REFLECTIONS ON TASMANIA

Glorious Gordon River

Hi – this is a little extra blog, just to give an overview of our experience in Tasmania.  We expected to be in Tassie for around 6 months and made it to 5 ½ months.  My only real regret is that we won’t see any of the spring colours as we are leaving too early for that.  We did manage to get a good taste for the remaining three seasons however.  Arriving mid February allowed us to experience the end of summer and then right thru’ autumn and a good dose of winter.  In order to encapsulate our experience, I need to split this into several categories.

Gardens At The Cascade Brewery Hobart

THE PEOPLE

This was perhaps the most pleasant surprise we had – almost without exception the Tasmanian people are delightful.  Happy (despite the appalling state of the economy in The Apple Isle), polite and friendly; really the folk in Tasmania are very much the epitome of what we generally think of as ‘country folk’.  Manners still mean something, customer service, whilst not speedy is very much part of life and smiling is something everyone seems to know how to do.  The other notable thing is that like most country folk, Taswegians are happy to have a conversation with you even when they have never met you before – I couldn’t tell you the number of conversations we have struck up with people just because we could.  Truly a lovely experience!

Afternoon Tea Cruise - Huon River

THE ECONOMY

We would have to say it is appalling!  The state seems quite politically minded and the local TV stations certainly give the pollies more than their fair share of air time.  The premier seems to be universally disliked and it seems a foregone conclusion she will be gone come the next election.  The Greens seem to have outlived their welcome also – sadly – as they have overstepped the mark of rationality down here (as in so many other places). 

We have seen an inordinate number of businesses closed and every night on the TV we heard of more companies and small business going ‘bust’.  What we were also amazed about was the number of tiny businesses just clinging to life – small grocery shops and cafes just, but only just surviving.

Hobart city seems to cover a very large geographic area and supports an amazing number of small businesses.  How they all have survived to date is a vexed question – it didn’t surprise us at all to hear that a couple of thousand (yes thousand) ceased operation last year.

The most popular pastime down here is applying for, asking for, nay demanding, Federal Assistance.  Almost every news bulletin included someone, some sporting group, some support group, some struggling business suggesting Federal Assistance.  Even more amazingly, it seems they more often than not, do get the assistance they request.

Boats at Bay - Huon River

Huon In A Sultry Mood

THE WILDERNESS & THE GREEN MOVEMENT

Well, it is a conundrum!  This has to be one of the most stunningly beautiful places in our country and one of the poorest.  It is easy to say that tourism should be the main income stream here, but honestly it would take an enormous amount of tourism to come anywhere near supporting the state.  It would seem to be an impossible dream.  Having said that, we are amazed that Tasmania is not better promoted on the mainland!  We, in WA rarely see an advertisement for Tasmania and we have certainly never seen one for Tasmanian winters.  Worse than that, many providers actually close their doors between April and November.  Many caravan parks close down as do a great number of the tourist attractions.  Things like the Hobart bus tour for argument sake.  There is really no reason we can see why this sort of thing shouldn’t run all year round if winter in Tasmania is well promoted.

Autumnal Colours On The Derwent - New Norfolk

Coming from WA where the Winter Get Aways in the South West are heavily promoted, why oh why doesn’t Tassie do the same thing.  This place is a Winter Wonderland and could be promoted so much better.  OK, it gets cold – that doesn’t have to be a major deterrent.  Caravan Parks don’t seem to have provision for camp-fires and yet they would be a great idea here in the winter months.  The Ski Fields here are from what we are led to believe, quite good and yet I have never seen them promoted.  The Aurora Australis is well viewed from the south of the Island – did you know this, I certainly didn’t.

The autumn colours here are exceptional and I imagine the spring blossoms are also amazing – why is it that we never hear about these things.  About the only thing I see advertised in Tas are the water-falls and the gourmet cheeses – there is certainly a great deal more to the island than that.

The Wilderness is amazing, especially in the West of the island – much of it virtually impenetrable by man – it is I believe, imperative this be protected and preserved for the future generations and for the health of the planet.  The thing is, there is a great deal of this wilderness and I think that with a balanced approach, a certain amount of mining and logging would be appropriate.  Balance is of course the operative word here – balance without greed and balance without the lunatic fringe.  Of course, this is a very uneducated view and I really don’t know enough about any of it to have a viable opinion, but just saying..............!

The food –trail is another very worthwhile venture; as there is such a strong dairy flavour to the state, anything to do with cheese and dairy products is a no-brainer.  Fishing, particularly scallops and oysters are marvellous – and yet, as I heard a local saying yesterday, Tasmanians are not very adventurous in their culinary endeavours.  This place is made for gourmet restaurants, cafes and hotels – and yet we have seen little evidence of this being done to any great degree.

The few towns which have picked up on the tourist trade, such as Stanley – rob the tourist blind.  There are local rates and there are tourist rates – this is a great put-off – surely good food, well prepared at a good rate would encourage people far more than over-priced ‘tourist fare’.

There are a couple of ventures which do the tourist thing very well, the boat cruises out of Strachan and Bruny are two which do it relatively well – the Strachan one is up for grabs at the moment.  The best one we saw was the Wilderness Railway – absolutely superb and now in danger of not re-opening after winter!  This if it happens really will be a travesty.

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This place is wonderful – it should be swamped with tourists all year round, and yet for the past couple of months we have had most of the caravan parks to ourselves – apart from a few intrepid Taswegians who know that this is an OK time to travel the Apple Isle.

In conclusion on this subject we can only hope that perhaps a change of government might bring about a brighter future for the business and green communities or maybe the Federal Government should really take the place under its wing and turn it into a Territory – after all there is already so much federal funding being spent in Tasmania.  The other option we have heard is that the state becomes part of Victoria – if I was a Victorian I’m not sure I would wish to absorb that particular financial burden.

South Coast 

 REAL ESTATE

Now, here is the go – houses and properties down in Tasmania are for the most part, inordinately inexpensive.  There are of course, suburbs and areas which for one reason or another attract a higher sale price.  Generally tho’ stuff is cheap; waterfront homes and blocks in most areas are incredibly cheap by WA standards.

There is such an abundance of water-front!  Due to the very ‘wriggly’ nature of the coastline, and the abundance of good sized rivers, water-front properties are nowhere as rare as at home.  Even absolute waterfront is not that unusual.

The quality of the buildings varies greatly – from the old, quaint and or atrocious to the upmarket, radical and flash.  One thing we have noticed and applauded is that there seems to be less ‘snobbery’ in Tas – people don’t seem on the whole to be burdened by the overwhelming desire to be as good as or better than the Joneses.  It is truly refreshing.  Tas is a place where the individual still thrives and the variety of homes and decor is phantasmagorial indeed. 

Would you want to live there?  Well, after more than 5 months there, we were still unsure.  One of the things which worried us was due to the poor state of the economy infrastructure almost seems bound to suffer eventually.  As ‘elders’ we felt this could be a distinct disadvantage.  The cost of living seems to be quite good however and certainly fruit and veg and fresh produce seems to be not only of exceptional quality but also relatively well priced.  One doesn’t have to travel very far to be anywhere (except the ‘north’ island) and so petrol, whilst dear, doesn’t have to take you very far.

Port Arthur

LIFESTYLE

Life in Tasmania would definitely be lay- back and countrified.  One can within a few hours travel from one end/side of the island to the other and the differences in terrain along the way are amazing in their diversity.  I suspect that within a fairly short period of time one would fit in very well, particularly if like us, you are already a little countrified and eccentric.  Eccentricity thrives in Tasmania. 

You could pretty much say good-bye to keeping up appearances and live a very relaxed lifestyle.  There is an abundance of history here if that is a turn on, abundant and verdant golf-courses, excellent and accessible fishing, heaps of arts and crafts and of course, wonderful cuisine.

Historic Bridge At Richmond

BEAUTY

I couldn’t possible identify the most beautiful part of the island – there are just too many.  The west with its rain-forests, the centre with its mountain ranges and snow, the south with the Huon Valley and its reflections or the east with its beautiful shores and beaches – no I couldn’t identify one above the others.  For mine, probably the East and north coasts are the best places to live as the climate there tends to be a little milder, albeit very windy on the north.

The only negative I would raise is that it is almost too beautiful or perhaps I should say, too pretty.  That comes from growing up with an appreciation for the wide open spaces of WA and the harsher beauty to be found in the outback I guess.  The other down-side is that the winter in Tassie is I believe, much longer than the winter on most of the mainland.  The days too, are very short.  In the winter it seems the sun is not really up before 8am and is gone by 4.30 – that makes for short days.

Approaching Russel Falls, Mt Field

SUMMATION

I think my memories of the Island will revolve around the amazing and abundant reflections to be seen all of the year on those plentiful days when the wind does not blow the spots off.  So much water and so little wind makes for stunningly peaceful and spiritual scenery.

I do have one other very naughty observation to make, and I certainly hope I do not offend anyone as I really love the Tasmanian people, but why on earth didn’t they make the Lord of The Rings movies in Tassie.  It is absolutely full of Hobbits!  Truly, it seems to my jaundiced eyes at least, that an inordinate number of Taswegians are height deprived.  The lack of length combined with the beautiful complexions of the folk who live here, make them a whimsical bunch of people indeed.  I have never seen so many girls and women with marvellous skin – doubtless due to the milder summers here I suppose.  Peaches and cream - fair skin with rosy cheeks – when you dress that in squishy tops, scarves and beanies you get a distinctly Hobbit feel to the place.  The abundant hills and mountains covered with emerald green grasses only enhance the whole effect.

My other memories here will always be warm ones of new friendship flavoured with cat dreams and doggy smiles.

Love for now – Steph & Doug.

Soft Close Of Day - Strahan