Category: Travel

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – Day 5

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 5 – Wednesday

…

We ate at the wharves, and a place called Mures, which has sit-down eating.

Originally we were going to get lunch at Flippers, or one of three choices along the wharf.

The only problem was nowhere to sit and eat.

This means you have to hope the food at Mures tastes any good.

So, we order a curried scallop pie with chips and potato salad, a serving of battered flathead, and crumbed prawns.

While we were waiting I got a bottle of Tasmanian champagne.

Then it arrives.  The battered flathead also has a mountain of chips and we are going to be struggling to eat all of them.

The battered flathead was, as the saying goes, to die for.  It’s the best-battered fish I’ve had in a long time.

The curried scallop pie brought back a lot of bad memories of my mother’s curried sausages.  It’s the same curry taste, and I used to hate it

It was also similar to the four and twenty curried meat pies I used to have 50 years ago as a teen, with exactly the same taste.

Sadly it was not a pleasant experience, but the flathead more than made up for it.  The potato salad was delicious too, but for something so simple, so many people manage to stuff it up.  This was exactly how I like it.

The champagne was very good too, so the whole experience was above average.  Pity about the scallop pie.  More scallops and less curry would make it a more pleasant experience.

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 3

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 3 – Monday

…

Day 3 – Monday

We agreed not to plan what we were going to do today, but I had this idea we should go north or the opposite direction to yesterday.

That meant our destination, following the hop on hop off bus route was to head towards the Botanic Gardens.

Bur first, Rosemary had expressed a desire to go down to the water’s edge to have a look, giving an excellent view of the coastline at what was called Battery Point.

I tried to get there, but there were no roads that specifically went down to the water’s edge, but we did eventually drive-up Salamanca place, where we had walked a few days before.

It was not the same, but it did give us time to look at the line of sandstone buildings that had been there a long time and had been repurposed as Sn arts precinct.

Of course, there was only one flaw in the plan, Rosemary was not able to walk any great distance, so we were limited to what could be seen from the car.

But…

There was really nothing to see, just cars parked haphazardly on the side of the road near an entrance that led down some steps, or a few cars in a proper car park too far away from the entrance.

I was not sure what to make of it other than it was an exercise-intensive effort just to get from the car park to the gate, and then you had to walk around the gardens.

It was all too much.

Government House was on the same road, but it was not open to the public, nor was it in sight of the road, do no photographic moment there, so we were doubly disappointed.

The next phase of our unplanned tour was to go over the Tasman Bridge, perhaps to see the other side of the bay that we could see from our apartment.

Except…

When we got over the other side we veered left to follow the Derwent towards Lindisfarne where there was a yacht basin and several yacht clubs, one of which promised a view while you drank coffee.

Only problem, no parking spaces.

A good idea, unable to be acted on.

Instead, we drove around the esplanade, and continued on our way to Glenorchy, after not being able to get that coffee with a view.

Back on the main road, we take the Glenorchy exit and doesn’t take long to get there, though, by the time we’ve driven through the suburban area, we’re back on the main Hobart Road.

It was a case of don’t blink or you’ll miss it.  We missed Glenorchy.

Change of plans, looking for that elusive coffee, we head for the center of Hobart shopping, Centrepoint, hoping in that center there will be a coffee shop.  Of course, it’s Queen’s Birthday holiday so it’s possible nothing is open.

In the end, we found a parking space nearby. And a Hudson’s.  Coffee and a toasted sandwich went down very well. 

So, once again, we didn’t get to the places we were hoping to get to.  This is what tomorrow, we’re not going to state a place to visit.

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – Day 5

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 5 – Wednesday

…

We ate at the wharves, and a place called Mures, which has sit-down eating.

Originally we were going to get lunch at Flippers, or one of three choices along the wharf.

The only problem was nowhere to sit and eat.

This means you have to hope the food at Mures tastes any good.

So, we order a curried scallop pie with chips and potato salad, a serving of battered flathead, and crumbed prawns.

While we were waiting I got a bottle of Tasmanian champagne.

Then it arrives.  The battered flathead also has a mountain of chips and we are going to be struggling to eat all of them.

The battered flathead was, as the saying goes, to die for.  It’s the best-battered fish I’ve had in a long time.

The curried scallop pie brought back a lot of bad memories of my mother’s curried sausages.  It’s the same curry taste, and I used to hate it

It was also similar to the four and twenty curried meat pies I used to have 50 years ago as a teen, with exactly the same taste.

Sadly it was not a pleasant experience, but the flathead more than made up for it.  The potato salad was delicious too, but for something so simple, so many people manage to stuff it up.  This was exactly how I like it.

The champagne was very good too, so the whole experience was above average.  Pity about the scallop pie.  More scallops and less curry would make it a more pleasant experience.

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 4

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 4 – Tuesday

…

Day 4 – Tuesday

We’re up early because there’s an informal breakfast put on by the resort at 9, with waffles, ice cream, and berries.

It also meant that we will be able to embark on an adventure a lot earlier than we have been previously, somewhere about 10:30.

Breakfast ends at about 10 and we take a few minutes to decide what we’re going to do.  The best option is the go-to Port Arthur, nearly 100km away, about an hour and a half drive.

The weather is great considering so far we’ve had rain and more rain, insidious cold, and snow, so for the day to be sunny with blue skies is as if the planets have lined up.

Nearly 100 km driving in rain to visit a penal colony 8n the rain was not a good prospect.

Along the way, there are a number of scenic points and intermittent views of the water which in places gives views out to sea, but it seems mostly over estuaries because the water is quite calm.

Only as we approach Port Arthur do we get to see the ocean stretch out to the horizon, and there are lookout points over rocks that display the end result of the ocean’s fury with land.

There are several viewing points for landmarks such as the Blowhole. These we will stop at on the way back

Along with a lavender factory and cafe.

Not far from that lavender factory is a Tasmanian Devil union, which seems to be an odd name for scything, but we don’t stop to see exactly what it is

Just at noon, we arrive at the Port Arthur site to be greeted by two overflow carparks, then a three-tiered carpark.  We try for the first, and closest, and get a park, more by good luck than anything else.

Good luck getting into the settlement other than through the edifice built across the whole front.  This is how you make people feel secure.  Not even an ant could get past it.

There us a restaurant, a Cafe, a gift shop, and entrance.  The cost is $45 for an adult, $20 for children, and $36 for us.

And from what I can see if the settlement, and the activities included in the admission price, we could not do any of it, so coming was not exactly a waste of time, we had to come to at least see it.

Maybe when Rosemary can walk again.

We spend time in the gift shop, I get a book that had photos of what we’re missing, sad then we head back.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant beckons.

On the way back we visit the Lavender farm, and, of course, pick up a few lavender items.

Hotel Dunally Seafood Restaurant, or so the sign outside says.

We saw this place on the way to Poet Arthur and if time allowed, we would check it out for lunch.

About 1 30 pm we go in.

Sadly, the locally caught Flounder is unavailable, no one had been able to go out and get it, so there is no fresh fish at all, not even the flathead.

Asked about the flathead, but it’s frozen seafood out of a bag and fried.  For a seafood restaurant, it’s very disappointing that it lacks fresh seafood.

We opt for the seafood bake, with chips and salad.  It’s not going to be fresh seafood, but maybe the closest thing to it, with prawns, scallops, and calamari, as well as fish pieces.

WE then decided to go back to Daci and Daci again, for another cake.

And got a look at some of the other cakes

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 4

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 4 – Tuesday

…

Day 4 – Tuesday

We’re up early because there’s an informal breakfast put on by the resort at 9, with waffles, ice cream, and berries.

It also meant that we will be able to embark on an adventure a lot earlier than we have been previously, somewhere about 10:30.

Breakfast ends at about 10 and we take a few minutes to decide what we’re going to do.  The best option is the go-to Port Arthur, nearly 100km away, about an hour and a half drive.

The weather is great considering so far we’ve had rain and more rain, insidious cold, and snow, so for the day to be sunny with blue skies is as if the planets have lined up.

Nearly 100 km driving in rain to visit a penal colony 8n the rain was not a good prospect.

Along the way, there are a number of scenic points and intermittent views of the water which in places gives views out to sea, but it seems mostly over estuaries because the water is quite calm.

Only as we approach Port Arthur do we get to see the ocean stretch out to the horizon, and there are lookout points over rocks that display the end result of the ocean’s fury with land.

There are several viewing points for landmarks such as the Blowhole. These we will stop at on the way back

Along with a lavender factory and cafe.

Not far from that lavender factory is a Tasmanian Devil union, which seems to be an odd name for scything, but we don’t stop to see exactly what it is

Just at noon, we arrive at the Port Arthur site to be greeted by two overflow carparks, then a three-tiered carpark.  We try for the first, and closest, and get a park, more by good luck than anything else.

Good luck getting into the settlement other than through the edifice built across the whole front.  This is how you make people feel secure.  Not even an ant could get past it.

There us a restaurant, a Cafe, a gift shop, and entrance.  The cost is $45 for an adult, $20 for children, and $36 for us.

And from what I can see if the settlement, and the activities included in the admission price, we could not do any of it, so coming was not exactly a waste of time, we had to come to at least see it.

Maybe when Rosemary can walk again.

We spend time in the gift shop, I get a book that had photos of what we’re missing, sad then we head back.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant beckons.

On the way back we visit the Lavender farm, and, of course, pick up a few lavender items.

Hotel Dunally Seafood Restaurant, or so the sign outside says.

We saw this place on the way to Poet Arthur and if time allowed, we would check it out for lunch.

About 1 30 pm we go in.

Sadly, the locally caught Flounder is unavailable, no one had been able to go out and get it, so there is no fresh fish at all, not even the flathead.

Asked about the flathead, but it’s frozen seafood out of a bag and fried.  For a seafood restaurant, it’s very disappointing that it lacks fresh seafood.

We opt for the seafood bake, with chips and salad.  It’s not going to be fresh seafood, but maybe the closest thing to it, with prawns, scallops, and calamari, as well as fish pieces.

WE then decided to go back to Daci and Daci again, for another cake.

And got a look at some of the other cakes

Friday night at a hotel bar

It’s a writer’s paradise for characters

…

I’m not a night person and even less so a pub person, except perhaps for a Sunday lunch, for what is usually an incomparable steak.

But tonight is different.

We’re meeting people who have come up from Melbourne for a wedding, people we haven’t seen for a long time.

I’m not a conversationalist, so I leave them to it, and go on a character hunt.

And the pickings are rich.

My first victim, If she could be called that, is the one I call the lady in the red dress.

She’s on the other side of 40, with a sort of earthy attractiveness about her.  The first thing to notice, for her age, the dress is too short.  Maybe that’s the fashion and I’m just an old fogey, but it does say something.

She’s definitely single, or perhaps a player, certainly a flirt.  She holds the stage, and talks with her hands, and those around her are captivated.

The untidy hair loosely collected in a hair tie tells me she carries a sort of messy but not messy look, and I wonder at the state of her residence.  It’s a leap I know, but small signs indicate bigger things.

I’ve counted two glasses of beer in an hour and a half, so she is sensible, aware of her surroundings, and of the three men she has spent her time with, it’s hard to pick a winner.  It’s not hard to captivate a loser.

Next comes the party girls three 20 somethings dressed to be noticed, and overly animated and screams look at us.

Oops, they just parked themselves nearby with the very expensive and exotic-looking matching cocktails.  There’s the obligatory selfie together, and then a casual look around to see what’s on offer.

I don’t think there’s a lot, but my standards and their standards are most likely miles apart.

Hang on, news flash, they’re a part of another group nearby, several older office workers who could be the so-called chaperones, or just having a quiet drink before having to go home to any of, a family, a car, an empty flat, or blessed relief the week is finally over.

Next door to us is a family group, the kids are teens, and I’m wondering if the boys are boyfriends.  The mother is an older, very attractive version of the daughter.

Perhaps it’s an experience for the girls because I don’t see a man who could act as a husband unless it’s the second time around with a younger version.

Why not.  Men do it, why can’t women.  But out on the town with your teenage children?

The bar’s entertainment … a single guy playing the guitar, along with backing music that makes him sound better, but people seem to agree that it’s good but not brilliant.

He’s singing covers, which may have made him just so so, perhaps if he sang his own material it might take him to the next level.

But, who cares, no one seems to be listening, the noise level of what seems like a thousand concurrent conversations drowning out any appreciation.  

Of course, it’s headache-inducing because he has the volume so high, just to get over the ambient noise, and in doing so, it takes away the intrinsic musicality of it all, and it’s just more noise to contend with.

I suppose it’s better than canned music.

OK, news flash, the red dress had moved down the table and settled on a prospect, about 15 years younger.  Her animation has intensified, and yes, there’s the casual brushing against him, like a cat marking its territory.

The night is young, and it’s looking good.  I’m not going to pretend I have given a passing thought to spending a few minutes with her, for character creation purposes only.

And yes, we now have a sing-along.  At half-past eight, it’s a bit early for the crowd to be too exuberant.

A squeal shatters the, well, not silence, and is one of the groups pretending like someone had dripped ice down the back of a dress that has no back, the next phase of attention-getting.

And, attention directed their way, they do a little dance, skol the drinks, and with all eyes on them, head to the bar for round two, or is that three.  Several others join them, but they don’t need to do the dance.  The lack of clothes more than makes up for the squeals.

If these are the modern mating rituals a lot has changed in the last 50 years.  Or perhaps not, I’m just too old to remember.

Skeletons in the closet, and doppelgangers

A story called “Mistaken Identity”

…

How many of us have skeletons in the closet that we know nothing about? The skeletons we know about generally stay there, but those we do not, well, they have a habit of coming out of left field when we least expect it.

In this case, when you see your photo on a TV screen with the accompanying text that says you are wanted by every law enforcement agency in Europe, you’re in a state of shock, only to be compounded by those same police, armed and menacing, kicking the door down.

I’d been thinking about this premise for a while after I discovered my mother had a boyfriend before she married my father, a boyfriend who was, by all accounts, the man who was the love of her life.

Then, in terms of coming up with an idea for a story, what if she had a child by him that we didn’t know about, which might mean I had a half brother or sister I knew nothing about. It’s not an uncommon occurrence from what I’ve been researching.

There are many ways of putting a spin on this story.

Then, in the back of my mind, I remembered a story an acquaintance at work was once telling us over morning tea, that a friend of a friend had a mother who had a twin sister and that each of the sisters had a son by the same father, without each knowing of the father’s actions, both growing up without the other having any knowledge of their half brother, only to meet by accident on the other side of the world.

It was an encounter that in the scheme of things might never have happened, and each would have remained oblivious of the other.

For one sister, the relationship was over before she discovered she was pregnant, and therefore had not told the man he was a father. It was no surprise the relationship foundered when she discovered he was also having a relationship with her sister, a discovery that caused her to cut all ties with both of them and never speak to either from that day.

It’s a story with more twists and turns than a country lane!

And a great idea for a story.

That story is called ‘Mistaken Identity’.

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 2

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 2 – Sunday

…

It is not raining when we woke, but it had been most of the night.  After a cold start, the weather, seems to have improved, if only for the time being.

Today’s expedition is the Cascade Brewery, which doesn’t have tours at the moment because of staff issues with Covid, but does have a bar and restaurant.  There is also a historic site, an old women’s prison, and botanical gardens.  I’m not sure how far we’ll get in the gardens, but the bar and restaurant is looking good.

We get there and decide on lunch first then a visit to the women’s prison.

Fail.  The bar and restaurant are packed and there are no tables left.  Time for a photograph of the old brewery, and move on.

Instead of going to the prison, just down the road, we go off in a different direction, to Mt Wellington, thinking it might give excellent views of Hobart.

Only a sign says the road is supposed to be closed, but it is not, so we and a dozen others are venturing up the road towards the summit.

The road was probably opened temporarily, but it is getting more treacherous as the snow appears and the road is wet.  We make it about 2km before deciding it’s unsafe.

The adventure continues because at the bottom of the hill we decided to go to Huonville, hoping to chance upon the apple orchards and all things apple.

It was an immense letdown.  There was nothing, except for one innocuous building with a sign out front saying it was open, but for all intents and purposes looked like it was completely empty.

Until you drove around the back to the carpark where there were hundreds of cars, and inside, totally packed.

It’s where everyone in Huonville had gone.

And not where we were going to get a distinctly Tasmanian meal.

We had to settle for another pie from Banjo’s in Sandy Bay.

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 4

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 4 – Tuesday

…

Day 4 – Tuesday

We’re up early because there’s an informal breakfast put on by the resort at 9, with waffles, ice cream, and berries.

It also meant that we will be able to embark on an adventure a lot earlier than we have been previously, somewhere about 10:30.

Breakfast ends at about 10 and we take a few minutes to decide what we’re going to do.  The best option is the go-to Port Arthur, nearly 100km away, about an hour and a half drive.

The weather is great considering so far we’ve had rain and more rain, insidious cold, and snow, so for the day to be sunny with blue skies is as if the planets have lined up.

Nearly 100 km driving in rain to visit a penal colony 8n the rain was not a good prospect.

Along the way, there are a number of scenic points and intermittent views of the water which in places gives views out to sea, but it seems mostly over estuaries because the water is quite calm.

Only as we approach Port Arthur do we get to see the ocean stretch out to the horizon, and there are lookout points over rocks that display the end result of the ocean’s fury with land.

There are several viewing points for landmarks such as the Blowhole. These we will stop at on the way back

Along with a lavender factory and cafe.

Not far from that lavender factory is a Tasmanian Devil union, which seems to be an odd name for scything, but we don’t stop to see exactly what it is

Just at noon, we arrive at the Port Arthur site to be greeted by two overflow carparks, then a three-tiered carpark.  We try for the first, and closest, and get a park, more by good luck than anything else.

Good luck getting into the settlement other than through the edifice built across the whole front.  This is how you make people feel secure.  Not even an ant could get past it.

There us a restaurant, a Cafe, a gift shop, and entrance.  The cost is $45 for an adult, $20 for children, and $36 for us.

And from what I can see if the settlement, and the activities included in the admission price, we could not do any of it, so coming was not exactly a waste of time, we had to come to at least see it.

Maybe when Rosemary can walk again.

We spend time in the gift shop, I get a book that had photos of what we’re missing, sad then we head back.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant beckons.

On the way back we visit the Lavender farm, and, of course, pick up a few lavender items.

Hotel Dunally Seafood Restaurant, or so the sign outside says.

We saw this place on the way to Poet Arthur and if time allowed, we would check it out for lunch.

About 1 30 pm we go in.

Sadly, the locally caught Flounder is unavailable, no one had been able to go out and get it, so there is no fresh fish at all, not even the flathead.

Asked about the flathead, but it’s frozen seafood out of a bag and fried.  For a seafood restaurant, it’s very disappointing that it lacks fresh seafood.

We opt for the seafood bake, with chips and salad.  It’s not going to be fresh seafood, but maybe the closest thing to it, with prawns, scallops, and calamari, as well as fish pieces.

WE then decided to go back to Daci and Daci again, for another cake.

And got a look at some of the other cakes

Travelling after a pandemic: Destination Hobart – 3

Hobart in June – Winter – Day 3 – Monday

…

Day 3 – Monday

We agreed not to plan what we were going to do today, but I had this idea we should go north or the opposite direction to yesterday.

That meant our destination, following the hop on hop off bus route was to head towards the Botanic Gardens.

Bur first, Rosemary had expressed a desire to go down to the water’s edge to have a look, giving an excellent view of the coastline at what was called Battery Point.

I tried to get there, but there were no roads that specifically went down to the water’s edge, but we did eventually drive-up Salamanca place, where we had walked a few days before.

It was not the same, but it did give us time to look at the line of sandstone buildings that had been there a long time and had been repurposed as Sn arts precinct.

Of course, there was only one flaw in the plan, Rosemary was not able to walk any great distance, so we were limited to what could be seen from the car.

But…

There was really nothing to see, just cars parked haphazardly on the side of the road near an entrance that led down some steps, or a few cars in a proper car park too far away from the entrance.

I was not sure what to make of it other than it was an exercise-intensive effort just to get from the car park to the gate, and then you had to walk around the gardens.

It was all too much.

Government House was on the same road, but it was not open to the public, nor was it in sight of the road, do no photographic moment there, so we were doubly disappointed.

The next phase of our unplanned tour was to go over the Tasman Bridge, perhaps to see the other side of the bay that we could see from our apartment.

Except…

When we got over the other side we veered left to follow the Derwent towards Lindisfarne where there was a yacht basin and several yacht clubs, one of which promised a view while you drank coffee.

Only problem, no parking spaces.

A good idea, unable to be acted on.

Instead, we drove around the esplanade, and continued on our way to Glenorchy, after not being able to get that coffee with a view.

Back on the main road, we take the Glenorchy exit and doesn’t take long to get there, though, by the time we’ve driven through the suburban area, we’re back on the main Hobart Road.

It was a case of don’t blink or you’ll miss it.  We missed Glenorchy.

Change of plans, looking for that elusive coffee, we head for the center of Hobart shopping, Centrepoint, hoping in that center there will be a coffee shop.  Of course, it’s Queen’s Birthday holiday so it’s possible nothing is open.

In the end, we found a parking space nearby. And a Hudson’s.  Coffee and a toasted sandwich went down very well. 

So, once again, we didn’t get to the places we were hoping to get to.  This is what tomorrow, we’re not going to state a place to visit.