Exploring Hobart

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We woke up to a chilly, overcast and drizzly morning. Luckily, the weather cleared swiftly and we were slapping on the SPF30! Hobart weather is almost as unpredictable as Melbourne’s.

We started the day with a visit to the Sunday Market at the Hobart Showground. Dean managed to find us an awesome folding camping table. Yay, we needed one of those!

After that, we drove into central Hobart to check out the city. We started off at the famous Salamanca Place, a lovely terrace with Australian colonial architecture that houses a number of restaurants, bars, art galleries and beautiful craft shops. It’s definitely the art hub of the city and has a lovely vibe. Just a stone’s throw from there is the marina, from where we took a cruise around the bay. Back on land, we got out our trusty Lonely Planet and took the walking tour of the inner city. The highlights were the gorgeous Arthur Circus (a neat miniature park encircled with picket-fenced Georgian cottages), St David’s Park and Parliament House. Then we hit the shopping mall and checked out the stores. Dean found us another treasure: the “Camps” book that lists all free camping sites across Australia (thanks for the tip, Di & Joe!). So now we’re sorted!

In the afternoon, we chit-chatted with our lovely camping neighbours, Heather and Des from Kangaroo Island. They gave us some ideas on additions to our van, so watch this space.

I just love Hobart! It’s laid-back, friendly, clean and has a great arts scene. With its Georgian architecture, marina and parks, it really reminds me of Edinburgh and immediately gave me a warm at-home feeling.

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