Night with the Animals Tour

As I said earlier, we signed up for a Night with the Animals Tour and a trip to Devils@Cradle interpretative centre.  The theme is that because the majority of the wildlife around this area of Tasmania are nocturnal, you have to go out after dark to see them.  A large bus picks you up at your accommodation and then heads out to see the creatures of the night.

The bus has spotlights mounted on either side and one on the roof along with an amber hand-held light for spotting the animals.  I wasn't sure what to expect on this tour, but thought it might be really something to see.  It was next to impossible to take photos, because if you use a flash, it scares the animals away, and you are shooting through the windows of the bus, which are tinted.  I tried, but my little Canon wasn't up to the task.

In any case, the tour was so-so.  I mean what we basically did was drive down the main street heading into the park and look on either side of the road for sightings of Wallabies, Wombats, Echindas, Possums, Quolls and of course, the Devils.  We saw Wallabies and Wombats and that was about it.

Generally speaking, my experience with tours is that the guide makes the tour.  I don't know how many of you may have ever seen the English comedy "On the Buses", but if you have then you will remember the Shop Steward.  I can't remember his name, but he was the tall skinny bloke who, when he spoke, was about as boring as you can imagine.  He was Cliff Claven from Cheers, with an English accent.  Anyway, this tour guide made both these guys seem interesting.  I mean he knew what he was talking about and he really tried to get his point across well, but it just didn't work.

On the other hand, when we went to the Devils@Cradle, the whole evening changed.  The guide was interesting and knew his stuff.  The animals that we saw there were magnificent.  First of all, I have to tell you that when the Tasmanian Devil makes noise, it really makes noise.  And the noise it makes is incredibly similar to the Mel Blanc characterization of it in the Bugs Bunny, Warner Brothers cartoons.  I kept expecting Bugs to hop out of a hole with a carrot in his mouth asking, "Nannn.....What's up Doc?"

On the serious side though, if you are reading this, then click on http://www.devilsatcradle.com/ and go through the website for fascinating information about the Devils and the Quolls.  I was astounded by these creatures and their current plight.  If something isn't done to help out the species, they will cease to exist. 

Again, I don't have any pictures because it was difficult to get any kind of decent shot without a flash at night.  In any case there are lots of pictures on the Devils@cradle website above.  We are off to the seaside city of Stanley on the North West coast of Tasmania to see the "Nut".  Talk with you again soon.