Tasmania Needs You

Boat trailers at the beach - Tasmanians to the rescue 

It has been far too long since I posted on this blog.  As many people know, parts of Tasmania were devastated by bush fires earlier this month and, even though our family was not personally affected, the world seemed temporarily turned upside down.  Aside from the obvious destruction and damage to people’s homes and livelihoods, and the painful images of animals injured or killed by the fires, there were the inevitable positive aspects to the event.  The fact that there were no human deaths by fire (although one man died of a heart attack) was miraculous.

A different Tasmanian sunrise - smoke over the city

The stories of overwhelming support and community spirit have been awe-inspiring as they so often are in these situations.  Someone set up a Facebook page on day one (Tassie Fires - We Can Help) that produced miracles and provided a fantastic platform for people to communicate.  Hooray for Social Media working in such a positive way!  I put the word out that I had a bus available and within 20 minutes I received a phone call - an hour later I was waiting at a beach that was covered with boat trailers belonging to private citizens who were ferrying people who had been stranded on the Tasman Peninsular. 

Typical Tasmanian Bushland

I brought a group of tourists to the Hobart City Hall where they were processed so the authorities could keep track of everyone.  At that time there was close to 100 people unaccounted for, but that was largely because communication had broken down so badly, with no electricity and no cell phone service in many remote communities. 

I had several tours that I had to rearrange with people on cruise ships, but I also work at the local Tourist Information Centre and we were overwhelmed with people who had been displaced by the fires, the worst of which were at two of the most popular tourist destinations in the state.  We were insanely busy before the fires - our single busiest time of the year, and it was frustrating and depressing trying to explain to people that their holiday plans were going to have to change.  It seemed like I spent two straight days saying no to visitors.  No, you can’t go there, that road really is closed, no there are no cars to rent, no there really are no hotel rooms available.

Bruny Island coastline

Aside from the more obvious devastation, the damage to our tourism industry will be profound – just as some people didn’t seem to realise that they really did have to change their travel plans, others didn’t know that there were still so many places to go that were still safe.   There have been people changing their plans for a visit in March, long after the fires are over, the rains have come and the bush will already be vigorously regenerating as it does in this part of the world.  And the tourism industry will be trying to make up their losses from what should have been the peak of their season. 

So come see us - Tasmania needs you, specially the businesses and communities on the Tasman Peninsular and the Derwent Valley.   March is my favourite time of year in Tassie and the weather can be just as gorgeous here in May as it is in February….

Thanks for listening…

Rosie