I certainly didn’t plan to be here. Well, at least NOT this soon. Tasmania hovers in my mind but my idea was to be here in summer to avoid the chilly breeze from the Tasman Sea. But it’s nearly winter Down Under, and I’m right here down Down Under. Took the noontime flight from Sydney to meet up with a friend from Melbourne who’s also itching to visit this island south of Mainland Australia.
First off, we decided on our hotel right in the heart of Hobart’s CBD. Just a hop and a skip from the Waterfront. A few minutes from the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden, Salamanca Market, Battery Point and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Those attractions should keep us busy for at least a day, not to mention the interesting shops and row of restaurants flanking the wharf. List in hand and checking on the weather forecast, we ticked off a couple of day tours to commence our Tasmanian Holiday. Sounds like a plan?
I must confess I have not done much research on Tassie, as Tasmania is fondly called. But I do remember how my nephew and his young family raved about their holiday here. Unfortunately, I am not confident to drive on the other side of the road so that restricts our mobility here. But there are day tours north and south of Hobart — colonial town of Richmond, breathtaking Bruny Island, historic Port Arthur — and prebooking them was a breeze. In fact, I enjoyed communicating with these tour operators. We emailed each other like we were long-lost friends! And I’m reminded of my nephew’s story about this Tassie driver of the tour bus his young family was on some years ago. You see, my nephew and niece-in-law didn’t pack extra nappies for their young son. Asking the driver if they could possibly stop at a convenience store to buy the stuff, the Tassie driver took one look at the boy and told my nephew he’d take care of it. As it turned out, this kind man had a son of same age, called his wife and asked her to put a couple of nappies in some mailbox along the road they took towards their destination. Voila, in a few minutes he stopped by the designated mailbox to retrieve the nappies and gave them to my nephew. He didn’t even charge for the nappies. How cool is that?
Salamanca Market caught our interest. Suckers for mercados, we can’t pass up this chance to see, feel, smell and taste the soul of Hobart, Tasmania. But it’s scheduled only on Saturdays so that had to wait. We did trace Kelly’s Steps towards Battery Point and from the top of stairs, looked back to see the old warehouses of Salamanca Place. I was expecting some magnificent mountains (Tasmania is Australia’s most mountainous state), breathtaking forest parks (half of the area is protected as national parks), beautiful waterfronts and seascape (it’s an island, after all!), but I wasn’t expecting it’s packed with so much history. The historic village in Battery Point is teeming with old houses and well-restored colonial buildings. We also found St. George Anglican Church, built in 1838. Standing on the highest spot in Battery Point, it seeks attention among rows of interesting old cottages with tiny rose gardens.
We’ve been here only a few hours and glad we wasted no time sampling their food and checking the sites. It was a very leisurely walk from our hotel and we decided to head back as soon as the sun has set. Weather was pleasant for walking, but we’ve had a long day and an early call tomorrow. Watch this page!
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