A new journey dawns - Gen and Maria do Tassie!

 Its been a long times between drinks as the saying goes.

The last two years have taught me some valuable lessons. Some have been harder to swallow and digest than others. Perhaps my greatest regret is knowing that my days of log distance travel are done. But I'm not ready to give it up completely yet. So we'll do what we can! Hence, Gen and I have arrived this morning in Hobart to travel the Apple Isle for a month, seeing and tasting and doing what we can.

Tasmania has always been on my bucket list and it has taken Covid, some life changes and travel limitations that I now have to get me here. Gen visited Tassie about five years ago when she drove down alone for three weeks, crossing on the SOT (Spirit of Tasmania for those not in the 'know'!) this time howver, we flew from brisbane.

We left home late on Wednesday afternoon with me still stressing about all the things I didn't get finished at work. But everything is in very capable hands with my colleagues Nicole and Brian picking up the load. Gone are the days when it was just me and everything slowed to a crawl till I returned from leave. Council's Grants Program and funded activities have increased exponentially and with it so has our team - from 1 to 2 and soon after 3!

So on Wednesday we went as far as Brisbane and spent some time with Antony, Amanda and the grandkids - its always a fun time. 

Took ourselves off to try a Korean Street food restaurant in Newmarket on Thursday - Crunchy K Chicken. Ordered up big (as usual) and of course, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs! I'm always amazed at just how much food growing children can down - guess its been a while! Had to hit Chermside Shopping Centre that day before catching up with Anne and Mick for lunch. Come Friday, we still hadn't found a coat to replaced the one I left at home in Maryborough. Like seriously, who forgets their coat when coming to Tasmania in March/April. Well, who else but me? So off to Indooroopilly we went and more shopping - it was such a chore (🤣). Managed to find a coat - not like the 3/4 one I left behind, but a thigh length one, so i'm not doubling up. Lord knows, I really don't need them very often at home! And, as luck would have it, MYER WAS HAVING A SALE!  Had to play my part to help the economy recover. So back to Antony's to re-pack the suitcaases with me changing my mind countless times. New clothes? or comfy faves? Think I did pretty well balancing the two.

As our flight this morning was early, we got Antony to run us over to the Ibis Hotel at the airport. That way, the only people needing to be up at a stupid hour was Gen and I. Well, we almost did a Mary Poppins and flew off on the west wind. We could not believe how windy it was at Brisbane Airport last night. In order to save the wheelchair from taking off across the councourse, the bags dropped.  We ate at their restaurant, the Cribb Island Bar - a bit better than your average bar food. Gen had Chicken Caesar Salad and I pushed my luck and ordered a chicken curry with rice. Managed to eat about 2/3 before my mouth screamed for me to stop. Vary tasty and I am so missing the flavours of spices - I have very much become a very dull gastronome.

This morning was a very early start - up at 4:25 for a taxi at 5. We were glad we did though, everything went very smoothly and the JetStar staff were wonderfully helpful. A huge shout out goes to Rachael who handled our luggage with aplomb at a very early work-time and then fronted up at the gate to process all those boarding. She had told us that the flight wasn't full and that we had an entire row (3 seats) to ourselves. Gen was very grateful. Turns out, this was the ONLY row not full! The rest of the flight was packed!

We landed at 10:30 but by the time we got off the plane - the last as I was collected in a wheelchair, and then waited for a maxi-taxi (and it took three taxi drivers to work out how to strap the wheelchair and me into the vehicle it was well after 11 am by the time we reached the hire car company. AAA Car Rental is one of a number of private companies that are significantly cheaper than the big companies. Owner Paul was very patient and courteous with us and nothing was too much trouble. He had contacted us before we left home and upgraded our booking to a station-wagon so that he could be sure there would be no dramas with the wheelchair - at no extra cost.

So armed with lots of suggestions and a few no-goes (I am going to miss out on travelling up Jacobs Ladder  😭 ) we set off for Salamanca Place. We are not sure that we will be back in Hobart on a Saturday again and we really didn't want to miss experiencing them.

And boy, did we!

Lots of food to sample including the most heavenly tart filled with lemon custard and topped with lemon curd that we shared as soon as we arrived. We purchased a sample pack of whisky/liquers from New Norfolk Distillery, so we know what to buy when we get to their cellar door!  We bought a variety of early season apples, beautifully savoury cheese biscuits, a range of sweet ones too, we got sample pots of honey so we can compare them with our local honey up home, we bought fresh blackberries and raspberries - for $5 a punnet!  A range of exquisitely Tasmanian flavoured nuts - with Wakame, Honey Pepper, Kunzea and Lime, Lemon Pepperberry and a very mild locally grown Wasabi! Then we indulged in some fudge for the road and some really decadent meringue - crisp and dry (not marshmallow - so I had to share with Gen!)
I got a lovely planter that the stall-holder had lavender displayed in. Looked at exquisite timber works - John D and Jim F and Andrew B would have loved these. Everything from bottle stoppers, to book covers to 3D prints to frames, to boards to furniture and they smelled amazing.

By 2:30, the vendors are beginning to pack up. Unlike our present markets at home, there was very little knick-knack, cheap imported or junk items. Two old book sellers and one second hand record seller. amazing fabric crafts and heaps of local producers. And, without fail, every stallholder, and I mean every one, wished us a pleasant day at the markets. They had no idea if we were locals or tourists. We finished off our visit at the Food Trucks where after much deliberating, we shared a Smoked Salmon, Caper and Dill crepe and a spiced Tasmanian Apple crepe. Not too heavy - just right.

So needing to get some wares into a fridge, we then checked in to the Battery Point Manor for the next 3 nights. We have Room 5, a corner room with views out over Hobart and its Harbour. As soon as I can work out how to load the photos from the camera through the tablet, I'll add some photos.

The day was still fairly young so we took ourselves up to Kunanyi (Mt Wellington). It was a challenging drive for Gen who doesn't really have a head for heights. It is very steep in places and very winding with a number of hairpin bends on tight grades. It really was too bad that the drive took all her concentration as I would have loved her to really see the transitions in the forest, from dense sub-tropical rainforest to the open scherophyll forests to the edge of the tree line (marked by the inclusion of snow marker poles painted in fluoroscent orange) and finally near the top where she relaxed a little she commented on the lack of trees in the Alpine landscape with its wildly windswept stumpy bushy shrubs.

During the drive up, the most amazing thing was the smell of clean, crisp air. The scents reminded us of the woodwork at the markets - lots of pine and eucalypt and camphor. Certainly a very welcome way to clear our sinuses. At the top, we parked in well designated, clean parking areas and wandered all over the top. We kept to the boardwalks and paved paths, but many didn't. I swear that every international tourist in Australia at the moment was up on the mountain today - and a lot of domestic ones also - there were any number of Qld registered vehicles up there. We spent a few good hours learning more and taking photos of the stunning views across the whole of Hobart, out to the East Coast, down towards the Huon Valley and north into the Tamar Valley. You can literally see for hundreds of kms. It was windy and chilly - about 10 degrees cooler than in Hobart below, but. when you could find a spot out of the wind, the sun was fierce. 

Not sure whether I got a dose of sunburn, windburn or a damn good case of them both! Just before we left to come back down the mountain we watched a tanker/freighter pass under the Tasman Bridge - that was a sight we don't see much! And Gen went a long way to facing her fears, walking out along the windy boardwqalk to the cliff-edge lookout for some fabulous photos!

So by the time we get back into the City it is nearing 7 pm and we are thinking of dinner. Huh! Its a Saturday night and it seems Taswegians (what do you call the population of Hobart Robyn or Rod??) are party people! We try to get bookings at a number of restaurants but no luck, so we head back into Salamanca Place and in luck, get a parking space and head out on shanks pony to find a meal. End up at The Whaler (pub) - most obviously a popular local watering hole, but they had tables free inside. Limited choice, but the calamari was fresh and the chicken schnitty on par with most others.

So we are heading off to bed. Knackered. Today I have walked about 700m and Gen has pushed me in the wheelchair for an additional 2-3 kms up and down the markets, weaving in and out, backtracking to check this, taste that. We are both just a wee bit sore tonight!  We are planning on the Docks area of the City tomorrow followed by a trip to MONA, hoping to book dinner there tomorrow night.

Good night one and all. Its great to be back in the writing. A full moon shines over the water tonight and for those in the know - we are off to Jackman & McRoss for brekky!