Tales of the Empire

Very near Hobart is Mt Field National Park, where we saw Tasmania's groves of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans), the tallest of all flowering plants, rivalling coast redwoods; froze our butts off circumnavigating Lake Dobson in wind-blown sleet; and unsuccessfully searched for platypus, reputed to be common there. We stayed too late on our platypus hunt, and had failed to book accommodation, so as the afternoon turned into evening, we drove the country lanes, hoping to find a cottage or a B&B with space for the night. After striking out at 6 or 7 places, one cuter than the next, we were forced to retrace our steps to New Norfolk. The rain was beginning again, and dusk was falling, as we checked the signpost list of lodgings on the edge of town. Explorer Lodge was the closest, so we headed there. Success at last! The lovingly restored former home of a pulp mill engineer from Canada, built in the Greek Revival style, offered us just the cozy space that we were looking for. During breakfast the next morning, we discovered that the owners had once lived in Botswana, where we traveled in 1987. Even more surprising, they had owned the Nata Lodge, on the edge of the Makadagadi Salt Pans (another end of the earth kind of place), where we stayed on our way to Chobe River National Park. The wife said she thought we looked familiar! Sometimes it really is a small world.