February 11 – Hobart, Tasmania

Today we arrived in Hobart, Tasmania and headed out for our tour.  The bus drive took us through the countryside along the Derwent River valley.  

The countryside was pretty…

and we saw many sheep,…

and lots of hops fields.  The hops grow on vines that are secured to trellis like structures.

There were also large sections of fields that were covered with sheeting...presumably to keep the birds from eating whatever was growing there (couldn't tell from a distance).

The destination was the Mt. Fields National Park.  Once there we had a quick lunch before heading out through the forest.  The paths were easy and paved...which was good as many of the guests on Crystal are older and a bit unsteady on their feet.  And the forest was just beautiful and lush.

The hikes led to a great view overlooking the valley,

and a couple of small streams (from the waterfalls). 

There were lots of fallen logs and trees,

lots of ferns...

and some very tall trees.

 We split up with Paul heading out to do the entire loop to all three waterfalls, ending with Lady Barron’s Falls…

and Mary just going to the first two falls, starting with Russell Falls…

and then Horseshoe Falls. 

Mary and a group with her, and Paul separately,  saw a pademelon, a small marsupial that looks like a small, fat kangaroo.

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More Photos of Mt. Fields National Park
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On the drive back to the ship we saw black swans swimming in the river.

We arrived back at the port late afternoon and decided to hold off walking around the town of Hobart until tomorrow.

During dinner Mary spotted a rainbow through the restaurant windows and ducked out for a photo.  We opted to not go to tonight’s show as it was a repeat (the ship's singers and dancers sometimes repeat shows across segments of the world cruise).