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Published: July 26th 2014
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This morning we headed off to Hobart's famous Salamanca Market. When the market started in the early 70s it was a pretty informal gathering of about a dozen traders. These days the market is a Hobart institution comprising over 300 licensed traders who set up every Saturday in Salamanca Place between Davey Street and Battery Point. Much as we were tempted to part with cash at nearly every stall we managed to spread our purchases between just seven art and craft stall holders and three food stall holders!!
We could not resist all of the Tasmanian timber products on sale so bought some for ourselves and some for others. We - OK, Tracey - was also tempted by jewellery, purple Ugg boots, a silk scarf and a handbag. On the food side, neither of us could resist the poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes), Turkish gözlemes and ice-creams. We are certainly doing our share to stimulate the Tasmanian economy!!
After taking all of our purchases back to the hotel we took the CX-5 out for a drive up to Mount Wellington. It had been a beautiful morning in Hobart for the market, but as we drove up to Mount Wellington we
could see a band of cloud between the city and The Pinnacle. Undeterred we continued up the mountain. At the top of Mount Wellington it was clear and sunny; the peak being above the cloud.
Tracey's memory of Mount Wellington when visiting with a girlfriend nearly 25 years ago was that it was freezing cold and blowing a gale. Bernie's recollection was that he and his friends set out to ride their bikes up Mount Wellington, but the weather closed in and they turned back. Today it was sunny, but cold and fairly still, so there was no wind chill factor which made it relatively pleasant on top of the mountain. Unfortunately the view of Hobart was impaired by the cloud hovering between the peak and the city, but we still managed to take some interesting cloud photos and some of the dolomite formations at the top of Mount Wellington.
After driving back down to the city we changed into warmer clothes and went off in pursuit of the Aurora Australis. Bernie's research had indicated that the auroral forecast was moderately strong for tonight and a good potential viewing point would be down past Kingston and Blackman's Bay
at Tinderbox. Hmmn, further south of the city the sky was clear and the auroral forecast was still 'moderate', but there was no auroral activity to be seen. On the plus side we could see the Milky Way and The Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri) and The Southern Cross (even the weakest star) really well.
Since the viewing wasn't as convenient as stepping out the door of our hotel in Lapland to see the Aurora Borealis we only gave it about an hour and then decided to return to the city to have dinner at the Greek restaurant that had a sandwich board out in Salamanca Place this morning. Upon reviewing the data on the Aurora Forecast app after dinner, it appears that the activity is moderate, but the power is weak, hence nothing to be seen. Of course if there have been others who have been more persistent tonight who post their photos on Facebook we will be kicking ourselves for giving in so quickly rather than staying out in the cold for half the night??!
With all of the wandering around the market we managed 16,598 steps (11.45 km) today!
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