As Willie Nelson Sang...🎶 On the Road Again...🎶

Bright and early on Sunday...actually it wasn't very bright, in fact it was still very dark at 5:15 AM...we drove to the airport to catch a flight to Tasmania. Three hours and fifty minutes after our departure we landed in Hobart. After the usual stuffing about at the baggage carousel, customs, immigration and rental car booth we hit the fresh air and drove into Hobart to our apartment near Salamanca Place - great name for any wargamer with an even passing interest in the Napoleonic Peninsular War. It was a bit of a grey day and drizzly, but that didn't put us off setting out in the town for lunch and to get our bearings. As the rain settled in a bit we  headed back to the apartment for a 'home cooked' meal and an early night, since we had been up so early. 

Monday was a public holiday and we headed off to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary some 35 minutes to the north of the city. There was a bit of rain falling when we left town, but by the time we got to Bonoring it was all gone. The sanctuary is a nice place where a good number of Tasmanian Devils, Wombats Wallabies and, of course, Kangaroos were able to seen in generous enclosures. Sadly the echidnas found the weather a little cool and were tucked up out of view and the Emus were staying a long way back in their enclosure. We got there about 10:00 AM and were more than half way around before six bus loads of tourists from the cruise ship that was in port came surging through the gates. Perhaps it is the cynic in me, but I did find it mildly amusing to watch some of these people trying to catch their 'instagram moment' with a kangaroo, while the poor animal was looking completely disinterested in the food pellets being offered and just hopped away.

A young and freshly fed Wombat

A roo that was more interested in the hay than any pellets on offer.

A devil ready to bed down for the day.

We stayed about two hours, exited through the gift shop, ate our packed lunch and drove back to town for a walk around the city centre.

The Tasmanian Houses of Parliament

Tuesday, Day 3 of our adventure, saw us heading out on the water to see various points of interest on the lower Derwent River and around the harbour entrance. The water was rather choppy and the ride was bumpy - I was fine with this, but her indoors found it challenging and was pleased to be back on land again. The cruise was a little disappointing really. It was billed as an opportunity to see local wildlife, but we only saw a couple of sea eagles in the distance.

A view across the waterfront with our little boat in the foreground (the sky was not as threatening as it appears here)

The ruggedness of the coastline 

One of the many caves along the shore

At one point our skipper showed us a school on one of the bluffs and asked if anyone knew what famous Tasmanian was educated there. He seemed quite surprised when I suggested David Boon (the cricket player who played 107 test matches and scored 7,422 runs for Australia and holds the dubious record of drinking 52 cans of beer on a flight from Sydney to London in 1989). "Nah," he said, "it was Queen Mary of Denmark, Tasmania's own Mary!" I liked the idea of it being 'Boonie'.

The afternoon was spent doing a bit of shopping around the city. 

Evening drinks are an issue for me at I present as I am not supposed to drink alcohol because it conflicts with some of my medication. I haven't found a zero alcohol beer here that I like so I was quite pleased to find this 'no alcohol' cider which actually tastes half decent. 

 

Wednesday, Day Four, saw us leave Hobart, heading north up the east coast for a night's stay at Swansea. On the way we stopped in at Port Arthur - no not the one that was besieged during the Russo-Japanese War, but the one that was a prison for transported petty criminals. I have to say that if you had to be in a prison 12,000 miles from your homeland in Mother England, there are many worse places to be than Port Arthur. Once you get over the stark appearance of the penitentiary buildings the place is pleasant enough and again we managed to get in ahead of the bus tours. It is a wonderfully peaceful place and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours wandering around this UNESCO World Heritage site.

The penitentiary building

Looking down on the penitentiary from the guard tower

The commandant's house

The Asylum

The cell row in the separate prison

The convict church

Looking up through the Government Gardens

Looking across the bay at the complex 

We then headed north, doubling back a bit, and heading for Swansea, a small seaside town at the western end of Nine Mile Beach. On a lovely sunny afternoon we walked along the beach and I noted what nice fine sand it was..."no you cannot take it home!" was the instant response.

The day's drive.

The beach...

...with its lovely fine sand.

Day five will see even more interesting adventures.