We’ve been extremely lucky with the weather, but the rain has finally caught up with us. Muddy paths and puddles for a few days, but nothing we couldn’t deal with. All in all, this is a life experience we wouldn’t have wanted to miss.
Read MoreTasmania is a treasure trove of sights and experiences and Hobart is a good place to base yourself for a few days while you suss out the opportunities. In October 2012, a writer for the Lonely Planet travel guide series ranked Hobart as number seven of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2013. That's pretty impressive, don't you think? We've visited six of the ten listed cities and we think Hobart should have claimed an even better spot. An historic waterfront town, Hobart, capital city of Tasmania, is small, compact and charming. We rarely have access to a car, so we walk or take public transit most everywhere we want to go. In Hobart, that's easy. Pretty much everything in the greater Hobart area is close or there's a bus, ferry or tour to get you there.
Here's our recommendation of things to see and do in Hobart:
MONA (Museum of New and Old Art), is a world-class, kick-ass, can't miss museum. You can take a bus or catch the ferry to get there. The ferry is more fun and definitely more impressive as you head up the Derwent River under the Tasman Bridge and catch views of the museum ensconced in the hillside.
Salamanca Market and Salamanca Place – a market every Saturday morning, rain or shine, that takes over the entire street. The rest of the week enjoy pubs, restaurants and boutiques in a trendy historical area.
The Waterfront and Constitution Dock (ConDock) – a lovely area to visit. Fishing boats and sailboats tie up here in historic Sullivan Cove. Convict-built sandstone warehouses line the wharves. Catch lunch at one of the floating fish and chip joints along the dock where you have to kneel down at low tide to place and collect your order.
Royal Botanical Gardens – even if you're not the horticultural type, there's lots to see at the Gardens including an awesome, historic carousel and a SubAntarctic species exhibit, the only one in the world. You can walk through the Queens Domain to get there with lots to see along the way.
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary – just north of Hobart, this is a sanctuary, not a zoo, so the residents change from time to time. Touch a wombat, pat a fluffy koala and see lots of Tasmanian devils, not to mention blue-tongued lizards, poteroos and quolls.
Bruny Island – As unique as Tasmania itself, you can take a tour from Hobart or rent a car and take the ferry from Kettering across the beautiful D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Just over 100km long, the island is enchanting, offering views of the Tasman Sea, a visit to the Cape Bruny Light, the Bligh Museum and more. Don't miss a chance to view rare white wallabies near Adventure Bay.
Historic Walk & Battery Point – An easy self-guided walk through the oldest areas of Hobart. Admire the buildings and 19th century architecture, then stop at the Shipwright Arms (Shippies) for a genuine pub lunch and a pint.
Mount Wellington or as the locals call it, “the mountain”, lords over the city. From its summit of 1271m (4,170'), there are superb views of the Derwent River, Hobart and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. It's about 20km to the top from Hobart along a narrow, unmarked, two-lane road. You can rent a car, take a tour, ride a bike or walk (long walk, but many good paths).
Walk, walk, walk ... Hobart offers so many little nooks and crannies which allow you to peek into its historic past. Visit St. David's Park, walk along the wharves or up Kelly's Steps, wander along the foreshore up to Cornelian Bay under the Tasman Bridge to see the colorful boatsheds.
Festivals – If you can plan your visit during the summer months (Dec-February), there are several festivals to enjoy along the historic waterfront including the Sydney-Hobart Race, Tasmania Taste Fest, the bi-annual Wooden Boat Festival and more. Check the Hobart festival and events schedule before making your plans.
Tantalize your taste buds:
Souvenirs – if you want something “very” Tasmanian, buy something wooden crafted of Huon pine, blackheart sassafras or one of the many native woods available in Tasmania. The Salamanca Market offers lots of choices although our personal favorite was Kevin “the Bowlmaker” Rayner, Stall #42 (kgrayner@bigpond.com). This man knows his wood and his craft, and his work is absolutely beautiful.
Notes:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A fun list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.
Epiphany
A Christian religious holiday commemorating the baptism of Christ and the visit of the Magi among other things. Also known as Twelfth Day.
Twelfth Night
This is the 12th night after Christmas and commemorates the official end of the Christmas season. Remember the “Twelve Days of Christmas”...this is the 12th day/night...the drummers should be drumming.
Sherlock's Birthday
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes crime mysteries were written at the turn of the 20th century and still hold their appeal today. Sherlock and Watson first appeared in “A Study in Scarlet” in 1886. You can download one of his 56 stories or four novels for free.
There's been short hiatus in the city between the Christmas holiday and the arrival of the Sydney-Hobart race boats. The big maxis (100'+ boats) arrive in two days, but the rest of the fleet takes a few more days and the festivities await their arrival. The whole city seems poised to burst. Being in Cornelian Bay, we decided on a summer's day walk before the hubbub begins again. We found “urban walks' listed by the Hobart City Council which offered more self-guided walking tours through the city's parks.
We left the dinghy on the sandy beach at Cornelian Bay and headed along the foreshore walk into town.
We could peek out at Cups every now and then as we followed the treed path. The walk took us past the entrance to the Botanical Gardens and underneath the Tasman Bridge, which rumbled loudly above us. We had already visited Queen's Domain and the Gardens so we continued on into town.
Once in the city, we covered some previously walked tracks, but with a new mission. We headed into Franklin Square. Named after Lieutenant Governor Sir John Franklin, a distinguished explorer and governor of Van Diemen's land in the 1840's, this shady park is criss-crossed with neat brick pathways, lined with oak trees. Franklin wasn't particularly well-liked, we read, primarily because he introduced a new probationary program for convicts which essentially ended free labor in the colony and ruffled many feathers. They still erected a statue to him in the middle of the park as well as a fountain. The park is also the transit hub for most local buses.
It was a quick walk to St. David's Park. We enjoyed this park for the Carols by Candlelight a few nights ago. It looked totally different in the daylight. We hadn't really noticed the wonderful lions that grace the Park's main entrance.
We also hadn't realized that this park was Hobart's first cemetery in 1804. Nine hundred were once buried here though many of the remains have now been relocated. David Collins, first Lieutenant Governor for whom the park is named, is still interred here in a casket of Huon pine, a large memorial marking the spot.
By the 1830's, the cemetery was unattended and neglected. The gravestones crumbled and toppled. The bush took over and unsavory characters used the grounds for hideouts and nefarious deeds. It was reclaimed by the city in 1919 and restored. Some headstones still remain. Memorial walls have been erected and parts of headstones, inscriptions still faintly visible, have been mounted on the walls.
Parliament Park borders Salamanca Place. With the state Parliament building in the background, the park is all lawn, nice for sitting and reading under a tree.
Not far away is Prince's Park. Originally part of the strategic Mulgrave Battery in 1818, in 1855, it was renamed Prince of Wales Battery and expanded to include the Prince Albert Battery higher on the hill. A tunnel system is still available for tour visits. An old semaphore station which once signalled ships entering Hobart Harbor and relayed messages to Port Arthur, still stands on the edge of the park. Historic signs mingle with children's playground equipment. The sun dial was very accurate.
We headed back along the foreshore again. We had passed Mawson Place a hundred times while were tied up at Elizabeth Street Pier, but never really paid it its due. Named after Sir Douglas Mawson, noted Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer, this small waterfront pavilion offers contemporary sculpture with a background of the Constitution Dock and funky floating fish'n'chip shops that require you to scoot down on your knees to place orders when it's low tide. A polycarbonate skating rink had just been erected, but the rentable figure skates had not arrived yet, so the seagulls had the place to themselves.
We retraced our steps back to Cornelian Bay and Cups. Tomorrow hopefully more S-H race boats will have arrived and the Tasmania Taste Fest will be in full swing.
Hi there and welcome to Just A Little Further!
We are David and Marcie Lynn and we've lived aboard our Liberty 458 cutter-rigged sailboat since 2000.
What began as an urge to travel slowly and economically at our own pace ended up an adventure of a lifetime.
Well, here we are ... nearly 90,000 miles under the keel, 5 continents, 5 Great Southern Capes, 36 countries and almost two decades later, still taking one passage at a time and going just a little further.
