Hobart - Saying you’re heading for Tasmania on holiday usually elicits a raised eyebrow. Only mainland Australians get misty-eyed at the thought.
Yet Tassie really does have it all, from wilderness and mountains to blue bays and bustling street markets.
And last year leading travel guide Lonely Planet voted its capital, Hobart, one of the top 10 cities in the world, saying it was reinventing itself. They had their criteria for the ranking, but here are my top 10 reasons to visit Hobart:
1 The Scenery
There are few cities in the world with a better setting. You are surrounded by water, by mountains, by forests and by the quaint charm of old buildings.
Go up Mount Wellington, which towers over the city, to get a grand perspective of the area from 1 270m. You look across the city to the Derwent estuary, ranges of mountains, forested national parks, bays, islands and the lovely d’Entrecasteaux Channel.
You can drive up the 22km to the summit, or take a bus trip. Whatever you do, cover your legs and take a jacket. In winter this area is often covered in snow and even in summer a chill wind can send temperatures plummeting. Mind you, the sight of unprepared tourists can be entertaining as they battle to keep warm.
2 The Food
Tasmania has become one the world’s top foodie destinations and in the fertile south you have an amazing range of products.
Start at Hobart’s wharfside, where you have a choice of dining in style at the Henry Jones Art Hotel, eating fish and chips from floating outlets on Victoria Dock, or seafood at the long-established Mures. Head into the city for dinner at the trendy Garagiste’s, or to the western suburbs for a meal at The Source. Both are world-class.
The accent in Hobart is naturally on fish: Tasmania is Australia’s largest producer of seafood. Atlantic salmon pens dot the channel near the city and outlets like Tassel sell a range of related delights like whisky-cured salmon. Top-notch oysters come from Bruny Island, where you can buy them to take away, or lunch on the likes of oyster wontons at Get Shucked.
Scallop pie seems to be the national dish, and they are farmed at Spring Bay, along with plump mussels. Mussel shells can still be found beneath the topsoil in most areas around Hobart.
If you’ve never eaten abalone (perlemoen), here’s your chance to try it, with Tassie’s wild abalone rated among the best in the world. And sea urchin, too, is a growing industry. Southern rock lobster, giant crabs, clams and ocean trout are also on the menu.
The Huon valley to the south is famed for its fresh produce – Tasmania has been called the Apple Isle, but also produces cherries, saffron, truffles and grapes – and cheeses range from a manchego-like sheep cheese to luscious triple-cream Brie.
3 The History
A day trip to the former penal settlement at Port Arthur, which closed in 1877, isn’t as dull as it sounds. The presentation of the 30 buildings and ruins has been sensitively handled and the garden setting on Mason Cove is beautiful, a striking contrast to the settlement’s brutal history.
At its peak in the 1840s, the 135- hectare penal colony was designed to be “a place of terror” and received more than 5 500 convicts every year. Their influx, along with that of administrators, officers and their families, helped shape Tasmania – literally, since convicts built many of the sandstone buildings and bridges in the area.
Like Port Arthur, the Cascades factory in Hobart has world heritage status. Built near the base of Mount Wellington, the factory housed female convicts and their children, hidden from the main settlement of Hobart.
For a bit of street theatre, sign on for Louisa’s Walk, which tells the personal story of a woman convict. Everyone I know who has done it describes it as a deeply moving experience.
4 The Island
The way to see the wild, natural glory of Bruny Island, its 272m dolerite cliffs, blow-holes, seals, kelp forests, birds and caves, is on a Bruny Island Cruise, voted Tasmania’s best tourist attraction for seven years and Australia’s best ecotourism attraction in 2012 and 2013.
You can pick up the tour in Hobart, at the ferry terminal in Kettering, 45 minutes south of Hobart, or on the island itself.
The boats leave Adventure Bay twice a day and take visitors on a sometimes white-knuckle trip along the island’s steep cliffs, past caves and bays, colonies of seabirds and fur seals, to the southernmost tip. The Tasman Sea gives way there to the Southern Ocean and the next stop is Antarctica.
We were lucky enough to watch a blue whale breach in front of our boat, enjoy the antics of dolphins surfing in our wake, spot an albatross, and exchange pleasantries with both Australian and New Zealand fur seals and penguins.
The 100km-long island is also ideal for walkers, the landscape changing from sheltered sandy beaches and farmland in the north to the wild coastline south of the thin spit of land that links the halves.
There is a smokehouse, wine bar and grill, oyster and berry farms, cheese company and cafés, so allot enough time for your visit.
5 Museum of Old and New Art
It’s certainly not to everyone’s taste (I’d rather have a tooth filled than go there again), but if you have any interest in art, you have to see why this set afiçionados buzzing when it opened in 2011 and has been compared with the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.
On the Berriedale peninsula, Mona features antiquities as well as modern art, some of which is frankly frightening and/or disgusting. Its owner, millionaire businessman David Walsh, has described it as “a subversive adult Disneyland”.
Built into the cliffs, visitors descend by a spiral staircase into the depths and have to make their way through the layers back to sunlight. There are no windows to divert one from the displays.
Faced with something that involved excrement and another item that dealt with suicide, rather graphically, we positively raced through the layers to return to the real world and the solace of a beer in the museum café overlooking the Derwent River.
On the plus side, most people get there by ferry, which is a pleasant excursion of its own, and the surrounding Moorilla vineyards provide a soothing backdrop. The beer brewed on site, Moo Brew, is not half bad either. Which brings one to…
6 The Booze
Tassie wins awards for its whisky, largely credited to the fresh, abundant spring water. Lark’s Distillery in Hobart has been making single malts since the 1980s and you can tour the premises.
The water, of course, also accounts for the quality of Tassie beers.
The main producer is James Boag in Launceston, but the Hobart area is full of microbreweries. The larger Cascade brewery in south Hobart does tours and tastings, but it entails a lot of climbing and walking.
“Whole fruit” (meaning it is actually made from fruit, not chemicals) cider is made in the area from apples, pears and cherries, and Pagan is the label to look for. But beware of the cherry version: at 8 percent alcohol, it packs a boggling punch.
In recent years Tasmania’s wines have been attracting international attention and the southern wine route offers tastings at the cellar doors.
7 The Excursions
If you have the time, set aside two days for an excursion either to the mountains or up the east coast to Freycinet National Park, or even just Maria Island, closer to the city.
The Mount Field park area is 80km north-west of Hobart, and has spectacular peaks, alpine moorland, lakes and rainforests. You can do the trip in a day, but most people come to the area to hike, and there is a variety of accommodation available.
There is also the Hartz Mountains National Park, 84km from Hobart to the south-west, offering hikers dramatic views of peaks, glacial lakes and gorges.
If you just have a day to drive around, head south along Channel Highway, past settlements with quaint names like Snug and Flowerpot, hugging the coast at Gordon and Verona Sands, to lunch in arty, slightly bohemian Cygnet (home of Pagan cider). The funky Red Velvet Lounge and Lotus Eater’s Café showcase local produce. Or cruise through the d’Entrecasteaux Channel to lunch at Peppermint Bay restaurant at Woodbridge. The mussels are amazing.
8 The Market
The world-famous Salamanca market is held every Saturday in front of the historic sandstone warehouses in Salamanca square, attracting local craftsmen and farmers.
There is the usual amount of tat found at every fleamarket, but also award-winning organic produce, some delectable jams and pickles, cheeses, wine and art works.
Browse and enjoy the buskers while lunching from one of the food carts.
9 The Walks
The great thing about walking in Hobart is that there is no pollution, drivers are courteous and law-abiding, and there is no mugger waiting on the next corner.
Ramble around historic Battery Point – named after the guns established there in 1818 – stopping for coffee and cake at Jackman & McRoss. The little lanes and 19th century cottages are a reminder that Hobart is Australia’s second oldest city.
Wander on from there along the Sandy Bay road, past the Wrest Point casino, for some lovely views of the city. Take a detour down to the beach – one of the few sandy ones in the area.
But if it’s a brisk beach walk you want, head out of town towards the airport for 15km, to the pristine Seven Mile Beach.
That should supply all the exercise you need.
Closer to the city, and providing some great views of it, are the botanical gardens. They aren’t comparable with those in Sydney, but provide space for time out.
And the autumn colours are lovely.
10 The Fresh Air
Tasmanians are proud of the quality of their air.
But here lies the rub: it’s fresh because there is really nothing between you and the Antarctic. So dress accordingly and choose your months carefully.
The best time to visit is between November and March. - Sunday Tribune