Australia – Collaring her agitated labrador, the woman ahead on the sun-drenched path crouched down, urging patience. Puzzled, I stopped behind her and she gestured to a hedgehog-like animal waddling up from the stream.
The comical creature, an echidna, nonchalantly crossed in front of us and struggled ineptly up the bushy bank opposite, something you don’t expect to see less than half an hour’s walk from a city centre.
Hobart really feels like a place apart. Its remoteness means that independent cafés, artisan bakeries and makers’ studios flourish.
And you know you are a long way from the centre of things when an Antarctic ice-breaker is moored in a city’s harbour.
In some ways, Hobart is like a sleepy market town, defined by the natural beauty of its setting astride the sparkling estuary of the River Derwent and presided over by Mount Wellington.
Behind vibrant Salamanca Place near the wharves, Kelly’s Steps lead south into tranquil and historic Battery Point, where the architecture and exuberant cottage gardens are more reminiscent of Harrogate than Bondi.
Hobartians are always ready to strike up a conversation with visitors about the topics of the moment, namely food and art.
The residents will no doubt be at their friendliest when they celebrate Australia Day with a Big Aussie Breakfast on the Bellerive riverfront boardwalk.
The yearly Taste of Tasmania summer food festival, which celebrates the city’s metamorphosis into a culinary destination, finished a few weeks ago and has left the people and restaurants of Hobart even more excited about their produce.
Temptation can be found wherever you look, from the waterfront restaurant Fish Frenzy, serving up fabulous fish and chips, to foodie Elizabeth Street where, for example, the raucous Republic pub offers delicious char-grilled octopus with a salad of orange, candied walnuts and bocconcini.
Four years ago the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) exploded on to the international art scene. Hobartians say Mona is the most exciting thing to have happened in Tasmania since an escaped convict was accused of cannibalism in 1822. Visitor numbers to Hobart have soared since raffish dynamo-cum-visionary David Walsh opened this extraordinary and confronting private gallery.
Unpack
Opposite St David’s Cathedral, Hadley’s Orient Hotel (00 61 3 6237 2999; hadleyshotel. com.au) had been around a long time when it assigned a “miserable little room” to a scruffy-looking explorer, Roald Amundsen, who had just returned from the South Pole in March 1912.
After a sympathetic restoration, the hotel was relaunched in November and has recaptured its old-world comfort and elegance. The price of A$184 (R1 640) for a double room, and a hot breakfast represents terrific value.
Think local
The Rivulet Track is one of the most enjoyable urban walks I’ve done. The cascade that gave its name to the 1824 brewery at the top of the walk has slowed to a gentle stream, its banks draped with blue periwinkle and gorse. You may see an echidna, as I did, or even a platypus. A proposal to tame the 2km path by laying it with concrete was temporarily knocked back by residents’ opposition in November.
The walk passes the fascinating Cascades Female Factory Historic Site (00 61 3 6251 2310; femalefactory.org.au). Few relics are left, but a guided tour (A$15/R130) brings to life the ordeal of the colony’s woman convicts. A little further on, you can end the walk with a glass of Bright Ale in the gardens of the Cascade Brewery (00 61 3 6224 1117; cascadebreweryco.com.au).
EAT
Monsoon Café (00 61 3 6224 4101; monsoonthai-fusion.com) opened last year in a pretty Battery Point bungalow. Staff flit between packed wooden tables, serving Thai fusion dishes such as abalone dumplings, hot duck salad, and aromatic vegetarian curries; most main courses cost between A$23 and A$30.
Latin-American cuisine is the starting point for the inventive cooking at Hobart’s stylish restaurant, Frank, which opened in November.
The plate-glass windows at 1 Franklins Wharf allow diners to gaze over the waterfront while tucking into dishes like charcoal-grilled short ribs with chimichurri and salsa picante.
DRINK
Last year’s first prize in the World Whiskies Awards went to Sullivan’s Cove single malt, distilled on Hobart’s north shore. A good place for an enthusiastic initiation is the Lark Distillery Cellar Door & Whisky Bar near the waterfront.
You can have a half-day whisky tour for A$75 or sip a beer on the patio and listen to the country roots house band.
Spend
Every Saturday from 8.30am to 3pm, up to 300 crafts people and food producers set up stalls in Salamanca Place .
This cheery market attracts children, who browse among the fossils at Lunaris Gemstones, foodies sampling Bruny Island cheeses, and tourists chatting to crafters. Much of the work on offer is made from local hardwoods.
The Independent on Sunday