Tasmanian Tiger.

 I did a post on the Tasmania Tiger in 2016, this one or post is different, plus many new followers since then and of course some have moved on for various reasons.

The Tasmanian Tiger or Tasmanian wolf now extinct and has been for many a year was native to the Australian mainland and the Island of Tasmania and New Guinea.

Between 1888 and 1909, the Tasmanian government paid a bounty of 1 pound for every full-grown Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) killed.  For a juvenile or pup they paid 10 shillings.

More than 2,180 government bounties were paid between those years. It's estimated that at least 3,500 thylacines were killed by hunters between 1830 and the 1920s through both government and private bounty schemes. 

The last known thylacine was killed in the wild in 1930, and the species was officially declared protected in July 1936, just months before the last known individual died in captivity.

The Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) did not migrate to Tasmania, they were already present across Australia when the island separated from the mainland about 12,000 year ago.  They survived in Tasmania because the Bass Strait prevented the arrival of competition from dingoes, which likely wiped them out on the mainland around 3,000 years ago.

The Tasmanian tiger was blamed for killing the sheep, poultry and other animals.

A short video showing the Tiger.

Clifton Beach, Queensland.

Clifton Beach in Queensland is in the tropics approximately 22 km north of the city of Cairns.  It's also known as the local beach of Cairns even though Cairns is by the sea there is no beach there.  

The photos show the sign and do enlarge it for it has much information.  We have the pathway, and the Vinegar one needs to place on a sting from a stinger if you are unlucky enough to get strung.   In the winter time you don't often see any nasties at the beach or in the water but just in case it's best not to go into the sea.  The vinegar always remains in that red post, no one removes it and it always has vinegar in it, always.  There are nets in the sea to help keep them out.

I stood in an ant nest under one of those trees and of course ants were climbing up my legs, makes me shudder to think of it.  There was one big dash to remove them to move away further to the sea.

In the photos you can see a few Islands, Double Island, Haycock Island and Green Island.

Happy Easter

 It only seems like a week or two that it was Christmas, now it's Easter time.  

I wish you all a Happy Easter and a safe one.

A poem by Enid Blyton.

A happy Easter, birds and bees,

A happy Easter, laughing trees,

A happy Easter, daffodils,

Whose golden cups the sunshine fills.

A happy Easter, lambkins white,

And little rabbits, skipping light,

A happy Easter, skylark gay,

And Cuckoo speeding on your way.

A happy Easter, one and all,

Whether you are big or small,

Little snail or mighty tree,

A happy Eastertide from me!

                

Lighthouse, Devonport, Tasmania

The Lighthouse near the mouth of the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania helps guide The Spirit of Tasmania and a few freight ships into the river to berth.  The lighthouse was built on a stone base and is made of bricks, was built in 1889.

We had to visit Devonport last Monday for an appointment with the Financial Adviser our yearly appointment, all was well.  

We also went to the Cemetery the Lawn one to visit my parents grave and I placed new artificial flowers there. 

Then on Wednesday for the evening meal, dinner, our second eldest granddaughter came for dinner by herself for the very first time.  What a surprise and we had a wonderful time with her.  It will be her 18th birthday on Saturday the 4th of April.

Our clocks move back 1 hour on the 5th of April and also on that day, Easter Sunday is our 3rd Granddaughter's 14th birthday.

The photos here in this section are of the Bluff at Devonport and behind where I'm taking the photo from is the Bluff Caravan Park where we used to stay in our caravan after my parents passed.  Sometimes we would just take a drive to the Bluff and not take the caravan as Devonport is just over 1 hour drive from home.  The sea is Bass Strait.

Sunset, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

 A sunset in Townsville at the Caravan Park we stayed at some years ago.  Many times we tried to get into the same caravan park, but it was always booked out.  It's just by chance we got in the first time we went there.

It's a lovely city, 3,300 km from home, so it's a long way taking several days to get there. It's the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and opposite the Coral Sea, the climate is tropical.  Magnetic Island is about 25 minutes by a ferry.

Townsville has two season, dry and wet.  The river in the photos is the Ross River and it's 49 km long.  Population is approximately 201,313. 

I remember sitting on a seat by the river in awe of the sunset.  It was probably the first good sunset I had viewed on the trip up the east.

Murals at Sheffield

Sheffield is inland along the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia and it's known for having Mt. Roland nearby and Murals within the town.  It's called Sheffield because the first settlers the Powlett family came from Sheffield in England. Mining and potato exports made the country town thrive back in the late 1880's.

These days Sheffield has reinvented itself with the arts.  Sheffield host a mural competition usually each year and many murals are on  buildings in the main street and other streets within Sheffield.  I took photos of these murals when there last. 

Wreath Flower, Western Australia

Mullewa in Western Australia is one of the areas you will find the wreath flower which is   4,201km (2,610 miles) from Tasmania (home).  We visited this area a few years back only once. 

The Wreath Flower (Lechenaultia macrantha) is known as such because of its unusual circular shape.  It grows well in disturbed areas, and so is commonly found on road verges, gravel pits or areas that have been recently burnt.  Time to see them in flower is springtime. We stayed on the coast at Geralton, Western Australia and took the trip to Mullewa which is 98 km one way to see these flowers which are protected.

I must admit is was a beautiful feeling to be able to see these flowers and take photos of them. That particular year there were not heaps of them to be seen.

The Mangroves of Cape Tribulation, Queensland

 A few of the beaches before we headed up Cape Tribulation.  See previous post.  There are many Mangroves within the beaches.  

Mangroves in Cape Tribulation, located with the Daintree National Park, are part of one of the world's most diverse estuary system, containing over 30 of Australia's 38 mangrove species.  These ancient, intertidal ecosystems have existed for millions of years, acting as critical nurseries of marine life and coastal protection where the rainforest meets the reef.

Mangroves have traditionally been used by the local Kuku Yalanji people for food (including crabs, fish, and fruit) and resources like timber for weapons and canoes.

The area, including its mangrove ecosystems, was added to the World Heritage List in 1988.

You can see Cape Tribulation area where the red dots are on the map.