Hobart, Tasmania

Here are the answers to the last blog's Aussie English. The Melbourne blog was only up for a few days, so if you have not checked out this blog for about a week, you will have to look in the archives for the Melbourne part.


Powerpoint = Point where power comes out of the wall (aka plug-in or power outlet)
Boot = trunk of the car
Capsicum = Green, Red or Yellow peppers
Lollies = candies
Indicators = you use the indicators if you are signalling in a car
Ta= Thanks
Jumper= pullover/sweater



April 27

We awake on our first day in Hobart to what feels like a cool fall morning. See this part of Australia has weather a lot like parts of BC. The mornings in winter could be below 0 C but the day time could get in the mid teens. So the rest of their seasons are pretty much like what you would expect; expect summers can get quite hot but not like the mainland.

Hobart is a small city pretty much built in a valley. The city of about 200,000 is pretty laid back and you can tell that rush hour doesn't last more than 2 hours or so. Unlike other big cities in Australia where it seems rush hour starts around 3:00/3:30 pm and doesn't stop until about 7:00pm.

Since our Couchsurfing host, Jennie, only lives about a 15 minute walk to the downtown water front, we head out on foot to get some breakfast. We find this nice spot in the heart of their market area, Salamanca. This area is where the big Saturday market is but we will miss it this time.

After breakfast we head just down the street to the tourist info shop and get some tips on what to do and see. We already know one thing we want to do from talking with Angela and Monique a few weeks back. The main headquarters of Cadbury Chocolates is right here in Hobart! Now you know one would be cursed if one was in a city with a big chocolate maker and not even try to get there. Well we figured out the correct city bus to get there and before 10:30am we were on the bus for our hour long bus ride to the factory.

Wow, did we feel like the kids who had the golden tickets in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There is an admission charge but when you are paying they have this big tin of chocolate samples that you can load up on (much like the bars you get at Halloween). Then as you are passing through the doors to the main floor they handed each of us this large milk chocolate bar; 200g. Once we are in we sit in on this 20 minute session on how chocolate is made. They are really good about all of the steps. Hey, did you know the real white chocolate is just the cocoa oil removed from the beans and mixed with milk and sugar? It actually has the most calories of all chocolate. We are glad we prefer the other kinds anyway.

After the talk, they handed out more chocolate for us to eat and then we can go taste chocolate at different stages of production. That was interesting to taste.

After all the "strictly educational" part was over we are in the shop where we can buy IT ALL. We did leave with "a bit". Oh and on the way out you can eat some chocolate, just incase you didn't have enough.

Since we had a day bus pass we were back out looking for a place to go. We went back to the tourist info spot and figured out our next location. Before we left however we booked our excursion to Bruny Island for tomorrow.

We took the city bus over a bridge to another part of the city which overlooks the main part. There is also an old fort here. By the end of this we are getting pretty hungry since it is after 4:00. See one can't live on chocolate alone. We head back into the city core and have something light to eat, since our host was going to cook us supper.

Jennie is an amazing cook and she was treating us with all local products, including their wines. Which we believe is some of the best we have ever tasted.



April 28

We are up early since the transfer bus to Bruny Island will pick us up at the tourist info location at 7:45. The morning walk is kind of cool but with some speed in our steps we are warm pretty fast.

As luck would have it this is off season and the number of folks on the tour is low. The tour guide is very funny and the 7 of us are kept entertained for the hour long scenic ride down to the coast. The ferry is quite small since Bruny Island is quite small, only 650 full time residents live on the island with one police officer. It takes about 15 minutes to get across. Then another 15 minutes takes us to the tours main headquarters where we have "morning tea" (breakfast).

After breakfast we all head down to the dock to get into our red waterproof windbreakers. They even passed out sea sickness pills before we even left the dock but we didn't feel we needed it.

There are now about 30 people in our group. The boats can easily take all of us but they want to make it more intimate so they split us up and take two boats. The wind is picking up a bit when we head out and the sky has a bit of rain but they say it will clear. (they were partly right the rain ended but the wind picked up). Our ride takes us along some of the most scenic high cliffs we have ever seen. Most of these cliffs are over 250 m high and this is straight up. We see kelp beds, caves, wind tubes (air is pulled into this cave that is almost below the water and then when the swell comes in, the air is sent out quickly causing a gyser type look). To get our adrenalin moving they take us between these two rock towers at high speeds. I would say you couldn't get two boats through at the same time but we are moving along at about 80 km/hr. I took a picture of a picture to show you what a mean. See the pic below.

During the first part of the stage we are protected in the strait by these cliffs but about 2 hours in we leave the shelter of these cliffs and head out into the Southern Sea which is open ocean. The swells are amazing and we feel like we are on a roller coaster. (Monique, you would have woofed up your kidneys heheh). The waves were not breaking over us or anything, it was just a nice fun ride. After a 15 minute ride across the water we arrive at our final location. These wind/sea swept islands are where many Sea Lions call home. You can see by the pictures that there are many who like this place. There is one spot that seems to be the best location and like today the waves are breaking pretty big along it. The guide was telling us that one time at this location, they were there with the tour boat and a big wave crashed over the rocks and a great white shark was in it and grabbed a sea lion and was gone with it. How cool would that be? She did say that the tourist on the small boat were not so close to the side of the boat after that.

On our way in we followed a pod of small dolphins for awhile as well has watched a large flock of albatross fishing. We were lucky since they are pretty rare birds and to see so many in one spot was great. For those of you don't know, the albatross is the largest sea bird with wing spans over 3 metres.

On the way back in we were all getting pretty cold and hungry so it was great to arrive in time for a late lunch. The squash/curry soup and huge sandwich were yummy!

Before we knew it the day was over and we were back on the bus heading back. However, the driver had a few more stops for us before the ferry. The first stop had a most wonderful view of the area. We climbed up this 135 wooden step boardwalk over a sand dune. It was late afternoon and the sun was perfect to see everything. The view from up there was great!!!

The next stop only a few of the group took part in; oyster eating.

We arrived back into the city and wanted to take our host out for supper. So we headed out to a bar first where she said we must try the expresso/coffee martini. They were pretty great for those who drink coffee and they tasted pretty good for those of us who don't. After the drink we headed off for dinner. It was a place that only serves local products. We both had the twice cooked chicken with a grain salad and both agreed... it was one of the best meals we have ever had!

The evening ened with a nice buzz from the drinks and wine.



April 29

Another morning and another flight. We said our farewell to Jennie and her cats and grabbed a taxi to the airport for our final flight here in Australia. The 90 minute flight to Sydney was quick and comfortable (new plane).

Since we are arriving in Sydney in early afternoon and our friend is working, we take a short taxi ride to the condo.

We relax for about 2 hours and then head out to the near by subway/train station. They convince us that the weekly pass will be the best deal and we are off on the train downtown. It takes about 15 minutes and here we are getting off at Circular Quay. This is right at the hub of the beautiful Sydney harbour area. Wonderful shops, people strolling on the boardwalk, buskers, city transit ferry terminal and let's not forget the 2 major landmarks: the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. It was great just walking around and taking it all in. We went directly to the Opera House to see what was playing (we may take in a show). We spent the next several hours just strolling and watching the sunset. Then it was back on the train (with about 10 minutes to try to figure out the subway/train system and what platform we should be on.)

The rest of the evening was just talking with the guys and looking out off their balcony looking at the AMAZING view from the 13th floor. Our hosts live VERY close to the Sydney airport. It's amazing the number of flights in and out of this airport... AMAZING!



Now for the 2nd final clue of the little game. (You can still play, just check on the last 4 blog postings).

How many states and territories does mainland Australia have? The answer can be Googled. Hint, Tasmania is an Island :)

We will post the final clue on Tuesday (our time)
 

Hobart a small view

Greg's small coffee

A bit of heaven!

Caves on Bruny Island

The picture of a picture to give you an idea

The blow hole spray

Not so little Red Riding Hood

A bit choppy

More of the local birds

The sea lions enjoying their rock

Our sister boat

The albatross

The steps up to the view

The view

Jennie (our Couchsurfing host) and Greg