Hobart, Tasmania

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The seas did finally calm down, but it was well after 6pm last night hbefore it happened. It may have been after dark!

I was up first this morning at 6:11am. I could see light around the curtains. We didn't have to be up early but I got up anyway. I caught an amazing sunrise for my trouble. We were facing west and the sunset last night. This morning we are facing east! We were already heading up the Derwent River to Hobart. There was another cruise ship sailing in front of us. It was the Azamara Quest, one of the old R ships.

It turned out that we arrived for the final day of the Royal Hobart Regatta. That made today a public holiday. Our guide this morning also pointed out that there was a wooden boats show/festival on the waterfront surrounding our dock that ended at 3pm today. At 4pm, she advised they would have a sailout parade that would come right past our starboard side as we're docked port side. (We spun around a bit in Sydney Harbor, but only the bridge and port side ever got a view of the bridge and Opera House. On the starboard side, we had the rest of the bay and mostly Taronga Zoo.) So, we had a plan for the afternoon. Lucky timing and good information.

We booked a 9:15 am half day tour today. We had explored Hobart proper last time we were here and wanted to get out of town. Our tour description is pasted below. We paid $99 each for it.

EXCURSION

TASMANIA’S HERITAGE & WILDLIFE

On this excursion, discover unique Australian wildlife and Richmond, a town virtually unchanged since its founding approximately 120 years ago. 

DURATION

APPROXIMATELY 4 HOURS

Departing the pier in your motor coach, head to BonorongWildlife Park, where you can get close to adorable koalas and herbivorous wombats, and view a ferocious Tasmanian devil. A knowledgeable park ranger will provide information about the many unique animals you will see.

Back aboard your motor coach, cross over Bowen Bridge and journey through Risdon Cove, the site of Tasmania’s first settlement in 1803. Continuing on, traverse Australia’s oldest bridge, built in 1825, as you enter the historic village of Richmond. Here, many of the landmark buildings were constructed by convict labor under appallingly harsh conditions.

Time has been allotted for you to explore historic Richmond on your own. Enjoy strolling along its promenade of charming stores, quaint tea houses and unique craft shops. At an added expense, you will have the option of visiting the nearby Convict Gaol, a prison complex built in 1825 to house local Aborigines and road gangs. Pass by St. John’s, a 19th-century Roman Catholic church that represents the devout beliefs of early settlers.

Conclude this excursion with a scenic drive to Hobart en route to your Crystal ship.

Important Notes

As this excursion involves extensive walking, it is not recommended for guests with walking difficulties. It is recommended that guests dress in casual clothing, hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, as well as wear flat, comfortable shoes. The order of sights visited may vary. Admission to the Convict Gaol is not included. The order of sights visited may vary. This excursion will operate in all weather conditions.

We enjoyed the tour and it met our needs. As Clay said, fortunately we'd already seen all those Australian animals. We did get to see quolls which I can't ever remember seeing before contrary to Clay's thought. The sanctuary had a hospital and our first look at a quoll was a young one being sedated with a gas mask before being hand carried through the necropsy room into x-ray. Interesting. Also not for the first time, we got to see a Tasmanian Devil being fed. For the first time, it was a devil eating a toad or frog. Once he got it, he chomped it and it squirted! Memorable. Clay had walked away right before it happened to take photos and missed it all, he'd have had a perfect vantage if he'd stayed put. Not something we needed photos of anyway.

We got back to Hobart around 1:30 pm. Clay had a place on the waterfront picked out for having Hobart oysters. They are supposed to be famous for farming oysters in the Derwent River estuary system. His place was Murres something but when we got there they didn't have the pizza on the menu that they'd had online. It turned out they had an oyster bar, Pearl + Co. that had pulled pork sliders for me. Plus they were in a quiet corner with table service which Clay's pick didn't have. I think it was so crazy in there because of the boat festival. It was good and we filled up even if Clay spent more than he'd planned.

After lunch we wasted a 2nd 45 minutes walking around the harbor to shop for yarn at Salamanca Place. I tried this the last time we were here and I guess I forgot that it was just a fruitless waste of time and energy. I'm not likely to return to Hobart but here's hoping if I do that I'll remember not to go to Salamanca Place again.

We got back to Serenity to set up on the balcony to view the wooden boats sailout parade. We had the best seats in Hobart. It lasted about an hour. It finally rained after flirting with clouds over Mt. Wellington all day. We got a spectacular rainbow as the last of the big masted ships was coming back into dock.

We still have no plans for tomorrow. We had thought to do laundry, but as Waterside was nearly empty tonight Clay suggested we do it tonight. We checked and 3 of the 5 washers on deck 9 were empty. So laundry is done. I should say that Crystal has excellent laundry facility and they're complimentary including detergent and dryer sheets. I should also say that we each packed enough to go 3 weeks between doing wash, but we don't have space to set up a laundry hamper that holds more than about 7 days. Also the machines are little and that laundry hamper filled really stuffs 2 machines.

We'll see. All aboard is 12:30pm tomorrow. I don't know why we have an overnight here in Hobart but it is nice to be docked.

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