Day 32 / 2015 - Hobart and Surrounds

Hobart is the largest city in Tasmania of 250,000 people and is where half the population of Tasmania live and like the rest of Tasmania although The city is compact it packs a lot in it. Like a number of Tasmanian towns Hobart is built in a valley and is towered over by Mt Wellington standing some 1.2 km above sea level. Anne was excited to be here for another reason as Mike, Carley and Blake were in the same park on a site next to us where she could get a bit of Oma time.

Salamanca markets was first on the list and is held next to Constitution dock  every Saturday come rain hail or shine. Unfortunately the day we went was the rain day with a touch of cold wind. Still we're not the ones to let the weather dampen our spirits we pressed on to browse each of the stalls. We also had to taste test a number of delicacies on offer from the food stalls. The row of stalls is long and there are over 300 of them making Mindil markets in Darwin look small. There is much variety and mostly selling local products Of fine quality.

Near Costitution dock is a replica of the hut Mawson and his team built and used while they where in Antartica. You can walk through the hut viewing where they lived and experience what the conditions would have been like. It is a faithful reconstruction except you are not subjected to the 5 degree temperature it was inside while living in Antartica and the lighting was also a lot brighter.in our recreation as all they had was acetalyne lamps They did have a part where you could listen to the howling winds that continually raged outside especially during winter. 

Travelling away from the centre of town we followed Sandy Cape Rd which took us past Joseph Moirs Shot Tower. These towers were used to make the lead shot used in Musket Rifles. The lead would be melted at the top of the tower then poured into a sieve which produced droplets. As the lead fell towards the bottom of the tower they would form spheres then drop into water instantly cooling them. The shot would then be examined and the ones  that met the specification would be used for shot the rest would be re-melted and used again. The tower had to be the right hight to produce the right shot this one being nearly 50 metres high. You can climb up the 318 ricketty old steps to the top of the tower giving an excellent panoramic view over Storm Bay bay below.

Another attraction on the list was Mt Wellington and the lookout on top. This one is a bit tough to coordinate as the weather can either allow panoramic views as far as the eye can see or gets so covered in cloud you can't even see your boots. We were lucky and were able to wait for a day where the weather cleared enough to make it worthwhile to go up. We chose to drive but there is a walking track if your feeling fit. The summit is some 1.2 Km above sea level and the road is about 12 km long. We were mainly in second gear all the way up taking us about 20 minutes to accend. Once we made the top we felt it was all worth it as the view was simply breathtaking giving  you feeling of being at the top of the world. Mt Wellington is so high it has its own weather and can be 10 to 15 degrees cooler than in Hobart below. It is not uncommon to be in shorts and tee shirt in Hobart then change to long pants and jumper on the Summit. At the top there are several platforms to take in the view. We were able to see all the way out to the Tasman sea and Bruny Island in the south. You can also see the Tasman bridge across the Derwent River quite clearly as well as other parts of Hobart And surrounding area.

Climbing... er driving up and down the mountain can give you quite a thirst so we decided next stop was the Cascade Brewery at the foot of the mountain. There is a nice cafe which serves lunch and the Brewery runs a guided tour every hour. The tour was pretty much the same as the Boags and included to obligatory taste test at the end of the tour. Once we had sampled all those beers we decided we need to walk it off so went over to the site of the Female factory. The site was a big area which a few artefacts. We felt it wasn't interesting as the one in Ross when it came to a self tour as it really had no stories on placards about the life of the women who had been sent there. Apparently there is a kind of re-enactment done at 11am each day which we had missed oh well you can't see everything.

The Tahune airwalk is located west of Geeveston which is a small town in the Huon valley South of Hobart. This is a treetop walk very similar to Walpoles in the Southwest of WA. The suspended walkways are about mid to top level of the tree canopy. One of the walkways passes over the top of a tree stump where you can throw a coin and try to get it to land on the stump bit like a wishing tree. In another section there is a connected counter levered walkway which you walk out to the end of as it sways around in the breeze. In another part of the park there are 2 swinging bridges which cross over and giving you a great view up and down the river and is part of a bush walk around the base of the trees.

On the return trip to Hobart from Tahune we stopped at town called Franklin where we given a tour of the Wooden Boat Centre. This is where the art of wooden boat making is still practiced and taught to any volunteers who are interested. The finished boats are quite beautiful and take many hours to make. Most are made from the locally sourced Huon pine.

While we were in Hobart the biannual Wooden Boat festival was held. This is where hundreds of wooden built boats sail from all parts of Tasmania and the mainland and dock at Constitutiobn Boat Harbour. You can walk up and down pontoon jetties and view each of the boats some even allow you to come aboard and have a look around. There are other attractions such as wood working skill displays and model boats. There were a couple of the tall ships and even the Australian navy had docked HMAS Sydney and allowed the general public to come aboard and have a look around.

Next we took a day trip to Bruny Island which is South of Hobart. Bruny is only accessible by a car ferry which runs between Kettering and Bruny on an hourly basis. Driving onto the ferry it then took us about 15 minutes to make the crossing once docked we drove off at the other end. From there we made our way to adventure bay another 45 minutes south where we would take a ride on Pennicotts Adventure Tours boat. Mick, Carley and Blake were also on the same tour.

The boat tour takes us out in to the Tasman sea and along the rugged coastline to the most southern point of Bruny where the Tasman sea meets the Southern ocean to a spot used by migrating seals as a rest stop before continuing their journey north. Our day the ocean was choppy but the boat handled it without to much problem. The wind was quite cold but they do give you these large rainproof ponchos to wear. The coastline was rough and ruggard looking and the waves crashing against the rocks added to the thrill of the ride. In some areas they get quite close to the rocks and pass through some of the arches and tunnels along the rock faces. On the return trip we did look out for Dolphins unfortunately we didn't see any.

Returning to our starting point after getting off the tour boat we left adventure bay in the car and headed back towards where the ferry would pick us up again. On the way we stopped at a chocolate factory as well as the lookout at the neck which links North And South land mass of Bruny Island. The neck is only about 100 metres wide and is really just a sandbar with a road on it. On the Northern end of the neck there is a lookout on top of the sand dunes which is accessible by a long set of stairs. After climbing to the top and taking a few pics we returned to our car and headed back to the Ferry And headed back to Hobart.

Once again Mike, Carley and Blake headed off on their journey west towards Queenstown and Strahan while we headed east towards Port Arthur and as usual there were a few tears from Oma and some tears from little Blake as well hopefully we will catch up with them again on the mainland In the next few months.