order to start our day. Our first stop was a war memorial. Men and woman that died in the first and second world wars were commemorated with trees that lined a road in Dorset. Unfortunately complaints were made about the mess they caused with leaves on the ground and other annoyances trees bring (mainly birds pooing on you). The residents were of course furious as it was a space for them to honour those heroes so they commissioned an artist to do something with the trees.

Incredibly, he created carvings of each person, even dogs and objects were carved intricately into the wood. It was then varnished with a shiny polish that will treat and protect the wood for as long as possible.

After wandering around tree sculptures all morning we were feeling peckish, just in time for some cheese tasting. We went to the milk farm where the cows milk themselves. They lay on their backs and grab their udders with their hooves and milk away!
This is at least what I pictured

when hearing this information but it wasn't as amusing as that. Each cow is fitted with a collar that allows them to open all the gates around the farm. This allows them to roam freely in the day. It also opens the dispensary where their food is kept and while they're having a munch, laser technology machines attach themselves to their udders and milk them.

For lunch we went to a beautiful beach called the Bay of Fires (I don't know why- there didn't seem to be any fires there at the time of our arrival). We sat on the rocks and chomped away at our sandwiches and snacks before playing a bit on the beach. I went with Julia and Iris and we sat in the warm sun looking mermaid-ial (It's a word) on a rock. It wasn't long before we were back on the bus for the best part of the day... Tasmanian Devil Park!

The devils are really odd little creatures with stumpy legs, huge, wide mouths and razor sharp teeth like a dog and a hyena had a weird, pug-like toothy baby...

The ranger fed them some possum as we all watched the fierce chaps with little man syndrome devour the skin and bones, constantly fighting each other and grunting like pigs. I felt really sorry for one devil because her greedy boyfriend stole the majority of her possum and she made a horrible cry sound. (I do the same when food is taken from me!)

Once they were fed we headed to see the wombats. Mr Wombat was snoozing but the guy brought out a baby for us to see. His mum had been killed by a car but her hard hind had kept the joey alive. His little eyes looked like tired, tiny beads and he was all wrapped up and cosy in his blue blanket. We took it in turns to give him a little pat on the head and then headed off to feed the wallabies. The first few we found were eager to eat, one big one came bounding over to me I was worried he was going to attack me but then he stopped right by my feet and with one swift lick of his moist tongue he gobbled up the food in my hand.

Walking around the park we saw a few other wallabies but they were over being fed, it was late in the afternoon and most of them just wanted to chill so we quickly checked out the other enclosures and then headed back to the chalet.

#Factor50

chapters

Latest blog from
Travel Diaries

Get started right away!

What are you waiting for? Capture your adventures in a digital diary that you can share with friends and family. You can switch between any of your devices anytime. Get started in our online web application.