Hobart

Australia, Tasmania Add comments
Planet View: S42°46.459’ E147°16.570’
Street View: S42°46.459’ E147°16.570’

Saint David's ParkWilliam and BlueLunch at Fish FrenzyWilliam Frost and his Staffordshire Terrier, Blue, welcomed the four of us into their fantastic house in Old Beach for our time in Hobart.  William grew up in Burnie in Tasmania’s north and is a friend of mine from when we were both youngsters, he now lives in Hobart and runs a gourmet food and wine website called Field Blend.  On Friday afternoon while I caught up on the plethora of photos we’d taken over the pervious couple of weeks, Lisa, Carol and Greg spent the afternoon exploring the Hobart waterfront and city centre.  At William’s suggestion they lunched at Fish Frenzy on the Elizabeth Street Pier, as well as taking in some of the beautiful boats moored in Sullivans Cove.  William has a background in hospitality and guided us to the best of Hobart cuisine whilst we were in Tasmania’s capital: our Friday night BBQ at William’s comprised some fabulous wines as well as a selection of brilliant sausages from a gourmet butcher in Hobart called Wursthaus

Boats moored in Sullivans CoveBoats moored in Sullivans Cove HobartSaint David's Park  Dinner at William Frost'sSampling some of Australia's best at William Frost'sWilliam's house in Old Beach

Greg, Lisa and Carol on the Hobart waterfrontStreet performers at Salamanca MarketsIt was Lisa’s birthday on Saturday so before taking her out for a brilliant Italian dinner at Ciuccio we spent the morning and early afternoon at one of Hobart’s absolute must-dos: Salamanca Markets.  Salamanca Markets are the southern hemisphere’s largest open-air street markets, a fantastic place to find anything and everything Tasmanian as well as a dizzying array of great food.  There was also a brilliant assortment of street performers, from hacky-sack buskers raising money to get to the world championships to the fantastic Celtic trio of two brothers and sister pictured to the right.  A bit of an eye-opener at the markets was the Moon Pad stall: an elderly woman who makes and sells recyclable feminine hygiene products (below left)!

The Moon Pad lady and her stall at Salamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsSalamanca Markets Hobart and Sullivans Cove Salamanca MarketsStreet performers at Salamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsStreet performers at Salamanca Markets Street performers at Salamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsStreet performers at Salamanca Markets Salamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsSalamanca Markets Salamanca MarketsEnjoying a beer next to the Salamanca MarketsSalamanca MarketsLisa enjoying a Persian yiros at the Salamanca Markets HobartSalamanca MarketsA sailing ship moored in Sullivans Cove

Cascade BreweryLisa, Sam and Carol at the James Squire pub in HobartBetween the markets and dinner we had time for a scenic drive up to the peak of towering Mount Wellington, the striking monolith that overlooks the city of Hobart.  It was a beautifully clear day and we were rewarded with brilliant views from the lookout, from Old Beach all the way south to Bruny Island.  We also stopped off for a beer (or two) at the Cascade Brewery just west of Hobart’s city centre.  Our dinner at Ciuccio was divine and another reminder of just how small a world it is: our waitress and waiter for the evening were a French couple whom we camped next to in the Tarangau Caravan Park in Broome way back in August, 2009!

Panoramic view of Hobart from Mount Wellington View of Bruny Island from Mount WellingtonCascade BreweryCascade Brewery Cascade BreweryGreg and Lisa enjoying a beer at Cascade BreweryLisa and her icecream cakeLisa and Sam walking to dinner for Lisa's birthday 

Jackman and McRoss BakerySpectators at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalOn Sunday we had tickets to the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive Oval, but before the game we decided to breakfast at Hobart’s lauded Jackman and McRoss bakery in historic Battery Point.  Recommended by both William and my mum (thanks Mum), the offerings were very unique but oh so tasty!  Lisa and I shared a ‘spiced goat and lentil pie’ and ‘lamb shank and rosemary pie’ between us, both put Jackman and McRoss firmly on my The big man himself: Chris Gaylelist of Australia’s Best Bakeries (so much so that we had breakfast at Jackman again the Spectacular sunset at the Twenty20 cricketnext morning on our way to Bruny Island!).  Our tickets to the cricket indicated a start time of 1:00PM, but upon arriving at Bellerive we realized that the women’s cricket was due to start at 2:15PM with the men’s Australia versus West Indies game not starting until 6:15PM!  Not to worry, it gave us time to explore the nearby historic town of Richmond as well as picturesque Seven Mile Beach before returning to catch the bulk of the women’s game and secure a spot on The Hill for the men’s game.  For those of you without some form of Commonwealth upbringing, The Hill at a cricket ground is a general admission area to which the Australian Cricket Association usually sells enough tickets to make any health and safety inspector shudder.  By the time the The West Indies batting lineupAustralia versus West Indies game started The Spectators at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalHill at Bellerive was absolutely jam packed, we luckily secured ourselves a patch of grass on which to lay our blanket in the seating area, but plenty of latecomers were left to stand amongst the drunken mobs at the rear of The Hill.  The men’s game started with some of the most entertaining batting I’ve ever seen, Warner and Watson tag-teaming for six after six (a six in cricket is like a home run in baseball) and sending the crowd into a frenzy.  The West Indies didn’t even come close to matching the Australians’ score, but The Hill crowd kept things interesting with everything from beach balls bouncing through the crowd to stadium-wide Mexican waves.  The sunset over the stadium was one of the most electric I’ve ever seen, striking red skies with a beautiful view of Mount Wellington in the distance.  An awesome day and what a way for Greg and Carol to be baptized into the world of cricket!

Jackman and McRoss BakeryJackman and McRoss BakeryJackman and McRoss Bakery The historic town of RichmondThe historic town of RichmondThe historic town of RichmondThe historic town of Richmond Women's cricket at Bellerive Oval Spectators at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalSpectators at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalSpectators at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalSam and Lisa at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive Oval An amazing sunset at the Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive Oval Twenty20 cricket at Bellerive OvalDavid WarnerShane WatsonShane Watson Sammy working the crowdAn excitable young spectator at the Twenty20Spectacular sunset at the Twenty20 cricket The West Indies batting lineupThe West Indies batting lineupAustralian Twenty20 captain Michael Clarke Australians in the slipsThe West Indies batting lineup

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 4:00 AM and is filed under Australia, Tasmania. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Hobart”

  1. Juana says:

    Looks like an amazing birthday weekend! Happy Belated Birthday Lisa!

  2. Lakes Entrance | Our Walkabout says:

    […] It was time for some clothes washing, it’d been a few weeks since William Frost’s house in Hobart, so we checked into the Silver Sands Tourist Park in central Lakes Entrance for access to some […]

  3. Camping With Your 4WD | Our Walkabout says:

    […] are a couple of articles I wrote outlining a few weekend getaways for 4WD-inclined travelers from Hobart and Darwin.  A few more cameos from Lisa’s parents in the Hobart article, camping along the […]

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