It happened 377 years ago. On the 24th of November. Like myself, he had been taken by the natural, unique beauty of this wonderful island.
Tasmania is an island where I would live. Without hesitation. After months in the red, hot desert center of Australia, I’ve landed in Hobart on a cold, rainy, and windy night. The fresh air, which I’d already forgotten existed, had woken me up after traveling all day to this remote island.
``After the dangerous Alice Springs, authentic Tasmania is exactly what I need at the end of the year.``
Strangers, three bus drivers and the kind people who, due to flight delay, waited for me until midnight with dinner, had shown me that I am somewhere where I would feel nice. Where I would be happy, relaxed, content, and most of all: Safe. After the dangerous Alice Springs, authentic Tasmania is exactly what I need at the end of the year. I have something that had taken me over. I have nature and high views, covered with greenery. Does it remind me of Slovenia? Definitely.
The coast I’ve been walking along reminds me, though distantly but nonetheless, of the one in Slovenia.
I’ve been here for about a day and I already feel relaxed, mainly calm. Satisfied. The coast I’ve been walking along reminds me, though distantly but nonetheless, of the one in Slovenia. For a moment I am transported to the Moon Bay, where I walk along the stony beach alone, with the wind rolling on the rocks. In a few moments, I am in Ankaran, walking on seashells, which the ocean had washed upon the shore, where mighty, sharp rocks poke through the water, creating two beautiful, stone islands, ruled by seagulls; seagulls of different kinds, some similar to ours, some completely black, others colorful.
``For a moment I am transported to the Moon Bay...``
``In a few moments, I am in Ankaran...``
Then I realize these are the first parts of Tasmania that explorers have discovered. The first moment when I fell in love with this island, I discovered, in Hobart, about whom one of the greatest explorers had written about. He was a biologist, geologist, a mighty man with an even bigger influence, Charles Darwin. I met him years ago on the Galapagos Islands. Am I walking in his footsteps?
View of Hobart from Mount Wellington
On Friday, 5 February 1836, HMS Beagle with the naturalist Charles Darwin aboard came to anchor in Sullivans Cove. For the first time, when he saw Mount Wellington, a mountain which can be seen from any part of the city, he described it as “… of little picturesque beauty” and was not immediately impressed by what he could see of the Hobart Town. Next morning after walking around the town, he described the streets as tidy, the shops good, and the gardens “English”; his impressions were favorable. In a letter to his sister and colleagues, he wrote that if he had to emigrate, Tasmania would have been his chosen destination.
