Visited the Australian Antarctic Division (Marine Division) major supply line to the Arctic.  Completely refurbishing Hugglund Snow vehicles.  They currently have 14 of these vehicles in circulation.  They typicality get serviced every 7 years or 4200 km, whichever comes first.  These vehicles are a step up from the stock version, as they are customized for the harsh conditions.  They also use the amphibious Lark, quads, sail boats, and helicopters to conduct research operations.  Also had a chance to introduce some of the maintenance guys to our Land Tamer as a possible future solution for some of the challenges they encounter.  The Hugglunds in this pic are heavy do not come without safety risks such as breaking through the ice.  The Land Tamer as a tracked and amphibious vehicle could be a possible solution for the future.  We will see!  

views from from my Kingston Rotary district host family near Hobart.  So lucky to be able to wake up to this view. ;)

Had my most relevant vocational visit to date! I was fortunate enough to spend the day with Graham – President of Elphinstone.  Elphinstone is the manufacturer for logging trailers in the lumber industry.  Manufacturing operations, inventory management, and quality systems management systems are similar to our plant.  Graham showcased some new cutting edge designs for his trailer sales to adjust to ever-changing market conditions.  I also learned some valuable strategies on maintaining competitive advantage over competitors prone to copy new designs. 

Birds of a feather...

 As a photo enthusiast, one thing I like to look for is patterns. The birds we found while touring Zoodoo, near Richmond, were fantastic!

I have found that there are many patterns between Tasmanians and Montanans, as well.  We have states that are a bit different from the rest of the country, we have a few smaller cities and the rest of the state is largely rural and agriculture.  Forestry, logging, mining and usage of our natural resources can be a polarizing topic.

 Besides touring Tasmania, meeting wonderful people, presenting to Rotary clubs and attending District Conference, we also embark on professional visits.  I have visited Cygnet and Huonville to see their public libraries and also Launceston College to visit their library and IT department.  Interestingly enough, all the libraries are using the same ILS software to check out books and manage library needs.

We are facing similar challenges and it has been interesting to see the changes that libraries are making here to stay relevant are the same as the projects we are carrying out.  One librarian I spoke to was very happy with their new self check machine and was working out how to increase its usage.  I will have 6 new self check machines waiting for me upon return to Montana to install in 2 locations. 

There are obviously differences between Montana and Tasmania but I love seeing the patterns that unite us.  Thank you to Youngtown, Longford, Huon Valley and Howrah Rotary Clubs for making this such a special trip.  Watch out Kingston, Wynyard, Ulverstone West, George Town and Kings Meadows Clubs- here we come!

The Outback

While visiting the "Great Lakes" in Tasmania I met this guy. His name is Josh and he is the only law enforcement officer for 67 kilometers. His back up is the next station and it is also a single officer station. The department provides him with a home that is attached to the police station he works out of at no charge. A constable in the state of Tasmania makes an average of 70k a year. A constable who is willing to work in these remote posts get paid an extra 20k a year.

Location:The Great Lakes, Tasmania, AU

Coppers

We made it to Huon Valley and I had the opportunity to spend some time with the local police station. This area was a still a bit rural and was full of apple and cherry orchards along the Huon river. It is a lovely area and a destination point so the crime is very low. Most of the police duties involve crash investigations and the occasional domestic call.



Police here are not required to have a reason to stop a vehicle. Any car can be stopped at random and the driver must produce his or her license and registration. Officers can also ask for a random breath test. They do not perform road side sobriety tests.


Liability insurance on vehicles are paid through the registration process. A subject would only pay for insurance through a private company if they wanted more than liability.






While at the station I spotted a photo pinned to the wall in the break room. It re-enforced everything I've already known about police. We are all the same no matter where you find us. Check this bloke out.

Location:Huon Valley

Last week, I had the privilege of touring and observing St. Patrick's School in the northern part of the state. I was impressed with both the quality of the facility and the dedication of the staff. One class was a Year 12 drama class that was practicing to perform the American classic To Kill A Mockingbird... come to find out this novel is taught and read by many Australians. It was a pleasure to see an American classic embraced. The young woman playing Maella, does an impressive American southern accent. I was also impressed to see the notion of co-teaching so widely practiced and enjoyed at the school. In the photo, you'll notice the glass doors that slide open which allow teachers and students to join classrooms.

Hydroelectric power is the main source of energy in Tasmania, this canal flows from the great lakes through a tunnel from the mountain in the background.  The water is "stepped" down as you can see in this photo to minimize erosion and maximize energy generation.  

Thanks to the Longford Rotary Club for taking us to see our first AFL footy game.  We were versed in the rules and taught that brown and yellow are Tasmania's true colors

Schoenmakers was at least one person's favorite player... to heckle.

We have been busy learning about our professions and the history of Tasmania.  We have been enjoying the hospitality of wonderful Tasmanians and seeing things that we don't see in Montana.  Thank you to all of the wonderful Rotarians and especially our host families that are making this a trip of a lifetime!

We visited Brickendon and got a tour from Richard Archer

"Hooning"

"Hooning" is a term used in Tasmania and New Zealand to describe careless or reckless driving. The people here use this term to cover most anti-social driving behavior such as racing, tire burnouts, and turning doughnuts.
A couple of years ago, Tasmania introduced new anti-hooning laws. If the police stop you for hooning, your vehicle will be impounded for 30 days. On a second offense the vehicle is impounded for 90 days. After that you get only one last chance. On a 3rd offense the court seizes your vehicle and crushes it.
It should be noted that the number of offenses are attached to the vehicle and not the driver. If your friend our child borrows the car and gets stopped it counts as an offense against your vehicle.
The police officers I rode with here said that the new laws have reduced the undesirable driving offenses drastically.

 visited beautiful Wineglass Bay on the north east part of the island.  Was a great hr and 15 min hike, the beach was great and is known for being one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world.  

view from Cape Tourville Lighthouse.  The unmanned lighthouse was constructed in 1971 to assist the safe passage of many vessels plying the East Coast.  It replaced the Cape Forestier Lighthouse on Lemon Rock, which was decommissioned the same year.

Learned about the local agriculture and was surprised to find poppy farming is a major crop in Tasmania.  Opium, morphine, oxycodone other common pain killing drugs are produced from poppy.  This highly regulated crop is purchased by drug companies such as Johnson & Johnson.

With a simple chemical spray can change a morphene poppy to cocain.  75 percent of the world poppy crop comes from Tasmania

This crop requires significant investment chemical and fertilizer of $2000 per hectare with yields of up to $8000 in proceeds but commonly around $4000.  This is a big cash crop for Tasmania

5.14.Vestal

Figuring out
a new city with new rhythms
the pulse of the world slows
another way to look at life
another way to peruse another side of the world

Figuring out
a new biorhythm
to take a
slower
course
my pulse
slows
to a
Tasmanian heartbeat.

The GSE team made a trip to the zoo today and saw some animals that are foreign to Montana.  We Montanans love our wildlife and were very happy to see some of what Australia boasts!

Of course, we were ecstatic to watch the Tassie devils feeding.

Meerkat Manor

Our fearless trip leader, Irene, feeding the kangaroo while avoiding the emus.

The wallaby is pretty common here but seeing a baby in the pouch is not common to us.

Wedge-tailed eagle

Little Devil's and Kangaroos

Spent the first half of my day in the local Launceston Courts. Very intriguing court process. A lot of similarities and a lot of differences. Unfortunately I was not allowed to bring my camera into the courtroom.

The afternoon gave us the opportunity to see the Tasmanian Zoo and Reserve thanks to our guide "Westy". Remember all those tourists you see or hear about in Yellowstone Park who try and get close to the Buffalo? And you sit and think... why are people so stupid. Today it was me. The stupid tourist from Montana. I got my first glimpse at a Tasmanian Devil which was inside an enclosure about 3 feet high. You could literally bend over and pull the grass. Those little guys looked so cute so why not try and pet it right? It nearly ate my hand and my camera. Everyone got a good laugh while I counted my fingers. It was after this I noticed the large sign posted 5 feet behind me. I'm telling you people... these things are flipping cute but nasty.









A zoo keeper came out and fed a group of them. They had so much strength they nearly pulled the keeper off his feet. You could hear there jaws crunching through the bones of the animal legs.



The Kangaroos were much friendlier.









A little Wallaby


A big fuzzy Wombat



A couple of Koala's

ABC Northern Tasmania

Woke up early this morning and made it to the local ABC radio station for Northern Tasmania. Met local radio celebrity Belinda King and did a quick interview about Rotary, Montana, the police, and Downtown Billings.






'click' on pictures to enlarge

Location:Launceston

Office view of this huge facility.

Visited Statewide Independent Wholesales.  This is the only grocery distribution center in Tasmania with shared  ownership between two major grocery stores.  This is undoubtedly the most well organized, automated center for inventory control I've seen with over 300 employees on the floor continuously running fork lifts picking misc. goods on pallets to be delivered to one of the 250 stores located in Tasmania.  All goods are stored and organized based on temperature, frequency of sale, size, etc.. The average box shipped to a grocery store only generates around 10 cents for this center making efficiency of the up most importance. This is the biggest building on island and eventually is expected to be the biggest employer with estimated annual revenues reaching a billion within the next 5 years.  Because this center is owned by two major grocery store entities and is the only food distribution center makes it virtually impossible for any other competing grocery stores to enter the market.

Tasmania Police - Launceston

Today we split up for our vocational visits to our perspective careers. I got a great opportunity to shadow the Tasmania Police in Launceston for the day. The police department here is a similar size to that of Billings and operations are much the same. I met with Annabel Shegog who gave me a tour of the police station and arranged for me to accompany the forensic division as well as the traffic division. Afterwards I spent time with an officer in Crash Investigations.









The pictures above and below are of forensic investigators on the scene of a homicide which occurred 2 days before. A member of an outlaw motorcycle club stabbed another man several times who ultimately succumbed to his wounds.

Location:Launceston

Australian Maritime College / Rotary Presentations

The morning began with a tour of the Australian Maritime College. It was amazing to learn about all of the different aspects of training that this community provides to the industry.




The GSE team with the current Principal of AMC and lectures.




This is essentially a wind tunnel for boats. It a pool designed with a wave machine and infrared cameras to study the effects of water and waves on hull designs. The yellow hulls in the background are models in various testing stages.




The GSE team learning about the testing process and hydrodynamics.




Learning about safety at the rescue training pool.




The college also has an environmental study project that focuses on marine life and sustainability.




After hour tour we met with the Central Launceston Rotary club for our first group presentation. Later that evening we had another presentation which was a joint meeting of 3 Rotary clubs.

Tomorrow we each get to meet up with professionals in our career fields!! Stay tuned.

Location:Launceston, Tasmania