TASSIE HOLIDAY 2023
We arrived home after three delightful weeks in Tassie following five enjoyable nights in Melbourne. How best do I summarise this adventure without getting bogged down in details or missing significant bits that might appeal to others? Please forgive the overemphasis on food pictures, it was that kind of trip.
We began because MA wanted to witness the famed Tassie “greenness” - last time we were here she only got brown. She certainly got her green fix this time.
Melbourne was added as an afterthought because the Grand Final was happening and Brisbane Lions was a big chance. Our daughter K joined us in Melbourne because she is a Lions fan, liked Melbourne and she could. She found our apartment hidden in China Town, so we followed her directions and got there later. After finding coffee and sussing out the local environment, we began the difficult task of choosing a dinner venue. We were spoilt for choices, eventually landing on the Nepalese restaurant on the ground floor of our apartment building. The meal was very tasty and generously sized, the beer choices were limited but included Heineken, taking me back to Nepal 1982 where beer of choice of Katmandu HHH was Heineken, a step up from the local brew.
The next morning was the Captain’s Run for the Lions which took us inside the MCG for the Lions last training session before the big game. Unfortunately? It was our only entry to this venue. We did come back an hour later to get a glimpse of the Parade. We saw lots and lots of people and not so much of the players. It was a great atmosphere and my sign “looking for 3 tickets” drew a few comments. It seemed that the official attendance of 100,024 exactly equaled the official ground capacity. We visited the MCG again the next day (Fig 1) on our way to the Fitzroy Workers Club for lunch and to watch the game.
Fig 1 Outside MCG on the big day
We got a feel for how many were going on the morning of the GF, it also gave us a sense of how hot the day was going to be. A stroll through Fitzroy Gardens (Fig 2) minimized the heat a little bit.
Fig 2 Fitzroy Gardens
The cool and comfort of the pub where we had front row seats to the big screen (Fig 3) and were served excellent quality food did take a bit off our disappointment of not actually being there especially after the close loss.
Fig 3 Front row seats to the big screen
I am sure the extra bonus of sunstroke and dent to the hip pocket would have made a day at the MCG more disappointing. Hopefully we will get to sit inside the MCG next year when the Lions lift the Cup.
On Sunday, we were able to catch up with childhood neighbour and friend, Keith, who I hadn’t effectively seen in 57 years. He picked us up in the city and took us to brunch at Studley Park Boathouse on the Yarra at Kew. I was pleased that we made contact on Facebook a few years ago and maintained sporadic contact, mostly around AFL, despite him being a Carlton supporter. Our common Trinidad birthplace created a pleasant level of comfort, so common when “Trinis” congregate.
When we returned to our Melbourne base, some of us visited the markets, while others rested while minding the laundry. Once all were adequately rested, we searched out an “authentic” Chinese restaurant, (Fig 4) this was not too difficult to find with easy walking distance as we were located in Chinatown.
Fig 4 Chinese food in Chinatown
An early dinner was in order in case we wanted to catch part of the NRL Grand Final. We needn’t have worried, the service was super prompt without detracting from the high quality food. By the time we had paid our bill, sourced an appropriate Moon Cake, as befitted some Chinese festival happening at the time, and made it back to our lodgings, it was still the first half. Two of us ventured to the local pub to watch the second half. Being in Melbourne, there was no shortage of seats to watch rugby league, even if it was the GF. We enjoyed a few exciting moments only to be denied at the death. Another could’ve, should’ve, might’ve been? Pleased that I don’t take rugby league too seriously.
On Monday after breakfast, we ventured to the other side of town to view Lume Aboriginal Art Exhibition (Figs 5,6).
Fig 5 Katie lost in Lume colour
Fig 6 MA at Lume
It was a beautiful exhibition of art and music, some stationary, some moving, some interactive. It was indeed a touching experience in a very big space littered with bean bags that promoted relaxation. An early lunch on the Yarra fortified us for more walking in search of street art (Fig 7), some more enthusiastically than others except when the search redirected to gelato and coffee.
Fig 7 M.A. Admiring street art in Melbourne
This was to be our last night in Melbourne so we opted for take home Italian pizza. More success close to home. That completed a selection of top quality meals from a variety of cuisines – Nepalese, British Pub, Chinese, Italian and Australian.
Our last morning in Melbourne was our wettest. Luckily the Chinese Museum was across the laneway. Here was featured Chinese migration to Australia, life in mining camps with full scale huts for authenticity, and a full-size ceremonial dragon (Fig 8) – over 60m long with a head weighing 200kgs requiring eight men just to carry the head. Very impressive up close.
Fig 8 Chinese Dragon - MA in for scale
We made it smoothly to the airport with the only hiccup a 40-minute delay for our 45 minute flight to Burnie. Unfortunately our bags spent some time on the tarmac resulting in a bit of dampness for some items of clothes. Luckily we had a huge room at Burnie where we could spread out what we needed and all dried quickly (Fig 9).
Fig 9 Part of Huge room in Ikon Hotel
When we reached Burnie Airport (which was located in Wynyard 20 km away) the taxi that we had booked wasn’t there. Three others had booked the same taxi. After waiting about an hour at the airport, one of the airport staff offered to take two of the passengers. Not long after they left, the Taxi turned up so we were able to share a cab with the other person waiting. A tip from our fellow passenger who was a regular visitor to Burnie, led us to a top feed (Fig 10) that evening which gave us a sniff of the quality of meals we would in as we experienced Tassie.
Fig 10 Scallops in Burnie
Welcome to Tasmania.
We spent two nights in Burnie’s Ikon Hotel in the centre of town. After following Google maps in search of the Tourist Information Centre to no avail, I subsequently found out that Burnie had moved into the digital age and had only a “virtual information centre” – just when we thought that Tasmania was a bit behind. We also discovered the Art Gallery full of portraits, some of which were truly “in your face”; the museum containing history of the area; “Bunny Island” – a traffic island inhabited by rabbits (Fig11), apparently they don’t like crossing the road so keep to this nice green spot; some little penguins that are coping with adjacent construction; Communion Brewery – a recent addition to the town (Fig 12); and, a seafood restaurant where we pigged out on delicious seafood that kept us away from chips for several days (Fig 13), and random displays of pretty flowers (Fig 14). This was right on the beach.
Fig 11 Bunny Island
Fig 12 Communion Brewery
.JPG)
Fig 13 So much seafood
Fig 14 Beautiful flowers in the street
After our delightful stay in Burnie, we caught the bus to Strahan. This was a four hour plus trip in a full size bus with a maximum nine passengers and a chatty driver. By the time we reached Strahan, we were the last on the bus so our driver dropped us off at our accommodation for the next four nights, Ormiston House. (Figs 15,16)
Fig 15 Front door Ormiston House
Fig 16 Bedroom Ormiston House
In the morning we headed off for our Gordon River Cruise due at 7:30 am. It took longer than we expected to walk and I didn’t realise that we needed to be there at 7:15 so that the boat could leave at 7:30, so, just before we reached our destination, I got a call from the cruise company wondering where we were as the boat was about to leave. Luckily we were only 100m away so speed walking was required. We made it, found our way to our prime position on the top deck front row and the cruise got underway. This was a truly wonderful experience on a day when intermittent showers didn’t detract from our enjoyment. Twice we got off the boat and both times the weather was fine. The cruise took us to Hells Gates at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, (Fig17) past salmon farms with a couple of seals basking on the nets (Fig 18), maybe helping themselves to a fish or two.
Fig 17 Hells Gates Macquarie Harbour
Fig 17 Seals guarding salmon farm.
Then we backtracked a bit before going up the Gordon River to serenely glide between the forests which came down to overhang the water’s edge (Figs 19,20). We got off the boat at a loggers docking jetty for a 20-minute foray into the very green damp forest. (Fig 21)
Fig 19 Gordon River reflections
Fig 20 More Gordon River reflections
Fig 21 Green damp forest
Back in the boat, we returned to the mouth of the river then to Sarah Island, a convict “settlement” back in the day. (Fig 22)
Fig 22 Sarah Island
On disembarking, we were treated to a guided tour of the island by a “wannabe Ahn Do” who provided an informative description of life on Sarah Island with an extra dash of humour. All up the trip was about five hours with interesting commentary, excellent food (Fig 23) and quality drinks. Lunch was so good that we made note to visit the restaurant responsible for the catering before we left Strahan.
Fig 23 Lunch on the cruise
That afternoon we reserved for grocery shopping and laundry. Saturday saw us checking out the local sights. (Figs 24, 25)
Fig 24 Old and new Huon pine
Fig 25 Strahan main street
Unfortunately, on visiting the Strahan Railway station we found that the Queenstown to Strahan steam train was not operational. Apparently this track is quite an engineering feat built to deliver the ore from the mines to port on its way to export. That evening we managed to secure dinner at “View 42” as per cruise fame. We were not disappointed, easily the best seafood buffet that I have ever attended with superb views to boot (Fig 26).
Fig 26 View from View 42
They even included numerous stairs (for us walkers) so that we didn’t feel as guilty for our overindulgence. It was an occasion for not thinking about the price. It seemed value for money even if you were only a moderate eater.
Sunday morning saw us cadge a lift to mass in Zeehan, 30 minutes’ drive away, with our Guest House host as he was a regular attendee. Mass was another “different” experience as it included a double christening which took numbers to about 20 including two ancient altar servers, the family of the boys to be baptized, the Godparents, the compulsory little old ladies that organised everything, another family and ourselves. That afternoon we went on a shortish rainforest walk to Hogath Falls (Fig 27). This was the day we booked into the almost compulsory play - “The Ship that Never Was” – a local production that told the story of convicts escaping from Sarah Island to Chile. It was a fun show that relied heavily on audience participation. The production claims to be Australia’s longest running play, having been going for 29 years.
Fig 27 On the track to Hogath Falls
After the play, we dined at the local pub’s posh-ish restaurant for more seafood and to test the rumour that expensive scallop pie was worth it (Figs 28,29). We steered clear of the “death by chocolate” desert for two as I could not do justice for my half and would hate to put pressure on MA to clean it all up. Strahan was a wonderful experience despite being cold enough for us to use, or at least have handy, our puffer jackets. With our accommodation being more than a kilometer from the main street, it encouraged us to get our steps up despite raining every day. Apparently it rains 300 days a year here and averages 30 days a year of sunshine.
Fig 28 Lots of scallops in this pie
Fig 29 Grilled fish on black rice
We caught the bus to Devonport via Burnie early on the Monday morning, same bus, different driver, just as chatty. We even picked up a lady at Zeehan who we met on the way down. She too was heading back to Devonport so she adopted the role of our personal guide along the journey. Unlike the showery days to which we had become accustomed in Strahan, Devonport was bathed in brilliant sunshine highlighting the spectacular coast evident on a couple of long walks during our short visit (Figs 30,31).
Fig 30 Davenport ferry to Geelong
Fig 31 Downtown Davenport
There were even some locals enjoying dips in the sea (Fig 32).
Fig 32 Beach ready for swimming at The Bluff
Aside from the scenery and comfortable peacefulness of a neat country town, the meals at Molly Malone’s Irish Pub were most memorable (Fig 33).
We lucked out on this place when looking for a place to eat on our first night. It was so good we went back for more on our other night in town. I couldn’t believe that I could be so impressed by a simple meal of grill fish and salad – the fish was perfectly cooked and the salad fresh with just the right mix of ingredients. Meal quality was a common theme during our trip to Tasmania.
Fig 33 Molly Malone's memorable meal
Next stop was Launceston where we effectively met up with our Western Wilderness Tour after breakfast the next morning (Fig 34).
Fig 34 Tamar River Launceston
During the night, when I awoke as is not uncommon. I could not easily get back to sleep as I could hear the TV in the next room going just loud enough to keep me awake. A call to reception quickly resolved that as the person must have fallen asleep watching TV. I have slept in many hotel rooms over the years but that was the first time I have been kept awake by a TV next door. The firsts just keep ticking over.
The tour we joined had eight others plus driver/guide. This tour had started in Hobart some days before but we had no problem fitting in. It was quite a comfortable 16 seater bus. We started off at Cataract Gorge with a 30 minute circuit walk, then a bit of driving around the city where we visited monkeys in the local park (Figs 35,36,37).
Fig 35 Cataract Gorge
Fig 36 Oldest pub in Tasmania
Fig 37 King's Park Greenhouse, Launceston
After these Launceston sights, we headed off for lunch at a fresh water salmon farm – very interesting with the “farmer” at pains to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Seeing the salmon (and eels) up close while feeding was another “first”. After lunch we stopped at a honey “shop”? where you could see bees at work as well as sampling a huge variety of different honeys.
Then it was off to Cradle Mountain Lodge where we were accommodated that night. Along the way we stopped at limestone caves where our guiding ranger showed us some impressive limestone structures and introduced us to shining glow worms.
Fig 38 Cave
Our guide was particularly keen on wombats so he looked wholeheartedly to spot one or two of these endearing creatures for photo opportunities (Fig 39).
Fig 39 Wild wombat near Cradle Mountain
It was only when we were offloading our bags at the Lodge that I realised the backpack that I was using as a suitcase this trip was the same one I used 40 years ago when I walked the Overland Track to Lake St Clair with a couple of Uni mates. They certainly built backpacks to last way back then.
Fig 40 Lots of moss
Fig 41 Very cold Dove Lake
Fig 42 Waterfall
Fig 43 Path near Weindorfers Hut
All memorable experiences. Then we journeyed onwards through old and current mining towns, lunch beside the lake at Roseberry before returning to Strahan to see the ancient sawmill in action cutting through even more ancient Huon Pine. Such is the regulation of Huon Pine since the severe logging back in the day that only old wood tree roots and trunks which have floated down in severe floods are allowed to be milled with only one cut a day at the sawmill to show the tourists how it was done. Huon pine is super special being a slow growing tree often over a thousand years which is perfect for ship building – it is light, tough, waterproof and pest proof as its natural oil keeps pests away. That evening we spent at Queenstown where we checked out briefly the gravel AFL footy ground which is freshly graveled and rolled each year for the local league. Rumour has it that visiting teams down look forward to away games at Queenstown (Fig 44, 45). On a completely different we managed to visit the local polling booth to prepoll for the referendum the next day, otherwise we would have had to come up with an excuse for not voting. Dinner was included in the tour and a couple in our group put on a couple of bottles of wine to celebrate their grandson’s first birthday.
All was good with the world.
Fig 44 Queenstown after many years of active reforestation
Day 4 of our tour, from Queenstown to Hobart was probably the most jampacked. It included taking in views of Queenstown, a disused old mine pit hydroelectric power stations, impressive waterfalls, and lunch at Lake St Clair (Figs 44, 45, 46, 47,48).
Fig 45 Mine pit
Fig 46 Russell Falls
Fig 47 Hydroelectric Power station pipes
Fig 48 Even colder Lake St Clair
Our next attraction was “the Wall”. “The Wall” is a huge piece of sculpting still in progress after 18 years. It consists of one hundred 3m x 1m x 40mm Huon pine panels which have been intricately hand carved depicting Tasmania’s history. This was one occasion where our guide proved his worth, providing detailed commentary on each of the panels. Photography was not allowed under pain of confiscation. Even if it were allowed, photos would have been inadequate to capture the fine texture of the sculpture or the enormity of the project undertaken by artist Greg Duncan. I found it interesting that some panels were complete, others were in various stages of completion and some not yet started – not in a linear fashion but seemingly at the whim of the artist.
By the time we got to the Movenpick Hotel in Hobart, the tour was all but finished. Despite us all staying at this hotel, the tour just fizzled out. Our guide hightailed it back to his home in Launceston while the rest seemed to do their own thing and go their own way after breakfast on the Sunday morning.
For us, it was the start of our next adventure, eight nights in Hobart to complete our holiday. After a hearty breakfast, we left our bags with reception and ventured amongst the intermittent drizzle to the Hobart Farmers Markets. Being this time of the year, there was not a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, however, we did find some nuts, carrots and honey to our liking. Luckily the markets were on the way to the Cathedral where we took in Mass. By then it was time to rescue our bags and off to Battery Point (St Ives Apartments) which was to be our home for our last eight nights in Tassie. The $9.20 we spent on a taxi was excellent value. We strode off in search of coffee and a light lunch while waiting for access to our room. It was not hard to find a suitable café amongst the very old-style buildings (Fig 49) in the neighbourhood, even on a Sunday afternoon.
Fig 49 Specialist Lolly Shop in Battery Point
Next on the agenda was to stock up on groceries and find an early nighttime feed. In nearby Sandy Bay we found a pub with a mixed chicken platter with chips plus bonus carrot and celery sticks – perfect for me at that time, not sure MA was as impressed. Next door to this pub was Coles where we stocked up for the week as best we could carry back to our apartment which seemed to be over the hill and far away. On the map there was a short cut via Nanny Goat Lane. Undeterred by the name, we headed in that direction to be eventually confronted by a flight of stairs that led into the sky. We made it to the top only slightly deprived of breath, thence it was a mere 200m downhill to St Ives.
Monday was meant to be a low key day taking in the botanical gardens and wandering around Hobart. The cold wet and windy weather only slightly dampened our experience. We caught the local bus to the gardens. Apparently, the local bus drivers are wannabe comedians as well as historical guides. It did not take long for the weather to drive us inside for an early lunch – what we got were tasty works of art, adding to our Tassie fancy food tour.
Fig 50 Food at Botanical Gardens for MA
Fig 51 Food at Botanical Gardens for Bob
Still, we managed to make our way around the very interesting gardens, dodging from big tree to big tree in search of shelter. It was not raining all the time as patches of blue sky and sunshine flitted between the showers and drizzles every five minutes or so (Fig 51).
Fig 52 Japanese section of Hobart Botanical gardens
Our evening meal was simply in our apartment complemented with wine from our bottle shop next door.
The first of our short tours from Hobart was a guided bus trip to Freycinet National Park. The views were magnificent, the organization not so much. It is hard to keep twenty-eight tourists, from students to octogenarians on task. We managed to make it up to the Wine Glass Bay lookout, a “40-minute round trip” which featured 300 stairs in the last leg to the summit.
Fig 53 Wineglass Bay
Fig 54 Freycinet lunch by the sea
MA managed with her two steel knees and only minor catch-breath stops. It was only the next day that she understood what her physio meant about “pains above the knees” being a sign she was exercising sufficiently. The afternoon stop at the Berry farm for coffee and ice cream was most welcome, especially as the blurb about plenty of food along the way was not quite accurate. There was a bakery at 10 am and a coffee/ice cream at the Berry Farm at 3 pm (Fig 55).
Fig 55 Katies Berry Farm
Then it was on to the old township of Richmond to check out the oldest bridge in Australia (Fig 56), as well as Australia’s first Catholic Cathedral.
Fig 56 Richmond Bridge - oldest bridge in Australia
Excellent views more than made it a very enjoyable day. A very filling quality pub meal that night ensured that we did not go to be hungry.
Our planned quiet day between organized trips was indeed that. A gentle stroll past the Yacht club and over to the Casino did the trick (Figs 57,58,59). Plan A to have a meal then try our luck on the tables for old times sake fell through. I was there 40 years ago when Wrest Point was the only? legal casino in Australia. As such, the gambling action was on 27/7. Not much action today, tables only opened from 5 pm. We fed $5 into a poker machine and was out inside 5 minutes, most of that figuring out how the machine worked. How the Casino did offer a different new experience – I could not work out how to turn the tap on in the gents until I saw another patron in action. Even with my warning, MA was also befuddled.
Fig 57 Yacht Club
Fig 58 View from Wrest Point Casino
Fig 59 Mt Wellington from Battery Point
Bruny Island was our next adventure. A big bus took us to where we needed to go. The first 30 minutes got us to the vehicular ferry to cross over the island. We also stopped on the narrow (less than 100m wide) isthmus to allow us to climb to the lookout to enjoy the panoramic views before continuing on to the bus’s destination (Fig 60).
Fig 60 Isthmus on Bruny Island
It was nice to have a cuppa and muffin to fortify us for our three and half hours on the boat. We were each provided with an oversize red raincoat (one size fits none) (Fig 61) to keep us dry, not warm, on the boat.
Fig 61 Dressed to keep dry
Because it was a fine sunny day, we opted to not use our puffer jackets and barely managed to remain unfrozen. Each boat seated forty tourists and two crew members. Despite perfect weather conditions, we still copped a bit of sea spray as the boat bounced along. The fashionable jackets did keep out the wet, our task was to keep the chilly wind from freezing our face and neck. We witnessed an amazing rugged coastline with sheer cliffs, sea caves, water spouts and a seal colony (Figs 62,63,64).
Fig 62 Elvis sea cave Bruny Island
Fig 63 Water spout
Fig 64 Seal colony rocks off Bruny Island
We were also joined by dolphins and even managed to see a juvenile whale up pretty close. Very pleasant experience. The boat trips go in all weather so we were pleased it was such a perfect day for us as we were adequately chilled by the time we got back for lunch.
Once we got back to Hobart we decided to try out the flash restaurant on the waterfront as recommended by our Wilderness guide. We went early to take advantage of the sunset and maximise our chances of getting a table. Mures is indeed a posh establishment worthy of its reputation. The food, wine and service were top class.
Fig 65 Scrumptious scallops
After scrumptious a main course (Fig 65), MA went for an exquisite desert and I for an after dinner Tasmanian whiskey. We tried our best not to look at the price of the whiskey as it was very, very nice. I do not think I could stay retired long if I got in the habit of drinking nice whiskey after dinner. As we strolled up the hill to our lodgings we acknowledged it was indeed one of our top days in Tasmania.
MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) is one of the must-sees in Hobart. After a little bit of panic regarding how to book the boat and entry, our host at St Ives booked us in. We managed to catch an early boat to maximise our potential time there at MONA. Once there we quickly discovered one of the tenets of the place – encourage people to get lost so they can discover new experiences that they might not have been looking for. The idea is you download the App which explains all the exhibits and how to get to places. MA’s phone could not cope, so we had one phone to share – fine if you have completely common interests – those of you who know us would appreciate that this could cause some tension – correct. We did manage to see lots of interesting things (Figs 66,67) as well as some that I would have preferred not to see – unfortunately I do not have an “ünsee” button. We even managed to find acceptable food for lunch despite being unable to find the food venues and their menus on the App. That said, I would recommend a visit to MONA and highly recommend each person has their own App and is okay going off into the unknown on their own (Fig 69).
As has been our common practice, we dined down low before our ten-minute ascent home. The pub meals were good quality as we have come to expect, the point of difference this time was that the pub had two completely different names depending on whether you came in from the front or the back. It was called The Grape Food & Wine Bar at the front and something unrelated at the rear (or the front from the other side). Lucky for me, I felt like a lamb shank which was not on the menu on the side we came in but was on the other side’s menu. Another different thing in Tassie.
Fig 66 Art piece in MONA
Fig 67 More MONA art
Fig 68 MONA ferry
On Saturdays in Hobart, one of the items on the “must do” list is visit Salamanca Markets (Fig 69). It was rainy, maybe that kept the usual crowds away. MA found several “good buys” so was happy. I developed my umbrella handling skills. Thankfully it was not blowing a gale. We managed somewhere warm and dry to eat brekky, then after the markets visited the museum and Mawson’s Hut, both very interesting learning experiences. For a late lunch, MA tried the advertised lobster roll while I had another seafood lunch. Both very tasty but probably not making it to the top 10 tassie meals on our trip. It was a tough school to reach that honour.
Fig 69 Salamanca Place on a dry day
Sunday featured Mass at Sandy Bay church, a quaint modern establishment that tested our navigational skills to find the door.
More strolling around the CBD led us to the Maritime Museum – more historical facts some of which may have seeped into our brains (Figs 70,71).
Fig 70 Maritime museum
Fig 71 More Maritime Museum
That evening we returned to The Prince Of Wales Hotel where we had had a very pleasant dining experience earlier in the week (Fig 72). We were not disappointed.
Fig 72 Prince of Wales meals
At sometime along the way, we noticed in the paper that the best scallop pies in Hobart were made just around the corner from St Ives. We found the venue, MA tested one out and was pleased to concur with that verdict.
On our last day in town, we left our bags at St Ives while once more checking out our neighbourhood streets. Brunch was at a gluten free venue which specialized in things green, nuts and seeds. It did the trick without being a showstopper. As we aimlessly strolled around for a last look before our pre-booked to the airport, we came across St David’s Park (Fig 73).
Fig 73 St David's Park near Battery Point
What looked like a nice patch of green amongst the buildings also contained walls with remembrance plaques, some dating back to the very early days, including a few First Fleeters. It was fitting to end our Tasmanian adventure with another pleasant surprise.
Indeed, it was a pleasantly memorable holiday in Tassie following our enjoyable few days (GF result aside) in Melbourne.
