Photos galore @ Tasmania (26 Sep - 4 Oct) - Part One

It was indeed a blessed and memorable family holiday. Faithful as always, God had kept the weather beautiful for us. Even though it forecasted rain that day, it was sunny and bright... until we stepped back into the hotel.

I know it sounds cliche. But hey, I am the beloved child of God. I was deciding to delay the visit to the Royal Botanic Garden but through a turn of event, we decided to drive straight to it. You see, it was supposed to be a heavy downpour that day. However we took the step of faith. You can see from the garden photos below that the sun was up and shining bright. It was hard to imagine it would rain. But rain it did after we had left the garden and driving towards our hotel!

And this wasn't the only time. We had planned to hike the following day after reaching Cradle Mountain. I was feeling tired after the drive from Launceston and we decided to rest that day. Well, it rained. No prizes for guessing the weather on the day we planned to hike. I'll tell you in Part Two about the Cradle Mountain visit.
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Hobart is a very beautiful city. Reminds me alot like Ireland - coastal feeling with the sudden wind chills. The whole place has this the quaint, Europe-py feeling. Totally awesome coz both missus and I love Europe!

Anyway from the airport, you'll cross this beautiful bridge into Hobart. I had managed to take this shot from near the Royal Botanic Garden.

Bridge into Hobart

Ship going to Antartica, Europe-feel

Hobart city is pretty small as compared to Melbourne. I think you can cover it all in less than half a day. I hear it used to be a whaling port.

Wharf side photos

When in Hobart, never miss the Salamanca Market which is held every Saturday morning. Fantastic atmosphere and lots of interesting stuff to see. It's like the Pasar Malam in Singapore but with a much different feel. Gypsy, Europe, Swiss-sy feel.

We bought and tried the fruit leather, banana cake, Manuka honey, a potato dish which I forgot the name (yes the one with sour cream, bacon bits with some interesting fillings), bratwurst sausages, ginger bread, gypsy food, etc. Basically eat and eat. Good stuff!

Salamanca Market on a Sat morning

The Royal Botanic Garden is fantastic. There is an Observatory, a castle (I think it has been converted to a government house now), some nice history and a very intricate tapestry inside the house where the wooden sculpture man is standing. I took a lot of photos but could not display every one of them. Don't give this place a miss. You can be sure you won't regret it.

Royal Botanic Garden

We visited the outskirts of Hobart like Battery Point, Sandy Beach and the University of Tasmania. Except for Rachel (who was more interested in the playground), we loved Battery Point because the houses there had so much character.

Lovely houses at Battery Point

Where's Rachel... and missus?

Rachel playing at a nearby playground in Battery Point

Lookout point near the University of Tasmania

(Part Two coming with lots more photos...)

Updated: Part Two and Part Three