Well, here we are, 1 month into our Tassie trip, with 3 months to go.
We came in at Devonport, travelled to Launceston, stopping at various
points along the way, then back up to the Northeast coast, & over
to the East coast. We then made our way down the East coast,
& arriving at Hobart, where we booked in to the Showground.
We've had a great time so far, with many highlights.
It's easy to see why so many travellers & locals love Tassie!
Our first day out was to Salamance Markets, held every Saturday down at the docks.
Colourful flower stall
Just around the back, in Salamanca Square,
we came across these interesting sculptures.
Christmas day, we packed a lunch & headed up to Mt. Wellington,
thinking it would be a quiet place to have lunch,with a spectacular view. The Mountain is 1.2kms high,
with views all over Hobart.
The views certainly didn't let us down, but there was quite a crowd up there.
Many cars were lined up just to get a parking spot!
Mainly overseas visitors with a few Grey Nomads.
We took a cruise on a square rig sailing ship round the Derwent.
A replica of the original Lady Nelson brig, was built from
mainly Tasmanian grown timbers.
With kilometres of rope lines, & sailors scrambling up the masts
to set the square sails, it was great afternoon on the water.
to top it off, Jan got to man? the wheel!
The next day we went a little bit country, out to New Norfolk, Plenty,
& Bushy Park. We then came back down to Margate
to have a look at the old Steam train.
It doesn't run anymore, but all the carriages have been converted into shops.
Inside the carriage converted to a Pancake Cafe
On the way home, we called into a roadside stall to get some cherries & apricots
The stall owner asked us to mind his stall while he put some signs out.
Luckily we had no customers until he came back, but Jan looked the part.
It was finally time to make our way down to Constitution Dock
to watch the Sydney to Hobart Yachts come in.
We randomly chose a spot to wait, hoping we'd see something.
As it turned out, we were right in front of the bay that Wild Oats pulled into.
Mind you, we stood there for nearly 4 hrs to see it unfold.
It was quite exciting to watch, along with the estimated 40,000 other people!
Look at the Bigarse stern on Comanche
That's why she lost the lead in the almost becalmed waters of the Derwent River.
More hull in the water than Wild Oats.
The day after, was the opening of the Taste of Tasmania, with huge crowds expected.
We managed to get a parking spot not too far away, well 1km away that is!
They have 78 food stalls, & 143 performances by musicians, artists,
and cultural groups.
Jan, succumbing to the chocolate coated apricot & Marshmallow temptation
So many temptations, so little time to sample them all,
The Taste of Tassie only runs for 7 days!
We caught a great band while there, a band from NW Tassie,
called Kitty Martini & the Tom Collins Trio.
We actually saw them at Shepparton Shakeout, but played different sets,
according to the crowd. They had the whole crowd dancing,& moving.
Just for a change from the Taste, we drove to Mt. Field National Park,
and took a walk to Russell Falls. A world away from busy Hobart.
A relaxing walk through rainforest, and arriving at the Falls.
A few random pics from the last week
Artwork from Mona Art Gallery
Castle in the country owned by the man who was the owner of the oldest Pub in Hobart,
the historic Hope & Anchor
Large trout at a Salmon & Trout farm. Hundreds of fish, most over 500mm long
Being New Years Eve tonight, we're heading off to a NYE dance,
then New Years Day, we take a final look around Hobart & surrounds.
We leave Hobart on the 2nd January, maybe headed for Cockle Creek
