The plane touches down 150 miles from the mainland coast of Australia, after crossing the water called Bass Strait. Today I flew from Melbourne, Australia to this island, which is also a state of Australia. This island is largely uninhabited and is a great place for all sorts of hiking and outdoor activity in the isolated wild! I like this place immediately, and so far my first impressions of a place have not been wrong. I'm in Tasmania!

Tasmania is about the size of West Virginia and has the purest air in the world! This is due to the fact that Tasmania is surrounded by water, the Bass Strait, the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea . Pollution is not blown into Tasmania from other countries or states when the wind blows across the island, like it does in Europe or the U.S.

I have arrived in picturesque Hobart. It is the capital of the state of Tasmania. Hobart is the most populous city on the island, with a metro population of 218,000 (in 2013). There are only 492,000 inhabitants on the entire island! The second-deepest sea port in the world is here in Hobart!

There are mountains here seemingly untouched . . . and deserted beaches. The rugged coast has 17 national parks, and hikers come from all over the world for this hikers paradise!

I check in at the 'overwhelmingly green' "Pickled Frog Hostel". It turns out to be one of my favorite places I have stayed during my travels! 

I stopped in the men's room and got a good laugh at what was written on the wall .

I have seen many different types of toilets as I have traveled in different countries. There are the Asian 'squat toilets'. No toilet bowl or seat, just a hole in the floor to squat over. There are toilets with bowls, but no seat. There are toilets in the same room as the shower. When you shower you wash the toilet! There are urinals placed in the outdoor area, not surrounded by any walls or any type of privacy. Some flush with a push of a button, some flush automatically, some do not flush at all, some you flush using a pan dipped in a standing bucket of water. Some urinals are no more than a flat wall. Some urinals do not even have a wall, just a hole or trough in the ground. 

And, in many of these countries (airports, hotels, or anywhere) women clean the toilets while the men are in there, standing at the urinals or whatever. They sweep or mop or wash basins while you go ahead with your business at hand! Very odd and strange (and uncomfortable for someone not used to that) . Sometimes while you stand at a urinal someone will start massaging your back at the same time! That makes it difficult to do what you are there for! Wash basins also come in a variety of styles. They can be modern, automatic, dispensing soap and starting and stopping the water automatically. Or, the basin might be in the same stall as the toilet bowl with only one faucet to turn on and off, if it even works!  Even using toilets is an adventure in world travel!

Now, back to the toilet in the Pickled Frog Hostel! Often in Australian toilets, the urinal is just a long wall. You stand on some floor grates near the wall while you urinate on the wall.

Someone in the hostel had painted a cartoon painting on the wall in the men's room of a wall urinal. Someone staying there thought it meant it was a wall urinal and peed on the wall! The urine simply ran under the bathroom wall into the next room! Now, there are signs put up saying "This is not a toilet . This is a picture of a toilet. The toilet is behind you! Please don't urinate on our wall". It's hilarious!

Walking around Hobart was a lot of fun. It is located on the coast. The Pickled Frog was only a block or two away from it.

Just down the street from the hostel was a nice outdoor mall. I saw a band performing one day and stopped to enjoy the music. Then, I wandered around and saw 'Woolworths'. In America, Woolworths is a department store, but here, I discovered, it is a grocery store. 

I took a short bus ride to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart. It is a privately funded museum that has antiques and modern and contemporary art on display. I guess I was never cultured enough to appreciate or understand modern art. It was interesting and I spent several hours looking. But most of the exhibits didn't make sense to me. I heard others say the same thing . I took some photos of some of the things I did understand, though.

Just 14 miles outside of Hobart, there is a mountain peak that is often snow-covered, even in summer. The ride up the heavily forested mountain was great with wonderful views on a narrow, paved road. It is Mount Wellington and is very popular for visitors to the Hobart area to visit.

From the top of Mount Wellington, not only do you experience amazing views, but also bitter cold weather. It is October here (spring in Australia!), and even the city of Hobart is cool (high around 50F). But, here on the top of the mountain the temperatures hover around freezing and below. 

There is a hiking trail down the mountain that I wanted to do. I think it takes 4-5 hours to hike down off the mountain. But, the bitter cold wind and temperatures changed my mind. Instead of hiking down, I took the van back down to Hobart. I really was looking forward to the hike down. But, back down the mountain, Hobart is still only 49F!

NEXT: How Do I Look in Prison Leg-Irons?