Tag Archives: Flinders Island

40 degrees south

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The iconic magazine produced in, by and about Tasmania is Tasmania 40° South.

Details about the latest issue can be read at http://www.fortysouth.com.au/back-issues/issue/77. One current story highlights the cleverly re-purposed Pumphouse at Lake St Clair (the end goal for my walk along the Derwent River). The accompanying photos include mirror quality reflections across the lake – simply stunning.

Tas 40deg south mag cover

Each issue of the magazine showcases the wonders and diversity of Tasmania, the stories are always well written and accompanied by magical photographs.

It is possible to subscribe and receive each quarterly issue through the post, or purchase electronic issues – go to (http://www.magzter.com/AU/Forty-South-Publishing-Pty-Ltd/Tasmania-40%C2%B0South). For people planning to visit or to move to and live in this state, obtaining copies of this glossy magazine is a must. The information will inspire and orient you. Also, it will provide something wonderful to show friends and relatives.

While Tasmania may be located remotely at one edge of the world before the southern polar cap, it is an Australian state with startling natural beauty, a flurry of surprising international and community festivals throughout the year, clean air, the freshest of sea and land food, a rich and complex cultural scene, beautiful remnants of heritage listed architecture, and short travel times with easy access within the cities and throughout regional areas. In addition, Tasmania boasts valuable educational institutions (for example, our University of Tasmania is ranked in the world top 100 universities in the disciplines of Earth and marine sciences, top 150 for Agriculture and forestry, top 300 for Law and top 400 for Medicine).

Many residents and visitors to the state are lifted by a sense of vibrancy and vitality from the opportunities which Tasmania offers.  Technological and communication access to the world is a given from Tasmania, and a number of airlines fly in and out of Tasmania all day throughout the year.  In other words, we are easily connected to the world – when we are not out and about in Tasmania eating world class meals, participating in all manner of sports, or discovering more of the natural environment by walking, cycling, driving, swimming, diving, fishing or flying. Oh yes … and some of us work.

If you are wondering where the magazine title came from, consult your maps or have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40th_parallel_south.  You will see that the latitude of 40 degrees south passes through King and Flinders Islands the two most northern islands of Tasmania and therefore that line of latitude marks the northern extremity of this Australian state.

I wonder who of my blog readers, apart from Tasmanians, live somewhere near 40 degrees South (New Zealand, Chile, Argentina?).  And how many readers are living at 40 degrees North?

Setting ‘Mt Everest’ level goals

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I am in awe of those who set themselves dangerous projects, especially those associated with water.

Today’s local newspaper, The Mercury, reports that a group of mates ‘the injured, ill and wounded former and serving Australian soldiers’ have successfully kayaked across Bass Strait.  This is the wash of wind-blown, wild water which separates the State of Tasmania from mainland Australia.  This is the patch of water which, when the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race passes across it each December, masts may be broken, yachts overturned and sailors drowned.

At the narrowest and easiest route, the distance is 330 kilometres. The kayakers left north eastern Tasmania on March 14, were delayed in the Flinders Island area for 11 days with bad weather, and arrived yesterday in Victoria after 24 days. ’The challenges don’t come any tougher, with elite kayakers referring to the Bass Strait route as the “Everest of the sea’.

The story is from: http://www.news.com.au/national/tasmania/military-mates-conquer-everest-by-crossing-bass-strait-by-kayak/story-fnn32rbc-1227294031866

There is no doubt this was an extreme project undertaken by a group of people who might otherwise have believed they had limits on what they could do in their life.

I see it as a strong reminder that our bodies are capable of so much more than we push them through, and that it is our minds which sets most limits. So when I hear people say things like ‘I couldn’t do that or I couldn’t do what you do’, there is nothing wrong with saying that as long as their next sentence is something like, ‘but what I can do is ….xxx….’  The scale of the project doesn’t matter. Whether a ‘Mt Everest’ or a tiny mole hill type goal is set, the important thing is to do something that pushes you even slightly outside your comfort zone.  It is so enriching to do something that, after you have finished, you can look back on and think ‘I did that and no-one can ever take away that achievement from me’.

You may be surprised to know that I am terrified of the walk ahead of me to Lake St Clair. I realise this ‘Walking the Derwent’ is a puny project by comparison with the Bass Strait crossing by kayak. However, in my own terms, this is my ‘Mt Everest’ sized project.  I have never talked in this blog about my physical characteristics, but if you had my size, age, gender, health situation and other personal characteristics you might think that attempting this project is crazy.  My antidote to the fear is to remind myself to think of the small steps and not to concern myself with the big distances, the isolation and the impenetrable bush.  I tell myself that I only have to put one foot after the other, and that because each step is always okay, the whole distance can be achieved.