# Tasmania, Australia pt2



## moloch (May 25, 2010)

Here are more photos from the beautiful island of Tasmania. 


*HARTZ MOUNTAIN*

One of the particularly nice areas that I visited was Hartz Mountain.  This mountain was situated about an hour's drive to the southwest of Hobart.  It was located in the eastern border of the Southwest National Park.  This park was wild and untouched.  The weather often was foul but the area was superb and well worth the effort to visit 

The walk to the summit of the mountain was a scenic one and not all that steep.  It was about a half-day trip to walk from the car park to the summit and then return. 

The mountain was high enough to be snow capped in the winter.  The weather here was often foul even during the summer.  I visited the mountain on five occasions before I finally was able to walk to the summit on a clear day.  The goal of my trips was to find and photograph an odd little snow skink that lives on the upper slope of the mountain.












... autumn photo.  The lakes were full of a small shrimp and an ancient relative of trout known as Galaxia.




















View of the southwest wilderness from the summit of Hartz Mtn.  There were plenty of great treks here for the adventurous!







These shots were taken near the start of the walk to the summit.  It was such a gorgeous place!

















On one of my trips, it was clear everywhere but the summit that was enveloped in thick cloud.  In February (mid-summer), it was windy and snowing.

















1-2)The lakes were surrounded by King Billy Pines (_Athrotaxis selaginoides_).
3) unknown
4) _Banksia_, a member of Proteaceae





















1) Tree ferns were thick at lower altitudes.  These photos were taken at the base of Hartz Mountain.  
2) Celery Top Pine (_Phyllocladus aspleniifolius_)
3) Strong-billed Honeyeater, a Tassie endemic
4) Pink Robin -- colourful but shy birds that seem to be particularly common in Tasmania.   They also occur in southeastern Australia but seem to be easier to see in Tasmania.





















1) Pandani (_Richea pandanifolia_) are the largest of the Tasmanian heaths (Epacridaceae).  They look much like Pandanus or Screw Pines that grow along the tropical coasts of northern Australia.  
2-3) Cushion Plants were numerous at high altitudes
4) Mountain Rockets (_Bellendena montana_), an odd member of Proteaceae.
5) habitat
6) Wallaby mum and joey.  They have thick fur here in this cold climate.































One of the reasons for my trips to this mountain was to see a skink that is thought to only occur near the summits of several peaks in the southwest of Tasmania.  I finally saw several on a cold but sunny day (10C) not far from the peak of Hartz Mtn.

Heath Cool-Skink (_Niveoscincus orocryptus_)












*MT. FIELD*

This national park was situated about an hour's drive to the northwest of Hobart.  The alpine areas of this park were colourful for a short time in April when Deciduous Beech (_Nothofagus gunii_) trees loose their leaves.  The colour of the leaves changed rapidly from green to yellow and then to orange.  The slopes of the mountains were bathed with colour on two of my trips in April.














































1-2) habitat
3) boardwalk
4) _Galaxia sp_., one of the ancient endemic relatives of trout
5) freshwater shrimp
6) lake where Platypus were frequent.






























Southern Snow Skinks (_Niveoscincus microlepidotus_) were common at upper elevations.

















Metallic Skinks (_Niveoscincus metallicus_) were more common at lower elevations.  
















White-lipped Snake (_Drysdalia coronoides_) -- a member of the family Elapidae (Cobra family) as are most Australian snakes.







Common Pinkberry (_Leptecophylla junipera_) and Pandani
















Red-necked Wallaby and Tasmania Pademelon











*TASMAN PENINSULA*

The Tasman Peninsula was situated a little to the east of Hobart.  The coastline of this region was rugged with spectacular cliffs.

Cape Raoul:
















Cape Hauy -- has a colony of Australian Fur Seals.






















Ocellated Skink (_Niveoscincus ocellatus_) were common on the rocks of the headlands.

























Some of the skinks in Tasmania were hard to identify.  I think that the following was a Tasmanian Tree Skink (_Niveoscincus pretiosus_) but I am not certain.






White's Skink (_Liopholis whitii_) and Eastern Three-lined Skink (_Acritoscincus duperreyi_):












Black Cockatoo and Tasmanian Native Hen (flightless endemic)











Echidna in Tasmania had thick fur when compared to those in the Wollongong area where I live.











*BEN LOMOND NP*

I visited Ben Lomond NP on a single occasion.  This park was located several hours north of Hobart.  It was another rugged and rocky place.















Northern Snow Skinks (Niveoscincus greeni) were numerous, especially on rocks along small creeks.





















1) Cushion Plant
2) Scoparia (_Richea scoparia_) 
3) Alpine Cheeseberry (_Planocarpa petiolaris_)
















*BAY-OF-FIRES*

My wife and I went on a drive to this lovely coastal area one day.  It was several hours northeast of Hobart.  I saw a beautiful glossy black and yellow Tiger Snake but it was too quick for photos.





















Red-neck Wallaby with joey











*CRADLE MOUNTAIN NP*

This would have to be one of the most beautiful places that I have visited.  The country was just so scenic when the weather was clear.  I spent a couple of days hiking the trails and climbed to the summit of the mountain.  

	
	
		
		
	


	





























1) King Billy Pine were frequent around some of the lakes
2) Pandani
3) Antarctic Beech Trees (_Nothofagus moorei_)





















1) Northern Snow Skink (_Niveoscincus greeni_)
2-4) Metallic Skink (_Niveoscincus metallicus_) -- note that others have reported _N. orocryptus_ from the area.
5) Southern Snow Skink (_Niveoscincus microlepidotus_)
6) Ocellated Skink (_Niveoscincus ocellatus_)





























Tasmanian Pademelon and Wombat












Regards,
David


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## zonbonzovi (May 25, 2010)

Great landscape shots- some of those areas are nearly identical to areas here on the west coast U.S. including similar flora, but then others are almost savannah-esque/tropical?  Neat.  Quite high on my list of places to visit someday.  Thanks for sharing!


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## Crysta (May 26, 2010)

wow very beautiful photos! I only wish to go there someday! You didn't see anymore snakes, or wild beardies? ahh i would be so happy if I did haha, great finds man! Glorius landscape as well!


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## moloch (May 26, 2010)

Thanks.

zonbonzovi,
Tasmania is cool to cold so definitely not tropical.  However, it does support temperate rainforest with lots of ferns.  These give it the tropical appearance.  The savannah appearing places are more like the chaparral in California.  Over here, this type of habitat is called heath lands.  These areas are usually densely covered with low growing shrubs.

Crysta,
I did not see many snakes in Tassie at all although I have seen quite a number of species elsewhere in Australia.  Our big family here is Elapidae (cobra/coral family) so the bulk of what I encounter is venomous.  Here is a link to a summary post that I put together of Aussie elapids that I have photographed in the last few years:
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29134 

Bearded Dragons are common in the interior.  Here is a post of one of my trips last year with a number of Central Bearded Dragon photos as well as others:
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28047

Regards,
David


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## robd (Jun 25, 2010)

Awesome stuff. Cheeseberry? That sounds delicious.

Thanks for sharing.


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## moloch (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks, Rob.  Although the name of the berry makes it sound tasty, I don't think that is the case.  I found the following website that has info about these.


http://tasmanianplants.com/category/bush-tucker/


> "astringent, leaving a slightly dry taste on the tongue. I wouldn’t say it tastes particular cheesy either. I wouldn’t eat much of it unless I were desperate"


Regards,
David


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## Toirtis (Jun 26, 2010)

1. Great shots.

2. I envy you the experience.

3. Too bad there isn't a "I didn't notice it at the time, but if you look closely at this shot, isn't that a thylacine down by the shadows there?" photo.

4. Mail me a wombat, dammit!


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## MaartenSFS (Jun 26, 2010)

Tasmania is one of the places I am considering to relocate to in the future. Thank you for confirming that.  And keep traveling and taking photos!


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## pitbulllady (Jun 29, 2010)

I honestly didn't realize that Tasmania was such a volcanic landscape; it looks a lot like the scenery out in some of our northwestern states, like Idaho, that had experienced a lot of volcanism in the past.  It's really great to know that in our "civilized" world, there is still this much pristine wilderness left somewhere.  

Now, if you run across a Thylacine, please be sure to upload the photos here on AB first!  I'm not convinced that those guys are wiped out completely, and I hope I live to see the day when someone finally re-discovers a living, breeding population.

pitbulllady


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## moloch (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks, all.  Wouldn't it be great if Thylacine were still out there?  I guess that there is always hope even though it is improbable.


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## tarcan (Jul 6, 2010)

absolutly gorgeous, thank you for sharing... would love to go there one day!


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