My Favourite Monotreme

Hello, everyone from below the 40S parallel, and by that, I mean TASMANIA. Since 05 Jan, I have been cycling around the Apple Island. Little did I know that Tassie is Strine ("Australian") for "wad up a sheet of paper, slightly unfold it, and that's the topography". Now, just imagine your Brown Hero going up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down .... on a daily basis. I reckon about one hill an hour I climb. Why am I doing this? Because my mother's first son is puro loco, and I'll tell it to his face. I ain't scared.

Cycling does help with my tan, helped me to drop a few kilos in only a few days, and lets me stop to admire the abundant Tassie wildlife. Granted, most of the wildlife that I see on the road is dead, rotting, festering with flys or a pile of bones, but occassionally, I come across a living creature that pays no heed to a harmless cyclist. One which I see often is the echidna. When I see one searching for ants, I stop my bike and watch it. Sometimes, it rolls itself into a spikey ball. Most times, it just looks at me for a second, then continues on its way.

Australia is just an open-air zoo, friends.