Tasmania - 40 degrees south

Our flight out of Sydney made its ascent over the City and we were lucky enough to have fabulous aerial views of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the City together with the coastline including Bondi.

We arrived in “Tassie” mid-morning and made our way to our hotel for the next 2 nights in central Hobart; http://www.oldwoolstore.com.au/

Tasmania is the closest point in Australia to the Antartic Circle, it is one of the cleanest places on earth and is roughly the size of Ireland. It is very much like England with cream teas, old-fashioned B & B’s and there are rolling hills, dry stone walls and old stone villages which are very much like the West Country back home. Town names too, invariably invoke the British Isles, Swansea, Brighton and Somerset among them.

Hobart is the capital in the south of the island and it is small but beautifully sited and as we approached it across the Tasman Bridge the views of the hills, harbour and docks were exhilarating.

Our first port of call after checking in at the hotel was the Visitor Information Centre which has a wealth of information and numerous leaflets detailing things to do, walks, tours etc etc.
We picked up those that we thought would be most useful and then we found a delightful little place called Shu Yuan where we had a delicious lunch - it is a tiny but vibrant place which serves vegetarian food from a Taiwan-trained chef who morphs mushrooms, gluten and tofu into delicious creations!

We had a good look at our leaflets and guides and also took a walk through the main shopping area Elizabeth Street Mall before making our way to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
We spent a couple of hours in the museum where there is a mixed collection with much space devoted to exploring Tasmania’s tragic history, dwelling on penal cruelty, near genocide and the extinction of animal species - it was very sobering.

There was also video-loop footage of the last Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), which died in Hobart zoo in 1936. There are also life-size reconstructions of the Pleistocene-era mega fauna, giant marsupials that once roamed Australia.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Room displays cultural artefacts of the island’s indigenous people, including some examples of the kind of exquisite shell necklaces that would have adorned the “Queen” Truganini, reputed to be the last Aboriginal Tasmanian. The display gives a comprehensive account of the Aboriginal people, from their tragic near-extermination to recent events involving land rights campaigns.