Hobart - January 18 to January 25, 2012

We really enjoyed Hobart--after the frustrations in Melbourne it was great to get a fresh start. We knew what we could and could not do and we decided to get busy and redefine what we would tackle. Obviously golf and other physical activities were out of the question, but Hobart has many other things to do and we kept quite busy for the week without having much down time.

For our first full day we hopped in the car and drove around to get our bearings; we went up Mount Washington and saw the countryside outside Hobart. The next day we visited the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens where we borrowed a wheelchair for Sharon and ventured along some of the more level paths. We were both exhausted when it was over.

On Saturday morning we went to the Salamanca Market on the Castray Esplanade and used their lone wheelchair, which we had booked in advance. Everyone was helpful and we were really impressed by how clean and well organized things were. A far cry from some of the flea markets we have seen in North America. We stopped at one booth that was selling tours and were talked into booking the Tasman Island Cruise.

The next day we drove to Port Arthur which is a historic site and former convict settlement. We toured through the prison using a combination of rides on a courtesy buggy and another borrowed wheelchair.

For our final full-day activity we took the 3-hour Tasman Island Cruise. The person who sold us the tickets had assured us that there would be no problem with Sharon using a walker and when we arrived they seemed quite happy to carry her down the hill several hundred metres to the boat, even though handling people on walkers was not a regular occurrence. (In North America this would never happen.) The cruise was great and we saw lots of wildlife, as our photos will attest. Carrying Sharon back up the hill proved to be an even bigger challenge. We were very impressed with the "can do" Australian attitude.

Driving outside Hobart

Mount Wellington

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

Salamanca Market

Port Arthur

Tasman Island Cruise

Next stop: Kangaroo Valley   or return to the trip summary

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