Hobart

After months of planning and preparation for Lynette's long service leave, the day finally arrived for our maiden voyage to Tasmania. We flew into Hobart to begin a month-long road trip, travelling clockwise around the entire island. As this is our very first visit to the Apple Isle, we've allowed ourselves plenty of time to soak up the scenery, explore its history, and experience everything this beautiful state has to offer.

After settling into our Airbnb, we headed to Battery Point, Hobart's most historic and charming suburb, just south of the CBD. Renowned for its beautifully preserved 19th-century colonial cottages and grand merchant mansions, it's a delight to explore on foot. The quaint streets are lined with boutique shops, cafés and museums, and I couldn't get enough of the stunning architecture.

One of the highlights was Arthur's Circus, a unique circular collection of early colonial cottages built during the 1840s and 1850s around a peaceful village green. From there we made our way down the famous Kelly's Steps, built by a whaling captain in 1839. These steep, historic steps provide a picturesque shortcut between Battery Point and the Salamanca waterfront. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the beautifully restored 1830s Georgian sandstone warehouses, now home to alfresco restaurants, cafés, galleries and boutique shops.

Later that afternoon, we drove towards kunanyi / Mount Wellington to visit a local brewery. Neither of us are beer drinkers, but I was keen to photograph the impressive historic building nestled at the foothills of the mountain, where beer has been brewed since 1824. With low-lying rain clouds drifting across the mountain, it made for a wonderfully atmospheric scene.

On our way back to the Airbnb, we stopped at a quaint little SoHo health food café for a coffee. While there, I noticed a display of environmental portraits by a local photographer. One immediately caught my eye. It was Hannah Moloney from Gardening Australia. I remembered that she lives nearby on the mountainside overlooking Hobart and the harbour. Her home is impossible to miss, painted in vibrant shades of pink and green to match her wonderfully colourful personality (and pink hair!). Sure enough, as I scanned the hillside, it stood out like a green thumb among the surrounding homes. See if you can spot it in one of the photos below!

Today we ventured across to Bruny Island, and it was great fun driving our hire car onto the ferry for the first time. Naturally, our first stop after arriving was Bruny Island Honey. That probably won't surprise anyone who knows me!

We enjoyed a lovely conversation with one of the shop assistants, and I asked how she was feeling about the spread of Varroa mites through Victoria. She was grateful that Tasmania remains free of the pest. Protecting that status is incredibly important, as Varroa mites pose a serious threat not only to the commercial honey and pollination industries, but also to Tasmania's unique native ecosystems, including the precious leatherwood rainforests that rely on healthy bee populations.

Another highlight of the day was climbing the 279 wooden steps to The Neck Lookout. The Neck is the narrow isthmus connecting North and South Bruny Island, and the panoramic 360-degree views from the top are breathtaking. As if the scenery wasn't spectacular enough, a rainbow appeared just as the leading edge of a storm rolled in across the landscape. Click. click, click!

Tomorrow we leave Hobart behind and begin the next stage of our Tasmanian adventure, heading to Mount Field National Park for two nights. We can't wait to discover what awaits us there.