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| Hobart, Tasmania |
Hobart, Mount Wellington and the Derwent River Estuary are off to the right as your plane descends over southern Tasmania. I have arrived into Hobart by air many times, but since I was born in Tasmania, I have always been coming home. As a visitor, this is probably your first view of Australia's southernmost capital city. Then Hobart slides from view behind a row of hills, the plane comes straight in, lands, and taxis to the terminal. You walk down the stairs and on to the tarmac. No covered jetway to the terminal, just your first feel of the Tasmanian wind and some of the cleanest air on the planet.
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| Mount Wellington |
The drive in to the city takes 20
minutes. You can see Mount Wellington, but not the city itself, until cresting
the hill at Warrane lays out the river, the Tasman Bridge and the Port of Hobart
in a dramatic panorama of hills and water. There is only usually snow on the
mountain in winter. A look at the map of Hobart will show you the layout.
An old naval officer described Hobart
as one of the finest natural ports in the world, rivaled only by Rio de Janeiro
and Sydney for deep water access. Charles Darwin visited Hobart in the H.M.S.
Beagle in 1836. During his 12 day stay, Darwin climbed Mt Wellington and was
impressed by the man-ferns and Eucalypt trees. He collected many insect and
animal species then new to science. Today, large cruise liners pull in to the
docks and tie up hardly metres from where Darwin did 176 years ago.
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| Hobart from Mount Wellington |
Anywhere within a Kilometre of
Salamanca Place is a great location for your Hobart hotel, so get unpacked and let's discover the Waterfront.
In 1812, the Duke of Wellington was
victorious in the Battle of Salamanca in Spain, and to commemorate it, the "Cottage Green" section of Hobart was renamed Salamanca Place. As the port
developed, stone was quarried from the banks behind Salamanca Place and pushed
into the water to make the wharves suitable for deep water shipping.
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| Salamanca Place |
Into the quarry, and along as far as
the Houses of Parliament at the northern end was built a row of conjoined
sandstone warehouses, and for 100 years these were a centre of Hobart storage
and shipping. You can still see the original timbers and stonework in
restaurants like the Ball and Chain, and in
any of the excellent shops and galleries that have been built into the original
warehouses along Salamanca Place.
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| Salamanca Market |
The Saturday Salamanca Market turns 40 this year, and it keeps
on getting better and better. Yes, it is worth a visit.
You can follow Darwin to the Summit
of Mount Wellington (1,269 m., 4166 ft), but you don't have to scramble through
the bush. To really appreciate the view from the top (you can see right up the
Derwent valley, and all the way out sea), get a real buzz and do the Downhill Bicycle Ride from the summit back to
Salamanca Place. They drive you to the top, you saddle up … and its downhill
all the way back. If you don't feel like riding a bike, the standard Mount
Wellington Tour is the way to go. You can walk on Mount Wellington on bush tracks today that give
you amazing views of the city. I think this is some of the best scenic urban
walking I have seen.
In my next post we will take a walk
around the Battery Point Historic
Precinct.
Stay tuned…
Cheers,
Rob.
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