Welcome to Hobart! We got here at the perfect time. The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race started in Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, and the first boats started to arrive in Hobart around the 28th. We missed seeing the winner, Wild Oats by an hour, but I think the starting line would have been a bit cooler to see with all the sails unfurled. By the time they arrive, the sails are drawn in to keep the boats from blowing right into the docks. Makes sense, I suppose. Can you tell I'm not a sailor? (I was actually hoping to take some lessons since there is so much nautical activity here, but I never made the time.)Anyhoo, back to the holiday. We arrived in Hobart just in time to catch the Salamanca markets closing down. Salamanca is the arts village on one side of Constitution Dock, and there is a well-known Saturday market there. We walked around town to get a lay of the land and ran across the historic area of Battery Point. There are mainly older homes there with a few shops and eateries, but it was cute.
The next day, we found our way about 20 minutes out of town for a visit to the Cascade Brewery. What a great setting at the bottom of Mt Wellington, where they get their water. Of course, we had to take the tour and get some sampling in at the show room. One beer in particular was the First Harvest beer that is actually made with the whole hops flower. They only serve it at the brewery, and I quite enjoyed it. It's definitely got a distinct flavor to it. Wish I could share, but you'll have to come here to get it. After quenching our thirst, we wandered through the Taste of Tasmania back on the waterfront. Australia has a lot of markets and festivals, but the Taste is Tassie's most noted festival of food and beverages from all over the state. I have to admit the seafood here was better than any of the places I've been so far. (I always thought that Oz would have amazing seafood since it's an island, but it's only okay, mainly prawns and calamari. The barramundi, native Aussie white fish, isn't bad.)
The next day we took a local tour of the historic Richmond Village and visited the Bonorong Wildlife Conservation Centre. This was my favorite part of the trip. It was so much better than a zoo. They gave us feed for the kangaroos, and the guide was able to tell us all about the wombats, devils and koalas. Pixie, the wombat, was just the cutest thing ever. She was rescued from the side of the road. Apparently mom was killed, and Pixie was in her pouch. There are a number of animals with pouches here, and the reserve sees many cases like hers. Pixie was very friendly and well adapted to visitors, and she kept rolling over for the keeper to pet her belly. It was just the same way my dog rolls over for a belly rub. I got a good laugh out of it. I'm sure wild ones aren't quite as cute.
Then, we got to see the devils up close and personal, no petting these guys though. It was rather impressive to see how well they could attack their food with a scraping motion of their front claws to rip the food apart. I don't think I'd want to run up against one of these without some serious protection. (There's video posted at end of blog.) There is also a "Save the Devils" campaign going on right now as many of the wild devils are contracting a type of mouth cancer, and many have died. This cancer is contagious, and no cure has been found yet. Quite a sad story really.
Our second stop was Richmond, which is part of the historic convict trail. Australia was a place where the Brits sent their convicts, and over time, Oz exiled their convicts to Tasmania. (Must be something about those island places... no way they are escaping with killer sharks in the water.) It's interesting hearing about the oldest of this and the best of that. The Richmond Bridge is the oldest bridge in Australia, constructed in 1823, and the St. John's Church is the oldest Catholic Church. I would have thought Sydney would have the oldest of both considering the first settlers landed there, but these bridges and churches have since been destroyed or burned down over the years. And Tassie is more than happy to claim the title.
Before I left Hobart, I had to make a trip out to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. Unfortunately, they aren't conducting tours anymore, but there were plenty of samples and tasty treats to buy. (Em, you would have loved it!! I wanted to send some, but they have signs everywhere saying that it will melt if you try to send it internationally. Way to rain on my parade, huh?)
Another interesting place I saw was a tour of Hobart's rivulet tour. These waterways were originally used as Hobart's drinking water supply but over time became more of a storm water drain as well as other things. It looked cool in the brochure, but I don't think I quite new what I was getting myself into. I had this image in my head of a small boat ride through Hobart's underground tunnels, only to find out that the tour guide had hard hats, neon safety jackets and industrial-sized flashlights for us to walk through the old sewer lanes! I was quickly thinking let's forfeit the money and get the hell outta here, but I stuck with it for just a bit and realized it actually was pretty cool. There wasn't any stinky smell, and they really are more storm drains now. The city council commissions the local kids to graffiti the walls to dress it up.
After the tour, it was time for a drink, and we stumbled upon this garage/bar that had a lot of US road and car memorabilia and parts. It was a cool place for us to meet up with a couple friends that were traveling through as well before heading over to the Taste festival again. All in all, it was a great place to spend a week. (Link to PicasaWeb)
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