| People have been traveling to Mt Field National Park for over 100 years to stroll along the gurgling brooks... |
| ... photograph and paint the picturesque Russell Falls... |
| ...and check out the wildlife! |
| The Tasmanian pademelon, found only on Tasmania now, is a relative of the wallaby and the kangaroo |
| Perhaps not the best day to be hiking the perimeter of Lake St Clair, and the ferryboat ride to the trail head was practically life-threatening! |
| At lake St Clair National Park we did get to see a full grown wombat |
| The wombat was camera-shy and ambled off in a rolling side-to-side gait |
| The Bennet's wallaby (the Tassie subspecies of Red-necked wallaby) wasn't the least bit shy, ignored us and focused on eating grass. |
| Driving clockwise around Tasmania next brought us to Great Lake in the central mountains |
| Above Great Lake, a long boardwalk trail highlighted the wind-blasted remnant stand of rare Pencil Pines |
| Ancient, gnarled relicts of a glacial past |
| At this pass in the mountains on a blustery day, Pine Lake was chilly but sunny, needing gloves and warm hats, plus sunblock and sunnies! |
| After descending to more temperate environs, a colorful field of yellow and purple turned out to be full of... |
| ...these foxgloves! Wild? Planted? Sown? Escapees? Gorgeous! |
| Yep, another waterfall! This is Liffey Falls cascading its way into the Deloraine Valley. |
| One night we set out from our cabin in the mountains to look for wildlife--found nothing--then returned to find brush possums on the front porch! |
| We hiked to a sacred Aboriginal ceremonial site near Alum Cliffs above the Mersey River |
| Spent the night in Launceston, an estuary of the north coast, which has an active, bustling waterfront...at least it does when the tide is IN ! |
| Close to Launceston is Cataract Gorge Park with a 100 yr old swing bridge spanning the Tamar River |
| Cataract Gorge Park provides hiking trails on both sides of the river, right close to Launceston |
| Downstream from Launceston is the Tamar Wetlands Preserve with hours of boardwalk trails through the marshes |
| Black swans in huge flocks are a common sight in the Preserve |
| This could be a male Black Swan judging by its relative upright posture |
| No visit to Tasmania's northern region in summer is complete without a visit to a blooming lavender farm |