Here We Are in Hobart, Tasmania

Tasmania . . . how exotic sounding!   I wonder . . . what does the name conger in the imagination?  I asked Tessa that question a few nights ago when we talked.  She said, “I don’t know.  Maybe a jungle???”  Come to think of it, that’s what I pictured as well.

Just as we were starting to think we’d seen many of the world’s best cities, we arrived in the modestly designed, unbelievably clean, well-kept harbor city of Hobart.  No wonder the people here want to keep this place a secret!  It is a heavenly place to live especially for bikers, hikers, sailors, kayakers, fishers, runners, and golfers.  Almost every home here has a water view and the mountain for hiking, biking, and rock climbing is only 40 minutes from the city center of Hobart.

In this family-oriented town, retail stores close by 6 pm, and dining even in the best of restaurants is done by 8 pm.  The sky is clear blue and on most nights, we’ve seen a jigsaw puzzle of stars.  The weather is not hot and is not cold. It is mild year-round, with highs in the 70s in summer, December – February, and in winter, June to August, the weather ranges from 55 degrees to 36 degrees on the coldest nights.  Mid-day when the sun is high in the sky the temps feel warmer than the registered degrees and in the afternoon when the wind picks up, the cooler temps feel even cooler.  Almost perfect.

Tasmania is an Australian off-shore state.  It is not a country.  On a globe, the island of Tasmania will be found just south of Australia on the shores of the Indian Ocean to the east and the South Pacific Ocean on its west side.  Hobart, the capital city, is far south on the eastern side of the island.  It sits at roughly the same latitude as the South Island of New Zealand and it is only 1300 nautical miles from the northern edge of Antarctica. 

This once seafaring town sits on the wide mouth of the Derwent River that leads to Storm Bay and onto the Tasman Sea.  In all of Tasmania, there are less than 600,000 people, and of that forty percent of the people live in Hobart. 

Hobart is a very young city.  English colonization of Tasmania, then known as Van Diemen’s Land began here in Hobart in 1803 to thwart French settlements.  Over 50 years, beginning in 1803, over 70,000 men, boys, and women, some with children were exiled to Tasmania to serve sentences many for only petty crimes.  Once freed, some were given land grants and began farming or employing their trade.  Many became wealthy settlers.  Before English colonization, this land strictly was Aboriginal.  Dark events in history nearly eradicated the Aborigines from Tasmania.  From what we have seen and read, Tasmania owns up to its ugly past in which native people were killed and their lands were stolen.  Less than 24,000 Tasmanian residents claim to be Aborigines today.  How often this story has played out throughout the development of our modern world!

Visiting the Macquarie wharf is a combination of old and new.  Well-preserved 1800s buildings that now are grand hotels, once housed jam factories and metal foundries.  They take you back in time yet stand next to a beautiful park-like wharf with contemporary-looking markets and dining spots.  Our first meal here from the sea was simply fish and chips on the wharf – hot and fresh, maybe the best we’ve ever had!!

We woke to clear skies on our first morning here.  Not knowing how often clear skies occur here, we hopped in the car and drove 40 minutes to the top of Mount Wellington for the views.  Mount Wellington commands a tremendous presence over Hobart.  It can be seen from any angle.  Although it is only about 4,200 feet high, the weather at its top is noticeably different from the city below.  At its highest point, the wind is ferocious and temps are about 15 degrees cooler than temps in the city below, but the views are stupendous!  From the mountain top, the river valley below looks prehistoric with hills sitting on rounded coves and straights of the river.  As I looked it over, I imagined having an iPhone app that can erase a person or things from a photo.   I might erase all the thousands of Hobart houses and the sprawling city in the valley.  Then, the cleaned scene would look like the prehistoric green land where dinosaurs once roamed.

All of Tasmania is a sportsman paradise.  People bike, hike, run, and play rugby.  Mount Wellington is a nearby place for hikes of any proficiency level and for rock climbing.  We won’t be doing any rock climbing but we will return to the mountain top for more of its spectacular hikes.  We took a short hike while visiting that first day.  The path led us through a eucalyptus forest.  The air was breezy, light, and pure.  If only I could package that fresh forest fragrance!  It smells light and healthful and is nothing like the fragrance of the decorative eucalyptus added to flower arrangements or sold in craft stores.

Besides Mount Wellington, MONA is one of the top must-see destinations in Hobart.  The Museum of Old and New Art is the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere.  We felt we must go . . . albeit hesitantly, after all, it is labeled a museum.  Thirty minutes out of town by car and twenty minutes from the wharf via ferry is a place that literally blew our minds.  Built by a millionaire, David Welsh, a Tasmanian gambler, entrepreneur, art lover, and perhaps a victim of Aspergers, the building he built alone is museum-quality design.   Understated, at ground level, the museum appears to be a modest one-story building standing on beautiful grounds next to a winery – also owned and operated by Mr. Walsh.  But the staggering entry to the museum is down a spiral open-air staircase to five floors below.  Almost the entire museum is underground with a maze of halls going left and right.  Exhibits here come and go but are said to be an “adult Disney.”  Yes, it is pure, beautiful art but with primary themes of space, light, air, sex, and death meant to shock and evoke emotions of wonder, awe, sadness, and sometimes horror.  One of the most famous exhibits is a wall of plaster vaginas, titled Cunts.  There is a story here.  Made from plaster casts of real women, mothers, and daughters old and young, this exhibit is not porn.  It is simply a display of human anatomy that often causes consternation among women . . . am I this or that, too big or too little, too in or too out??  Just as men might think, am I this or that . . . . . ???  We are all different but unique and good as God made us.

Collections of Egyptian artifacts are also on display.

Outside the museum, on a wide green lawn, people sat at picnic tables, on big bean bags or benches eating lunch, drinking wine or beer or simply relaxing in the beautiful air, listing to a band of musicians playing on the outdoor stage.  What a place!