Tasmania -- we docked in Hobart and off to see the devil, actually to the Bonorong Wildlife Park where they take care of sick, injured, orphaned and elderly marsupials – kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and Tasmanian Devils. For some reason they also have a peacock, beautiful in the bright sunlight.

Laura loves small cute furry animals, The wallabies, koalas and wombats qualify. She got to feed the wallabies (they eat from your hand) and hold a baby wombat. The Tasmanian devils are neither cute nor furry and definitely not to be held.

To get to the park we left Hobart and drove to Richmond, one of the original settlements on the island. We stopped at the Richmond gaol and walked across the oldest bridge still standing in Australia into the town. With its cottages and their well-tended gardens, the shallow river with its swans, it all resembles the English countryside.

From Richmond we drove over the river and up the hills to the park. At the park you walk around amid the wallabies and kangaroos. The kangaroos were large and bored while the wallabies were much smaller and wanted to be fed. In fact one of the wallabies would put its foot on your hand to make sure you kept it there until the food was gone.

We spend a couple of hours at the park and then back to Hobart. We had planned to visit an art gallery but it turned out that Hobart was holding its wooden boat festival. There were a number of local (to Australia) tall ships and a boat that looked something like a Viking ship. We were told it was sailed to Hobart from the Baltic taking two years for the journey.

Tasmania, at least parts of it, are burning. An unusually dry year along with brush built up over the years have led to some major fires that destroyed a number of villages. There are still fires burning in virtually inaccessible mountain areas which will be contained since they can't be put out.