On our way out of Hobart, we stopped for breakfast at Ginger Brown Cafe in town. Delicious food, and reasonably priced. They know how to do bacon in Tasmania! Our kayaking tour guides mentioned that “people in Tassie are a bit food obsessed.” Based on our experience, this seems to be true, in the best possible way! We’ve had some really great food here – everything from bacon, to calamari, to delicious fresh raspberries. They are also known for their wine and beer! It’s worth a trip here for the food alone, but there were so many more things we love about Tasmania too!
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary
Another thing we absolutely loved about Tasmania was the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary! They are Tasmania’s largest 24hr rescue service, and funded entirely by their entry fees. Their goal is to release healthy animals back into the wild, and when that isn’t possible, they provide a good home for orphaned or injured animals and help educate the public.
Randall, one of our favorite animals, is a short-beaked echidna who was attacked by a dog and lost part of his front paw. He can’t burrow anymore, which would make him too vulnerable in the wild. Because of that, Bonorong is his permanent home now and he seems to be doing great!
They had a keeper in front of most of the animal enclosures who were explaining the backstories of the animals, as well as providing interesting information about the various species. We learned that wombats have square poop, and that Tasmanian Devils got their name from the first settlers who thought the island was haunted after hearing the noises they make!
We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to pet a Koala and a Wombat, and feed some kangaroos!! They have free “Roo Food” in boxes along the fence, and the kangaroos roam around the grassy area so visitors can feed and pet them. They had a handful of resident birds as well, including Percy the Peacock who would make noises if people weren’t watching him. Extremely awesome animals, and very caring and knowledgable volunteers.
Here are some of our favorite animal pictures:
Before we left, we ended up sponsoring a baby wombat by purchasing a pouch volunteers use to hold baby wombats when they’re taking care of them. Their volunteers are currently caring for two baby wombat orphans: Muffin (pictured) and Judy. They said Muffin was about 7 months old.
