The Honeymoon – 5th January to 15th January, 2014 – Tasmania
Part 2
January 11, 2014 – Salamanca Place, Hobart
Yesterday’s nightmare remains. It’s official. Ian and I are now both orphans.
We headed to Hobart with just a stop for a coffeeeeee. We parked quite close to Salamanca Place and hit the famous markets.
We actually planned the whole trip around arriving in Hobart on market day. They are pretty big as markets go with lots of local produce and hand carved and turned Tassie timber. We couldn’t access our hotel room until a bit later but we checked in and Ian used the loo in the bar down stairs. He was surprised to report that the back of the trough was, what he sincerely hoped was one-way glass that looked out to the beer garden.
Our hotel, The Quarry was right on Salamanca Place and what a cool hotel it was.
It is a restored colonial building with a great mix of old and modern décor.
The shower has a glass wall revealing convict brickwork behind it and old beams span the ceiling.
After a stroll around Constitution Dock where the famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race ended only a few days before, we walked up into the CBD which is a bit like a big country town, which I suppose it is in many ways. Back at the hotel we imbibed a quiet ale in the bar before heading out for a meal.
The area around Salamanca is a hub for bars and restaurants so we were spoilt for choice when it came to dinner. We chose a nice Greek restaurant and dined late on mezza plates and Greek red.
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January 12, 2014 – Hobart – Port Arthur
It’s about a ninety-minute drive to Port Arthur from Hobart so we set off about 8.30. We started with a guided walk which was informative and gave us an idea about what we would like to investigate on our own.
After a boat trip on the harbour we were left to wander and explore at our own pace. There are many buildings scattered over the site. My favourite was the Commandant’s Cottage, dubbed ‘the house that grew’ by our guide.
It started out as a modest cottage and grew up the hillside into a sprawling mansion as his family grew in number and size. He had the pick of the site too with a great view over the harbour.
Other notable buildings include the ruins of a large sandstone church and the old Granary that was once the largest structure in the colony.
The memorial for the Port Arthur Massacre is very moving. The tranquillity of the site, such a contrast to the gross act of violence that occurred there.
The trip back to Hobart was devoted to exploring all the interesting signage we had spied on the drive in. Tasman’s Arch (spectacular), Devil’s Kitchen (not for the vertiginous) and the coastal features near Doo Town including a Blow Hole that was not blowing and a look out that was nice but not extraordinary.
Tasman’s Arch
Devil’s Kitchen
However the carpark was the location for the most inspired culinary specialty you can buy for just $5 – ‘Doo-lishious’ – fresh seasonal berries with vanilla ice cream and berry compote. OMG Yum!
The other half of the van does various seafood and chips and it looked amazing. We were tempted to hang around to work up an appetite!
One more stop at the Tessellated Rocks (and yes they were tessellated) then back to Hobart and another delicious meal of local produce.
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January 13, 2014 – MONA
After a coffee and a poke around the shops this morning we drove the short distance to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). Today is my &á%#th birthday and so Ian had a special treat in store. We enjoyed a truly amazing 5-course degustation lunch with matching wines at ‘The Source’, the museum’s restaurant.
Our corner table overlooked the river in both directions and the meal was superb.
We finally waddled off to our accommodation about 3.30. We stayed in one of the magnificent ‘Pavilions’ overlooking the Derwent River. Ours was the ‘Sidney’ complete with an original Sidney Nolan painting on the wall and an ancient sculpture in a display case in the kitchen.
No rest for the wicked (or the stuffed) however and we joined several of the other Pavilion guests for a tour and wine tatsing at Moorilla Estate in the grounds of MONA.
Afterwards we spent the afternoon lazing about soaking up the view and reading up on the museum’s exhibits and the interesting guy, David Walsh who built it. Fascinating man – made his millions gambling and is now banned from the world’s casinos because he’s too bloody good at it!
He has a passion for art (yes both old and new) and an eye for the bizarre. He is a great patron and supports up and coming talent too.
The evening was the perfect time for a stroll around the deserted grounds. We saw the museum entrance, several sculptures, including a life-size filigree metal cement truck, and ‘The Chapel’ – serene and visually stunning.
The Chapel’s windows resemble stained glass windows but depict x-rays of people doing lewd and not so lewd things – groping and kissing skeletons ha ha.
We had a leisurely evening enjoying the peace and the view. The spa bath is cantilevered out over the bush that lines the riverbank.
As birthdays go, this one was pretty damned stunning (keeping in mind that last years was spent in Paris with dinner up the Eiffel Tower!).
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January 14, 2014 – MONA
After breakfast at The Source we went off to explore the interior of this fascinating place. We took the spiral stairs that surround the glass lift shaft down to B3, three floors below ground and picked up our ‘O’ devices.
They look like an ipod but they detect the art works near wherever you are and give you information on the title, the artist, history, background info etc. to help interpret the work.
There is no attempt
to explain the works but there is a bit of philosophy and other ‘art wank’
which is enlightening in its own sweet way.
We soaked up so many experiences that are on offer, from 4000 year old mummies to up-to-the-minute art installations.
We spent over four hours winding our way through the different galleries, rooms and floors.
The works ranged from stunning visual feasts to olfactory effrontery (‘Cloaca’).
After a break for food and coffee we joined our host from yesterday’s wine tour, who put a glass of champagne in our hands and took us to some behind the scenes areas of the museum and showed us some exhibits we missed earlier.
We finished up back in the bar, and as we had already tried the wines the day before, we shared a paddle of Moo Brew Beers which were delicious just quietly.
During the day I was fielding ‘discussions’ about the timing of Dad’s funeral with phone calls and texts between my brothers. It was all a bit stressful but then when were these things ever easy?
We ordered room service for dinner, Croque-Monsieur and choc chip icecream for me and grown up dinner - Boeuf Bourguignon for Ian washed down with the complimentary champagne, followed by a soak in the spa.
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January 15, 2014 – Home
We had a leisurely breakfast and another wander through the museum. We went primarily to try the ‘interesting’ toilet JJ, our guide, told us about yesterday. Third door on the right if you ever visit ;) Brings new meaning to the expression ‘It’s all done with mirrors’!
We took an outside table at the bar/café and I brought my journal up to date while Ian poodled on the ipad. We drank a dark ale or two, munched on some snacks and looked into all the interesting things we could do if only we could be arsed. In the end we just soaked up the sunshine, listened to a bit of live music coming from the lawn stage and relaxed until it was time to head to the airport.
Adelaide picked us up in Sydney and back at home there was a huge stack of cards awaiting our arrival – about one third wedding, one third sympathy and one third birthday – talk about emotional roller-coaster. There was a beautiful native floral arrangement from a group of my friends and the knowledge that I have a day to pull together a DVD tribute (thank you my darling Ian for the great job you did) and a eulogy for Dad’s funeral tomorrow. After a cup of tea with the kids, we got to bed quite late. I woke with a start in the wee hours of the morning and it took me a surprisingly long time to work out where I was exactly.
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In memory of Donald Thomas Williams
April 24, 1926 to January 10, 2014
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