Hobart - Day 2

After the best nights sleep for an age(!), we headed out refreshed and ready to explore Hobart.
We had picked up a leaflet of Hobart Walks from the Information Centre and had chosen one which took in the majority of the historic sights in Hobart.

It was a fine but windy and cool start to the day but at least the sun was shining! We made our way to the protected anchorage known as Sullivans Cove and which is the site of the first settlement on the western shore of the Derwent River. Fishing boats shelter here in Victoria Dock, Sydney-Hobart ocean racers tie up in the Marina and Antartic supply ships berth at the nearby Princes Wharf. The walk followed the waterfront to Hunter Street with its historic sandstone buildings.

Mount Wellington dominates the backdrop to Hobart and the green and red-tin roofed timber houses climb up the lower slopes of the mountain.

Australia’s second-oldest city after Sydney, Hobart has managed to escape the clutches of developers, and its early architectural heritage is remarkably well-preserved. There’s a wealth of colonial Georgian architecture, with more than 90 buildings classified by the National Trust.
The walk took us on a heritage stroll along Salamanca Place, a well-preserved streetscape of waterfront stone warehouses. The old warehouses, shipping offices and storerooms are now full of arts-and-crafts galleries, speciality shops and cafes interspersed with character waterfront pubs. From Salamanca Place we walked to Salamanca Square, a large public square with a fountain at its centre and where we stopped and enjoyed a delicious regular, decaf, soy flat white!

After half an hour or so of soaking up the rays we continued up Kelly’s Steps and into Battery Point, the oldest precinct in Hobart, with its quaint streets, Georgian cottages, grand colonial mansions and village atmosphere. The area was first home to small cottages for waterfront workmen and, later, fine merchants’ houses.

Highlights of the walk included the narrow streets, closely packed cottages, and the flower-filled green of Arthur’s Circus, some of Hobart’s oldest houses; Watson’s Cottages in Napolean Street, once home to workers at the nearby slipyards and the historic Anglesea Barracks.

By lunchtime we had completed our walk and found ourselves back at the waterfront and we stopped for lunch at the very popular Fish Frenzy restaurant - we had a super meal of beer battered flathead with great chips and enjoyed some chilled chardonnay whilst admiring the view of the harbour, handsome sandstone warehouses and tall ships……

today was also Melbourne Cup Day - a flat race which brings the nation to a standstill - at 3pm the race started and by 3.10pm it was all over - we fancied two horses; C’est la Guerre and Bauer - neither won but they did come in second and third - shame we never placed a bet!!!!

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.

Farewell to Port Stephens and south to Sydney..

Said our goodbyes to “the girls” and left Port Stephens heading south to Sydney for an overnight stay with our friends before catching our flight to Tasmania early Monday morning.
We travelled on the Port Stephens Coach to Sydney - for the most part an uneventful journey however, we did pass over the Hawkesbury River which was very pretty, lined with sandstone cliffs and bush-covered banks.
Furthermore, on arrival in Sydney we entered the City from the North crossing the Harbour Bridge which gave us a delightful view of the Opera House and Sydney skyline - a real bonus!
After dropping off our luggage at our friend’s flat we re-acquainted ourselves with Harry & Sadie (our friends’ dogs and our first pet-sit here in Oz). We took them for a little walk and it felt like old times!!
We then headed off to the Cruelty Free Festival which was a collection of stalls and some live musical entertainment all in aid of various pet rescue organisations and offering all sorts of information and advice regarding vegetarianism and veganism and all of which we found very interesting and helpful.
Our friends turned up a little later and after a browse with them we made our way back to their flat - we spent the evening catching up on all our news and spent a lovely few hours with them all.