Nan's Place

  Nubeena, Tasmania, Australia
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Hobart - Richmond - Sorrell - Eaglehawk Neck - Nubeena

'Wanna see me "map O'Tassie"?'

Our visit to Hobart wouldn't have been complete without taking the bumpy ride up to Mount Wellington. Absolutely staggering views (a third of the state apparently) just the wrong time of day - the sun far too imposing and filling the amazing majestic sprawl beneath us with that interfering haze that spoils views and kills photographs. That said it was the high note we needed to leave Hobart behind in the mirrors.

From Mount Wellington we headed north-east taking the back roads over to Richmond, an historic village that would have been more at home in an Olde English countryside setting than here in Aussieland. It's home to the 'oldest bridge' in Australia (1823) and positively oozed that lazy picture-postcard backdrop that had us instinctively pull in for a roll in the grass down by the river.



Our main destination was Port Arthur, the most talked-about attraction on the foot of the Tasman Peninsula. Naturally we took in all the touristy points of interest along the coastal road. These were excitingly named places like the Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, Tessellated Pavement and the Tasman Blowhole, and every one of them provided just enough distraction to arrive in Port Arthur that little bit too late to make the most of, and so we were faced with the whole nightmare of trying to find some kind of last minute half-decent accommodation to hold us out overnight. This is no problem if you want to spend a small fortune. They really do milk it for all it's worth here. And so would I.

But... we did have our own sneaky tactics for getting out of it. The answer was a small poky bungalow in a little nook on the west side of the peninsula called Nubeena. $90 all in for three beds, a bathroom and a living room with TV and heating, and a smell that took me straight back to days spent at my Nan's place in the summer holidays.

Tomorrow we'll be packing it in. We've heard that Port Arthur can easily claim a day or two's worth of attention and there's still the Tassie Devil Park to poke around in. Plus we need to make it up the east coast in plenty of time to take in the Freycinet Peninsula - a magical place by all accounts, and the kind of stuff you see in the brochures that entice people from all over. Should be good..