The word Tasmania evokes something exotic or mystical. BF thinks the name conjures up images of prehistoric exoticism and of being on the edge of the Earth. Growing up, I only knew the name in regard to the devil cartoon. Tasmania was one of two states that I didn’t visit in 1991 so I was excited to visit this unknown region.
Our original plan was to ferry overnight from Melbourne to Tasmania, rent a car, and travel along the coast enjoying the wild scenery. Alas, due to the pandemic, the rental car fleets were sold off. Any remaining cars are ~$200/day. No thank you. We opted for a constricted trip, flying in and out of Hobart, and exploring that area only.
The number one destination of Hobart is Mona (Museum of Old and New Art) and that was our first venture. We went with Hobart-native friends who had visited the museum many times which was good and bad. It was good because they could steer us away from less interesting things but it was bad because I could have easily stayed an additional three hours. There was an app that was responsive to where you were in the museum so when you were standing in front of an art piece, the app would give you all the information that was usually on plaques next to a piece. In depth analyses of a piece was a click away. The theme of Leda and the Swan was expressed in many medium.
Mt Wellington
The cold walk
We took an uber to the bus stop and then a long bus ride up to the trail head for Mt Wellington. Mt Wellington is the same height as Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Peak.
There were multiple trails to traverse and the first we trekked was Fern Gully. I love hiking under 20-foot tall ferns. I feel like I’m either in a prehistoric landscape or I’m a fairy in the forest.
We haven’t done much hiking since January so I was out of shape for this. The trail was maintained and mostly lined with rocks making it feel like I was walking on cobblestones. 2:53 duration for 3.4 miles distance. Elevation gain from trailhead 2729 feet.
The top was cold and windy. 23 degrees with wind chill and gusts up to 70 mph. I was scooting on my bottom because I couldn’t stand up and walk!
We took a bus down, since we could.
Town Walk
On our last full day, we walked to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, had lunch in a local pub, and followed a walking tour of the city. It was a short but sweet trip that we enjoyed.
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