Hobart Sun 7th Dec
Although I had been unable to get booked on the 'Day with the Devils' CVA tour I was still determined to try to do at least the first part of the tour myself which involved going to a wildlife park near to Hobart. The day did not go according to plan but has left a lasting impression on me for all the wrong reasons.
The bad - Bonorong wildlife
A visit to Bonorong was supposed to be part of the 'Day with the Devils' so naturally that was the place I was wanted to go to. What I found made my heart sink slightly. Instead of a state of the art wildlife sanctuary that I thought I was going to I found a rundown and badly laid out mess. Having already been to natureworld near Bicheno this sorry place was a pale imitation for the same price.
I was given a bag of kangaroo food to use as I went around but I ended up giving most of that to a mother and her kid as I just couldn't get enough kangaroos to come anywhere near me. The aviaries were especially bad being small and dark. All the enclosures looked in need of repair and I could find little or no information on the animals I was looking at.
I did see the Tasmanian devils and one of the keepers gave a pretty good talk on them. I think they at least are treated well. This place could be so much better with a little bit of effort.
Bare walking areas
Bare enclosures
Caged Cockatoo
The Ugly - ZooDoo wildlife park
After Bonorong I felt I had to try to get to a good wildlife park and I remembered passing one on the way to Port Arthur with the guided tour. On my way there I happened upon ZOODOO fun park and decided to take a look.
I think this picture sums up this park:
This place is a business based on the exploitation of animals pure and simple.
As soon as I arrived I felt a shiver run through my spine. They were getting ready for the pony race in which they sent miniature ponies with cuddly toys on their back around a warehouse track over hurdles. One of the guys used a sort of streamer to get the ponies to race round. I felt sick.
Pony derby
Ponies being 'helped' around track
Right outside the pony track they have a small petting farm where the kids can go and stamp on guinea pigs and rabbits. Beside it they had this for show
Look at the cute ponies
You too could have a cute pony 
Or what about ducklings - no questions asked
The place was full of bogans and their kids running around without any supervision. I seen one fat kid throwing his kangaroo feed at the tasmanian devils while his mother video taped it. His sister (who I think was called Chalice!) simply threw her's over the wall. 
feed me
I'll hide in here
Common Marmoset 
Please do put your fingers through the cage
How many birds can we get into this shed
The places biggest attraction is a pair of Tigers in TIGERLAND which is a large steel enclosure. In their favour they do have some information about the plight of tigers but it is little in comparison to the amount of space given over to merchandising their cats. 
Tigerland
View of main enclosure
Enough Merchandise for ya?
Lets have some trophy heads - that'll make the kids think twice about hunting!
I am sure that all the animals in this place are treated in accordance with Australian cruelty laws but the simple fact is that this place should not exist in this day and age. It is one step up from a circus and parts of it are little more than a managerie.
I felt really angry after my ordeal at ZOODOO. Thankfully the next place was a lot better.
The Good - The Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park
Although this place was a bit pricy at $24 it had a good feel and look to it. I arrived just in time to see their free flying bird display. Some people might immediately say 'hey this is exploiting animals for show' and they would be right except for two things:
1. The birds displayed here were all brought in injured - including a peregrine falcon with only one wing.
2. These birds are free to fly off any time they wish which they do not. (To be fair the one winged peregrine might have a bit of a hard time flying off!)
The place is currently being totally upgraded which meant that some areas were off limits but the places I seen were generally well laid out and the had excellent info on Devils and a even info on the tyhlacine.
My only criticism would be that once again some of the bird enclosures were too small. I only wish the other two places were as good.
Tawney Frogmouth 
One Winged Peregrine
Brown Falcon
Eastern Quolls sleeping
Can you guess what they are!
After the Conservation park I decided that because I was down that way I would retry out the remarkable cave. It was still off limits.
Back in Hobart I Bumped into Brian in the Sydney hotel. He was heading out to find another jazz band after some food. I stayed and watched a very good blues ensemble - my type of music. Unfortunately because it was Sunday the pub shu up shop at 9.30 so I was stuck with having to go to bed pretty early.
GLOSSARY UPDATE
B
Bogan Noun. Aussi term. A bogan is the Australian equivalent of chav or skanger or spide - basically a twat. Here is the wikepedia info
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of WIldlife Parks
Hobart 6th Dec
By the time I got up out of my bunk Uncle Albert (sorry Brian) had already gone. he told me that he was here to help crew a tall ship that was in Hobart harbour and would be here until Monday (great).
The first thing I decided to do was hire a car. There was no way that I was going to survive in Hobart for another 3 days without some sort of transport. I also needed it for going to meet friends of my friend Brent (who is from tassie and I met in Perth). I arranged to pick the car up at 5 that night and would have it for 2 days.
In the mean time I decided to do another walk around Hobart starting with the harbour:
Tall ship, Hobart harbour
I then did a leisurely walk around Salamanca market which is held near the waterfront every Saturday. It was actually quite good for a market and had a good selection of arts, crafts and food stalls. I indulged myself in an ice cream. Of course as soon as I bought it it started to rain! Luckily it was just a shower and quickly passed over.
After the market I strolled up to battery hill in the hope that there might be something to see up there. But there wasn't so I just came back down again to the market and the waterfront.
As I got there a number of motor bikes came round the corner - some dressed up in Santa gear. Then some more arrived, then more and more and more and more! I asked one of the bikers what was going on. He said its the Hobart annual bikers toy run. Every year over 5000 motorbikes come to hobart to give toys to the salvation army for giving to needy children. There were bikers from all over Tasmania and Australia. There are even bikers who come from across the globe to take part in it. It was an amazing sight to see all these bikes streaming down to the harboutfront.
Elmer biker
I watched bikes pass by for a good 10 minutes
While it was an extremely good thing to do I have just one small criticism of it. All these bikers seemed to be bringing nothing but cuddly toys. Cuddly toys may look good on a front or back of a Harley but they are not exactly great for a 10 year old to play with. I met one of the bikers in the Sydney hotel the following night who echoed my concern. He at least had brought some toy cars.
Perhaps a couple of Barby dolls would have been better?
After all the bikes had passed and I had walked around admiring all the different machines I still had time to kill before I picked up my car. I happened upon the Hobart museum which was free to get into so I decided what the hell.
It was a good wee museum with a lot of different exhibitions including the usual stuffed animals section, painting section and a good exhibit about the Antarctica.
(no photos - my camera batteries died on me!)
After the museum I went to pick up my car. I got a slight shock when I picked it up. Instead of the manual car I thought I was getting I was given an automatic instead. I have only ever driven an automatic car once before in my life which was in the USA a long time ago. It is very weird to drive an automatic when you are used to a manual (see below)
I had a pleasant night with Brent's friends Christine and Alan who gave me a couple of ideas for things to do with my remaining days in Tasmania. They were also able to give me several pointers for things to do in South America as Alan lived in Buenos Aires for quite a number of years.
I got back to the Bar at about 11 and had a couple of drinks while watching another middle of the road cover band before retiring. Brian had gone to see a jazz band (nice!) and did not arrive back until after I had gone to bed.
PEOPLE I HAVE SEEN/MET
I passed an old woman on the streets of Hobart who was carrying a large rucksack on her back. She looked as if she was off on a hike - except she had purple slippers on (weird indeed!)
THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNT
Differences between driving Automatic Cars and Manual Cars:
1. There is no gear stick in an automatic car. Any attempt to change gears will only result in placing the drive lever in neutral or worse reverse!
2. If you have just missed your turn off NEVER EVER try to brake hard so you can turn round if you are not used to an automatic car! There is no clutch pedal in an automatic car. What there is in an automatic car is a very large brake pedal. Trying to put your foot on a non existent clutch will only result in both feet going on the very large brake pedal. This can have major consequences such as severe seat belt induced whiplash!
