Tasmania Day 8: Hobart

Millie had a very unsettled night, then Liam was up early but was happy to play with his animals for a while before anyone else got up. When I got out of bed I showed him how to play Clock Patience which he really enjoyed, then we played Uno until the others were up. We had breakfast and Caitlin went for ride on her scooter around the caravan park, Liam and Millie played Minecraft. We’d briefly considered taking the shuttle bus from the park to Salamanca Markets but it left at 8:10am which wasn’t going to work for us, we got ourselves organized and left here around 11am after a relaxing morning.

We parked near the museum and walked along the docks to the markets. I’d forgotten how much I just loved hanging around in Hobart CBD, its such a relaxing and beautiful place to be, especially for a city. We saw some sea stars in the water as we walked past the docks, and some kids on ice skates on a rink made of lino type material.

The markets were busy and exciting and a little overwhelming. Liam bought Millie a birthday present, then we spent quite a bit of time in the Wilderness Society stall, choosing little animals to buy and talking to the stall holder about the Tarkine and about Tasmanian animals. I was looking for an organic bakery I knew would be there, hoping to get some wheat-free bread and maybe a wheat-free birthday cake for Millie – the bakery was right at the end of the market and they didn’t have anything suitable. The others then bought some lunch – dagwood dogs, hotdogs and dim sims on a stick (oh and a doughnut), while Caitlin and I went in search of some more natural food for me. On the way I found the Ashbolt Elderflower stall which I’d been hoping to see – I bought some more sparkling elderflower drink and some cordial (saves on postage) – and eventually I found a baked potato stall which sold delicious potatoes and I was quite satisfied. We walked through a bit more of the market and Liam made a donation to a lady making balloon animals and she made a fantastic ring-tailed lemur – she’d never had that request before so it was quite impressive. We looked for a birthday present for Mum but didn’t see anything that seemed suitable. Caitlin did some great bargaining and chatting with a lady who made jewellery and bought a necklace that she loves.

Liam and his lemur

Family at Salamanca Markets

We wandered back to the car and I checked out the Hope and Anchor – the oldest licenced establishment in Australia (1807) and where Tony and I spent New Years Eve 10 years ago. We were hoping to go there tomorrow night for Millie’s birthday dinner but were dismayed to discover that it is closed – boarded up – and is for sale or lease. I hope someone buys it who really uses it for something special.

The Hope and Anchor

We headed out to the Cascade Brewery from there. It was too late to do any tours, so Tony bought a tasting paddle and the kids played in the gardens. I tasted a little of the beer too which was quite enjoyable. The setting and old buildings were quite impressive, although it felt very 19^th century (which it is – some of the buildings have been there since 1824)

In the gardens at Cascade

Cascade Brewery

Back to the caravan park and down for a round of mini golf – 6 holes which we could play for as long as we liked, which worked well for us – Tony and I worked our way through the holes 3 times and he ended up about 4 holes up, while the kids played the holes in any order and manner that they liked, in between climbing on the play ship and in the sand. 

Dinner in our cabin and a Harry Potter movie on TV rounded out our day, Millie’s last day as a 3 year old!