Best of Hobart in 4 Days, Tasmania
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Most people start/end their Tasmanian circle road trips at Hobart. We did the opposite, starting and ending at Launceston which meant Hobart was smack bang in the middle of our itinerary.
With the Tasmania capital being our longest stay in one location, having Hobart in the middle worked out beautifully as it allowed us to rest and recuperate in a familiar urban location before we undertook some hiking again in Cradle mountain.
Hobart is small but it does have some very pretty areas to explore as well as some great day trips to do.
Here is all what we got upto on our 4 day trip.
1. Hobart Waterfront - The harbour here is unique with its mixture of small fishing boats, yachts, sailing boats and is a beautiful place to go take an evening stroll. Instead of feeling ultra-modern, this part of town retains a slightly old world charm with the historic warehouses and fishing boats lining the docks. Grab some fish and chips or like us, try the unique Tasmanian inspired ice cream flavours from Van Diemens Land Creamery. There are also a host of cafes and restaurants which are the perfect way to end an evening stroll.
2. Salamanca markets - Every Saturday, the historic Salamanca place is home to 230 stalls serving food and local made items that make perfect souvenirs. These outdoor markets are very popular amongst locals and tourists, so we made sure to include a Saturday in Hobart. I won't say I was disappointed but it is not my top experience either, although I guess I'm not always an outdoor market person. Still, we stocked up on several gifts for friends and family in Sydney such as leatherwood honey, lavender essence and Tasmanian wood coasters. I won't tell you to skip the markets since they're so popular and might be right up your alley but if you can't have a Saturday here and are spoilt like me with all sorts of outdoor markets in your city, then don't worry too much as the other places on the list will take care of your souvenir shopping.
2. Battery Point - The prettiest suburb of Hobart and our favourite spot in the city of Hobart. If you are a sucker for the cute, European feel, Battery Point is the place to be. With mountains on one side and the harbour on the other, its the perfect place to explore and get your cafe fix. Battery point connects to Salamanca Place via the historic Kelly's steps and its the ideal way to enter either area with its village like feel.
4. MONA - The pride of Tasmanians, Hobart's biggest attraction, the huge driver of its tourism-led economy, MONA is an absolute must visit in Tasmania and yet it can be very divisive. After all its not everyday that the ferry escorting you to a museum is plastered with silhouettes of potentially nude women with guns. Its also not often that a museum has a poo making machine doing demonstrations in the name of modern art, or a wall of vagina moulds or an affectionate couch that purrs and meows as you sit on it or a ladies lounge with ancient artefacts that only us ladies can see. But that's the kind of confronting or unconventional 'art' you get when entering the private collection of a man as eccentric as David Walsh who claims to have created a tribute to sex and death. Go figure.
Despite some of the more bizarre art installations that didn't make sense to me as well as the "old" part of "Museum of Old and New Art" being lacklustre, simply being used as adornments for the museum, I still loved MONA a lot!
Some of the technology driven pieces were my favourite such as the Word Waterfall, where the most popular words in google search in real time were made by falling water. Another favourite was the room full of TVs showing Madonna's fans with headphones listening to her songs and feeling themselves, some sort of commentary on pop culture. These pieces and some others really stayed with me and were enough to make the entire experience one of a kind. Even if the art is not your cup of tea, you'll likely enjoy the building itself, which is built like a 3 level cave. And if even that doesn't attract you, then you'll likely spend the day googling David Walsh which in itself would be very englightening.
5. Mount Wellington - The iconic backdrop for Hobart, Mount Wellington is easily accessible by car. After spending the afternoon at MONA, we planned to catch the sunset here. Alas, we underestimated the windy route and were a little too late. There wasn't much visible other than the shimmering lights of the city below but the extreme temperature drops and high winds were the accurate markers of just how high up we are, 1271m to be exact. Doesn't matter how sunny it is on the day, always take a coat and beanie with you because the minute you step out of the car, the harsh weather will make it quite difficult to enjoy the spectacular views. While we couldn't really see much, its easy to tell what a view it would be during the day so I do highly recommend to include it on your itinerary.
6. Bruny Island - This little island is a treasure trove of produce. There are several great tours to do but we decided to tackle the island ourselves as neither of us is a drinker or seafood lover so we could skip the places related to those such as Get Shucked for fresh oysters and House of Whiskey. Unfortunately the weather was horrible and put a damper on our day. We drove ourselves to the ferry which takes you and your car to Bruny Island. From there, we started our road trip with the first stop being the Bruny Island Honey. Even though we had stocked up on some local honey from Salamanca Markets, we indulged in some more as well as several honey products such as the Energy drink and lip balms. The second stop was the Chocolate Company, which frankly was more just a shop to buy chocolates and nothing interesting to see. We had our lunch at the Bruny Cheese and Co and their cheese board was delicious! After hopping between these spots, we decided to hit the best spot of Bruny Island - The Neck. It is the isthmus that connects the North and South Island and offers a spectacular view from the top. We barely got some pictures before it started pouring and clouding the horizon
We have heard that South Bruny is stunning in its wild beauty. There is also a lighthouse to check out. Unfortunately the path is unpaved for several kms and we realised that rental cars don't allow driving on unpaved path. So when planning your trip, make sure to check out the rules of your car.
6. Gordon Dam - An impressive engineering feat as well as a lesson on not tampering with nature, Gordon Dam was a must on my list. It is a 2.5hr one way drive, and 5hour return which was making me anxious as after all there isn't much to do just see. But when my husband dubbed the day as 'great', I could rest easy.
Built in 1974, Gordon Dam is higher than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, standing at 140m and holds more water than the entire Sydney harbour. It provides 13% of Tasmania's power and its double curvature walls coupled with the wild beauty around make it the perfect photo op. Given its distance from Hobart, you'll likely have the place all to yourselves. Not only that, even during the drive we felt all alone during vast stretches of the drive, and coupled with the most WILD beauty I saw in Tasmania, the road trip really was an adventure, even if there was a constant fear of the car breaking down on us with no other human in sight. The 5 hour return was certainly long for the 2 of us but if you have more in the group, it'll feel like a breeze because its definitely the most beautiful drive I did in Tasmania.
While the dam was an impressive sight to behold, learning about its history was what made the day rewarding.
In 1972, this area was home to an alpine, glacial lake with a beautiful, pink quartzite beach. This was the original Lake Pedder, a million years old, with the beach long enough for tourists to access using private chartered planes. Considering how beautiful the glimpse of Southwest during our drive here was, the idea of a remote lake surrounded by mountains sounds magical.
But in 1974, the government allowed the Lake to be flooded as part of the process of building the 3 dams. This decision inspired the first environmental conversation movement of its kind, before the internet and media. Till date, the loss of such a unique ecological and geographical phenomenon is mourned. Since then, there have been several ongoing campaigns to bring awareness and even talks of draining Lake Pedder as the original beach and glacial lake still exists underneath but of course that in itself is of significant cost.
While the damage has already been done, and the dams in its place have been worthwhile, this is a humbling lesson on the precarious balance between preserving mother nature and meeting our growing human needs.
7. Explore the food options - Hobart has a very exciting and growing culinary scene. It is infact, another big driver for tourism to Tasmania. Unfortunately, all the big names such as Templo, Faro, Fico, etc. were booked out, we still had some amazing dinners everyday. While our breakfast was always the amazing spread from our hotel, dinner was when we experimented. The Point Revolving Restaurant was our option for one of the nights, and the food took me by surprise!
We spent 4 days in Hobart and they were perfect. If you can get more of those special bookings, then adding an extra day or two won't hurt but when the itinerary is tight 4 or even 3 days depending on what you want to skip are perfect to experience this pretty, little city.
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