To the Tasmanian Mercury Newspaper


Dear Editor,


Just under three wekks ago I found myself here in Hobart wondering what the hell I was going to do in Tasmania other than hike, climb and watch the game I adore, Rugby Union.

It was a Thursday, a public holiday, everything appeared closed and the fear that I had arrived at a ghost town began to gnaw at this lonely traveller, new to Australia let alone Tasmania.

Three weeks later I now wonder what on earth I was worried about.

You know, it's easy to praise your sweeping vistas, the curved dome of the vast sky, your mountains, ancient forests and tarns, your food and your wine.

But I'd like to dwell rather on what I deem to be your most precious resource here on Tasmania.

Your people.

Never, in all my many travels, have I ever encountered such a warm, generous and above all welcoming people.

At times I have felt like a minor celebrity, feted, lauded and entertained, simply because I was a strange Welshman abroad in your land.

I have been invited into peoples homes, dined at their hearths, been given help, advice, driven here there and everywhere, hiked with, climbed with and on more than one occasion got gloriously and amiably drunk with a whole host of life loving Tasmanians.

For example, a week after arriving I found myself climbing Mount Maria on Maria Island with someone I bumped into at lunch's friends wife's tennis coach. That's how it seems to be here in Tasmania.

On a side note, I was also stunned at the attendance and enthusiasm in Launceston for the Namibia vs Romania game. People in their thousands turned up to watch a and cheer on a game that many did not understand or had never seen before.

As a life-long passionate (and weary!) Welsh Rugby Union supporter, I would like to thank on behalf of all Rugby Union all of the people that turned up to roar on the fledgling nations of the Union game.

I must stop here because my praise threatens to drown my ganuine and heartfelt thanks to the most astonishingly accomodating and wonderful people I have ever encountered.

Thankyou Tasmania, the memory of this unforgettable and ancient land will never fade and more importantly, neither will the people that both grace and complement this astounding territory.

iechy da,

valleyboyabroad@hotmail.com

aka john mchugh

c/o Lodge on Elizabeth,
Elizabeth St.,
Hobarth