so, in yesterday's post i forgot to mention why we were traveling back up to the northern part of tasmania. in all honesty, it's what brought us to tasmania in the first place. take a wild guess. golf!! jim, at some point in time, found out that australia's number one course and the world's 7th best public access course was located in tasmania - called barnbougle dunes. so, we woke up bright and early to head a couple of hours further north to meet our tee time!
but first, a popular tourist attraction happened to cross our paths and we couldn't pass it up. plus, we still needed breakfast. it's the pyengana dairy company and i would definitely recommend going there if you are in the area. it's a very charming farm with an adorable store and restaurant. the cheese is fantastic. plus, you get to see things like this as you are approaching... classic!
as we continued our drive we saw more and more great scenery... look how green it is!
then we arrived at barnbougle! jim's parents aren't golfers so they took the car to do a little exploring of their own while jim and i squeezed in 9 holes. the course really was BEAUTIFUL, but man was it windy! i thought we were going to blow away. here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure:
just walking from one whole to another while enjoying the view:
we were approaching our balls when we saw a dark little blob on the green. here is what he looked like from far away:
but then he let us get REALLY close!
and i found his limit... see ya!
the most impossible bunker... but jim hit it right out! so proud.
view from the last whole, approaching the club house.
jim and i hadn't golfed in quite a few months so we weren't sure how the day was going to go, but we had a great time! the course was challenging, but it was very attainable even for me. we had a fabulous time.
then we hopped in the car to get to our next destination. low head, tasmania. we found out, in bicheno, that there are penguins in tasmania that come ashore during this time of the year to nest, breed and moult. we found a tour in low head that had some openings so off we went.
this is the beach where the penguins come ashore - they come in where you can see an opening between the rocks in the photo below.
we quickly found out there is a group of wallabies that hang out around that beach, including this little guy. isn't he cute??
we had to wait for the sun to set for the penguins to come out. our tour guide shone a light on the penguins so we could see them in the dark. apparently, the light doesn't phase the penguins (they said they have done the research to know which lights do and do not bother them). the tour company really knew their stuff and i was so impressed at the knowledge they were able to pass onto us. if you are in the area i would definitely recommend low head penguin tours.
here was our first little group. the guide said that just one or two come out of the water first to ensure that the area is safe from predators. unfortunately, that means the first one or two are slightly suicidal, but it's really sweet when you think of their friends lives they could be saving.
they come onto the shore and head to the back of the beach in this woodsy area to find their burrow and, ya know, do the hanky panky. here are two coming down the path; they walked right in front of us. so cute!
another little group making sure the area is safe:
here is one in it's burrow. if it looks thorny it's because IT IS! they have little hallowed out areas that they fit perfectly into for their little home.
it was so cool seeing these little guys in their natural environment. pretty much the cutest animals i have ever seen! here are a couple of videos as well.
this is a group of penguins heading out to find their burrow:
a single penguin on his own, looking for his home:
here are two as they are heading out of the water. i think they went behind the rock for a little "privacy" - if ya know what i mean. "wink, wink!"
that pretty much concludes our trip to tasmania. we had such a great time and got to do and see some really unique sights. we are so lucky to get to experience places like this.
jim's parents headed back to mackay with us and had one day of rest before they headed back home. we had such a great time with them here and we were so sad to see them go. thanks for coming to visit us, anne & tom, and thanks for letting me tag along throughout your journey - i really enjoyed our time together! we will see you in a couple of weeks when our feet touch the ground in st. louis. can't wait!
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