Travel Blog #3

Hobart Explorations

I’ve been in Hobart for a couple weeks now and many things have happened - here’s some notable things I’ve been up to:

Workaway

I’ve been having a great time at my workaway. My hosts, Bernd and Dani and their kids Felix and Leon are gracious, patient, and generous hosts. It's been a great place to get setup in Australia and it's actually been a lot of fun getting to know them! Bernd is Swiss Australian and Dani is Serbian and they both have had fascinating lives, so I've been learning a lot. I've been doing a variety of tasks during my stay here including: dishes, baking bread, weeding, plastering a section of ceiling, mowing, fixing printers, et cetera, et cetera. There’s lots of little tasks around the property that need doing, so I do my best to be helpful and to learn what I can. Bernd hasn’t kicked me out yet so presumably I’m not doing a terrible job :D

Workaway highlight so far: the Great Chook Hunt! One of the chickens escaped and I chased it around the neighbor with a fishing net on a pole. Just like SpongeBob jelly fishing. And this is when I reflected that it’s nice to be anonymous in a new neighborhood; it’s much easier to look like a buffoon chasing a surprisingly quick chook around in the rain when nobody knows who you are and you’re leaving soon. When you start knocking on doors to see if people will let you chase the chicken out of their backyards, it’s fine to be a soaking wet American with a huge net. At least that’s the delusion I’m working under. I ended up catching the silly bird before dark and met 5 neighbors in the process! Win win!

New Car!!

I’ve acquired a new car!! A 2002 Ford Laser, which is likely the coolest name for a decidedly uncool car. But! I don’t need cool, I need something that is likely to function and get me around, and this car should do that. Oh and also cheapness, that was an important and possibly the most important factor ;) It’s very strange driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the car. It messes with your depth perception and occasionally (let’s hope) you almost turn into the wrong lane into oncoming traffic. After a few drives I’ve gotten used to it and I only turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal every other time I try to turn. No where to go but up!

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hobart

WOW. I mean, wow. What a great place. Trees and ferns and shrubs and fruits and everything in-between. Turns out ferns in the southern hemisphere are quite varied and interesting - goodonya Tassie and New Zealand! The Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens were stunning, but the Hobart Gardens surpasses it for me in terms of sheer stunnification and delight. Not that anyone should compare how stunning trees are. Obviously they’re all great. The Gardens in Hobart are a bit smaller and more compact, which is actually nice for exploring and seeing all the good trees. The highlight for me was the Huon Pine(!) and the Japanese Gardens (can’t wait for March!!). There are Huon Pines in Tassie that are 3000+ years old, which in human years, is very old. Their locations are somewhat secretive as there aren’t many left. They were consumed by the European settlers as the wood is excellent for boat building. Anyway, it’s a great thing to have botanical gardens and green spaces in cities, no matter how close you are to nature. Everyone should have access to majestic plants!

Hiking kunanyi

Hike 1) I was feeling pretty smug about hiking in Tasmania as Bozeman is at a higher elevation than most of the state. And we’re quite proud of our mountains in Montana. However, when you’re climbing a mountain around 4,100ft but you start at 300ft, it’s a bit different than hiking the M. Turns out I didn’t bring enough food, water, snacks, or clothes! In my defense, the bike ride to the summit was tougher than I expected.. but more importantly, I did not check how far away the trailhead was, how long the trail was, what the elevation gain would be, what the weather would be, I forgot my trekking poles (sorry Colleen), you get the picture. I made sure to wear a sun hoodie and to bring my puffy jacket, so that’s something. If it’s not clear already, I didn’t make it to the summit. I ran out of food and water and got caught in a rainstorm. Also saw a giant scary snake. It was amazing! Minus the snake part. Not to prattle on about trees even more, BUT hiking amongst gum trees is a big reason I wanted to come to Australia. They’re so dang tall and weird looking and there’s a million types of them. And they smell AMAZING. I don’t have a great vocabulary for fragrances, but I got a lot of sweet, honey-like smells and when it rained, more of the usual eucalyptus smell I’m accustomed to. It’s really quite different from hiking in the pine forests I’m accustomed to. It's so much better than I imagined, which is crazy because I was pretty stoked for it! I ended up doing about 9 miles with about 3000 ft elevation gain, so it was a decent trek. I definitely regretted not having poles on the way down in the rain (ouch!). kunanyi has a lot of ecosystems and landscapes which makes it a really delightful place to recreate. The fog rolled in right as I got to where the good views should be (classic), so instead I got to see a mysterious, foggy rainforest. I’m actually glad for it because it was genuinely magical. All I could hear was the rain, wind, and myriad weird bird sounds. Basically all you want when you’re in a rainforest.

Hike 2) I was determined to reach the summit this time. I decided to take a different route that would be a bit easier and give me a different set of views and ecosystems. I also left earlier, checked the weather, had a vague idea of the trails I wanted to do, and brought lots of food and water and jackets and my trekking poles (you’re welcome Colleen). I can learn! It was SO sunny and warm and perfect. What a day! And what a great mountain! There are tons of trails and cool things to see, and this being Australia, includes a coffee shop halfway to the top. You can drive to the summit, which is nice for those who like or need that sort of thing because it really is an incredible summit. The views are quite spectacular. In one direction is Hobart, another is the ocean, and another is more mountains and bush! The bush part I ended up returning through was rocky and rugged and reminded me a bit of the plateaus in the Beartooth Mountains. Spectacular. This route was also about 9 miles and 3000ft gain, a fair trek for a day hike. If you're ever in Hobart, you gotta get up kunanyi.

What I've been thinking about:

Don’t take the people in your life for granted. Let them know they’re important to you, however you can. Buy them a coffee, write them a card, call them to check in, do a chore they don’t like to do, whatever. Do it now, don’t put it off. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture - we all love when people reach out to us, so why don't we do it for others more? We’re nothing without the people around us, and life is all the sweeter for that.

I’ve benefitted SO MUCH from my friends and family, particularly in difficulties I've had in the past few years, not to mention the last chaotic 6 months with my constant moving. I don’t take it for granted and I would not be where I am without you.

Good quote

Credit to James Clear and his excellent newsletter for this one:

Poet and novelist Hermann Hesse on remaining open and receptive to what the world is offering you:

"When someone is seeking, it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal... For in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.”

It’s been a very reflective, thoughtful few weeks. All in all, it’s been very good. It’s definitely been an adjustment and it’s not always pretty, or even enjoyable. I’ve had my share of “why am I doing this?!” moments to be sure. But this is not the place for pity parties - challenge, sadness, stress, it’s all part of the game, innit? These are the things that remind us we’re alive.

I think I'll do a photo-centric blog soon to share the things I've been seeing. I post more photos on Instagram, but I know not everyone uses that, and I don't blame you one bit! I'm not very good at describing the hikes and trees beyond "it was amazing! cool trees!!" so I'll find a way for you to see what I'm amazed by :)

Courage,

Trevor

"Fill your life with meaning. Life is precious. Do not waste a single second."

 - Rog Bennett