We took advantage of being in the town on Friday and went to the cinema to see the film "Australia" - it was a good movie but not the best we've seen - it was interesting to see some of the Australian landscape and lucky for us on Saturdays there is the famous Salamanca Market - an open-air event with an alternative feel and wonderful local food, including colourful fruit and vegetable stands, and buskers; stalls focus on local crafts, particularly woodwork using distinctive Tasmanian timber (often recycled), and there's lots of bric-a-brac and secondhand books which we found particularly helpful!
After the market we had a fish and chip lunch overlooking the harbour and whiled away a few hours people-watching.....
Our last day on the island and lucky for us the sun was still shining! We were staying overnight at a hotel near the airport but as we didn't need to get there until early evening we decided to explore the area between Hobart and the airport side of town - we ended up in Richmond on the Coal River, about 25km north of Hobart and surrounded by undulating countryside, scattered with wineries, and is apparently, one of the oldest and best-preserved towns in Australia.
Most of the buildings there are plain and functional stone dwellings - dating from the 1830s and 1840s, and many of them are now galleries, craft shops, cafes, restaurants and guesthouses.
We picked up a free leaflet and map which details all the buildings, the most authentic is the sandstone, slate-roofed Richmond Gaol, an intact example of an early prison. The gaol is set around a leafy central square and is quite pretty.
Richmond also has both Australia's oldest Roman Catholic church (1837), and its oldest bridge. The graceful arched stone Richmond Bridge was constructed in 1823 under harsh conditions using convict labour.
Toward the end of our visit we wandered alongside the Coal River where we spotted several geese and ducks all with chicks which was a real bonus!
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