Day 1: Upon arrival at Hobart, picked up our cute little Getz rental and drove down South of the island to Peppermint Bay, Woodbridge. The area was reputed to have great views and also the convenience of a good restaurant, aptly named...what else?? Peppermint Bay ! Memorable was the freshly-shucked Bruny Island oysters ..slurpp! We later drove around on our way up to Hobart city and stopped at a blowhole, colony of ducks by a river and weird Tasmanian road signs. Checked into our 3.5 star no-tel motel, got engaged, went for celebratory dinner at a seafood food court! (thanks Muer's) I still think Sydney fish market kicks its ass.
The dining view from my seat.
The dining view from the restaurant.
Seriously, I mean...how cute is that?, there were also a whole lot of ducks hanging out just below and near the sign.
View from hotel balcony.
Next up, the trek uphill to Wineglass Bay Lookout. Since Tasmania is surround by heaps of coastline, you are bound to see a lot of nice beaches and scenery. Wineglass Bay is one of those locations you see from postcards and travel advertisements begging you to visit Tasmania. The place surely did not dissapoint, however weather was extremely unpredictable and did dampen our spirits slightly. The hike was pleasant enough, but still worked up a sweat...we finally did it!!
We had to entertain ourselves along the 45-min hike. God bless cameras.
Whoa! It DOES look like a wineglass!
STB Mr & Mrs. Kwong
Cape Tourville lookout
Sleepy Bay was nothing like the name suggests, bursting with color!I adore how the crystal turquoise water meets the bright orange lichen-covered rocks.
Definately did not expect such vibrant and contrasting landscapes barely a few kilometres away from Wineglass Bay Lookout.
We then decided to take a chance and drive north for another 1.5 hours to Binalong Bay, where I looked up an award-winning restaurant ( how appropriate to celebrate our engagement!) I obviously neglected to make a reservation ,but lo and behold, they had ONE opening for two..and was otherwise all booked out. Bear in mind this was a place out of nowhere and not as straightforward to get to, so we may have stumbled on a real gem!
What she said.
Danny was having a good time chowing.
The best freakin' fish I've ever had. Grilled striped trumpeter ...firm and smooth, tasty and simply delightful! Yummy thumbs up for Angasi of Binalong Bay, Bay of Fires.
Day 3: Drove to the Tasman peninsula, which is a small patch of land south-east of the patch of land south-east of Australia (get it?) First stop, Tasmanian Devil Conservatory. We really wanted to see one in real life, and where better than where their name suggests.
Roar! *bite*, beware!
Up next, a trip to historic Port Arthur, an 17th century prison for British cons . Back in the day, people would get thrown in prison for petty theft and misdemeanor. It was interesting how they kept such good records of all the inmates and the wrong-doings they committed. The ruins are easily accessible by foot and they have taken great care in preserving as much original detail about the people who lived there.
Penetentiary building and Police headquarters.
Goverment Gardens for goverment officials.
Church (cons have to pray too you know)
Does this shatter your image of prisons being dungeons and cramped, yucky places? The prison also operated the first adolescent boys correctional facility. They were kept on a seperate landmass nearby the area to prevent the "evil" of adult convicts from corrupting their minds.
The guard's tower. Look at the sick puppy's mug. How miserable.
Inside the penetentiary, the roof was detroyed by a fire. They did not bother to rebuild it. Perhaps it adds to the historical charm?
Roar! *bite*, beware!The reason why Tasmanian devils (the largest carnivorous marsupial) are going extinct is that they are extremely susceptible to a rare facial tumour which usually is fatal. The fact that these animals engage in a lot of fights in the wild (for food, for pleasure,..who knows?) and use their sharp flesh-cutting teeth in gnaw at each other's faces leaves horrible scars which then get infected by the disease. The sanctuary we visited thankfully was disease-free and we got a good opportunity to watch them. I wouldn't cuddle one just yet, but they're quite interesting creatures.
Up next, a trip to historic Port Arthur, an 17th century prison for British cons . Back in the day, people would get thrown in prison for petty theft and misdemeanor. It was interesting how they kept such good records of all the inmates and the wrong-doings they committed. The ruins are easily accessible by foot and they have taken great care in preserving as much original detail about the people who lived there.
Penetentiary building and Police headquarters.
Goverment Gardens for goverment officials.
Church (cons have to pray too you know)
Does this shatter your image of prisons being dungeons and cramped, yucky places? The prison also operated the first adolescent boys correctional facility. They were kept on a seperate landmass nearby the area to prevent the "evil" of adult convicts from corrupting their minds.
The guard's tower. Look at the sick puppy's mug. How miserable.
Inside the penetentiary, the roof was detroyed by a fire. They did not bother to rebuild it. Perhaps it adds to the historical charm?
We concluded our trip down-down under with another serving of oysters! I think the one thing I'll miss when I move to Colorado would be fresh oysters. Here at Barilla Bay, they farm and sell their oysters themselves. Good shit....at $9.50/ doz...can't get any better than that!
Next stop: NEW ZEALAND!!
Next stop: NEW ZEALAND!!
