19 October 2013 - Treasure Island Caravan Park, Berriedale, Tasmania

Sunshine on rising and better still, a clear sky all about the top of Mt Wellington.  Chris paid for a further day here at the caravan park, and I had fought another good fight with the laundry and midget sized clothes line, all of which put me in a foul mood apart from being very exhausting. That done, we set off for the summit along with everyone in Hobart not attending the Salamanca Markets; masochistic cyclists, walkers and sightseers. The narrow road was so very busy, some drivers a nervous wreck, an absolute menace on the road.

Up at the summit the winds were wilder than our last visit but the views were truly splendid; far to the distance in all directions, north east to the Wilderness and snow covered mountains, the river and wide and spidery estuary of the Derwent east and south. Checking online I see the winds were blowing at just over forty kph gusting at 80 kph while we were up there, the gusts ten kph more than they had been while I was battling the washing on the line. We later learned that some summer days do bring still conditions to the summit, but they are few and far between. We were glad we went back for another go to really appreciate the views over this lovely area.

City view from Mt Wellington

This time we learned a couple of interesting facts about the Derwent River or more particularly access across this great body of water.

Until the early 1940s residents who wanted to cross the river had to either catch the ferry or travel upriver to Bridgewater and back. The deep and wide Derwent Estuary which is up to forty metres deep in places, limited the type of bridge that could be constructed. In 1943 an unusual concrete floating bridge was opened and cars were allowed to cross for the first time. As the population of the eastern shore grew, it was realised that a wider and more conventional bridge had to be built. Construction began and in 1962 the Tasman Bridge was opened to traffic.

Nineteen years later, Hobart became a divided city once more. In January 1975, the Tasman Bridge was struck by the bulk ore carrier, Lake Illawarra bound for the Electrolytic Zinc Company at Risdon. Twelve people died, including seven crew members and four cars plunged off the broken span. The debris of the ship and bridge at the bottom of the deep river prevented the pier being rebuilt in its original location. The off-centre pier and span is a constant reminder of where the disaster occurred. A second bridge, the Bowen Bridge was also built, this time upstream from the Electrolytic Zinc Company.

Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens

We descended and drove to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, the oldest in the country established in 1818. The fourteen hectares of beautiful formal gardens are adjacent to Government House where the State’s Governor resides. Unlike glimpses one can steal through gates in other state capitals, here only the chimneys can be seen of what is, no doubt, a very stately residence. We could not have picked a better season to visit the gardens or a better day; the flowers are bright and joyful and the park-seeking populace were as vibrant and keen to make the most of the day and space.

Here in the garden are a few rather special features; the Subantarctic  House where one can experience and see the flora of windblown Macquarie Island, a place that Chris was keen to escape; he does not like the cold. And the rather bizarre walled structures still standing erected by convict labour under orders from Governor Arthur, walls with central heating to nurture the fruit trees brought from England. He had not realised that Mt Wellington protects Hobart from the cold winds; we read the virtues of the mountain when we were at the summit.

Of course it has not been warm at all during our stay here, or at least not until today. As I write this the temperature is still at about 26 degrees, very pleasant indeed, and while we will not see a repeat of this for a while, according to the forecast, the night temperatures look like they might not drop below about 10 degrees. This I can live with.

The last Bledisloe Cup rugby match is about to kick off in Dunedin, New Zealand so I had better put my sport’s fan “hat” on and join my husband in front of the box. The All Blacks will need someone to cheer them on, although after winning the first two of the three games, it is all rather academic.

We will head off again in the morning satisfied to have seen everything in Hobart that caught our fancy. New places are always exciting!