Hobart

We arrived in Tasmania on Friday and will be staying two nights in Hobart before picking up our rental car to start our journey around the island.  It will be a busy trip, but we are both looking forward to exploring this part of Australia.  

1. Hobart  2. Bruny Island 3. Port Arthur 4. Orford 5. Coles Bay  6. St. Helens  7. Bridport  8. Launceston  9. Stanley  10. Cradle Mountain*  11. Strahan  12. Lake St. Clair*  13. New Norfolk

*The map I used considers Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair to be in the same area*

Hobart is the capital and largest city in Tasmania with a population of just over 200,000.  It was founded in 1804 and is the country's second oldest capital city next to Sydney.  The area was first used by the British as a penal colony for convicts!  

It was an easy city to explore on foot and we walked almost 9 miles today!

We started Saturday morning in Hobart by visiting Salamanca Market.  We arrived at 9:00am and it was already really busy!  The market is held weekly on Saturdays and has close to 300 stallholders selling everything from food, woodwork, jewelry, glassware and ceramics. 

We then walked over to the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, housed in Hobart's oldest building, the Commissariat Store built in 1808.  The museum is free to enter and showcases Aboriginal artwork and information on local wildlife. 

After the museum, we took the Soldiers Memorial Walk to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, established in 1818.  It covers 35 acres and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around.  It is unusually warm here in Tasmania (85-degrees on Saturday), so we found a shady spot to sit for awhile and enjoy the scenery.  

Our final stop for the day was Battery Point, a neighborhood in Hobart which was settled in the early 1800's.  The streets are lined with colorful cottages dating back to the first European settlement of what was then Hobart Town.  It was a beautiful area with such quaint homes and winding streets.   

Alex and I woke early Sunday morning to pick up our rental car by 8:00am.  Once in the car, we drove to Mount Wellington. Just outside of Hobart, you can see the entire city and surroundings from the top.  It was a clear morning and we could see for miles and miles!  The view was amazing and made me so excited to set off on the rest of our journey around Tasmania.

Food:

• Breakfast: Pilgrim Coffee
• Dinner: The Den