Tassie - Hobart, Bruny Island, Richmond

What an adventure we are having. In Tasmania, it is reinforced around every corner.

The historic old bridge at Richmond

As the goose bumps slowly settled from our visit to The Wall, our journey continued on towards Hobart, and on to our next base, the historic old English town of Richmond. The drive down through the Derwent Valley, kept begging us to stop and look, and we just kept making notes of where to come back to if we have time. The area around New Norfolk seemed really nice.
We skirted around the northern side of Hobart, past the infamous Risden Prison, home to Martin Bryant, the Port Arthur mass murderer, and soon entered the Coal Valley, a rich farming and wine area, and into Richmond. We found the Richmond Cabin & Tourist Park, and settled in. It is a rustic Park, set among the trees, run by a very friendly and helpful manager, and is only 2 minutes drive into town.
Being one of the oldest towns in Australia, it is full of history and some of the best examples of early Australian architecture you will see anywhere in the country. Most have been well restored and now house shops or other tourist attractions, or have been converted to B&B's, of which there are a host to choose from. Our timing couldn't have been better, with Sunday hosting the annual Scottish Festival. Time to rediscover my old family heritage. Now where did I put that kilt and sporran?

The Cruise Boat

Suited up and ready for adventure

But first we had to attend to other tourist matters, and our first priority was the Bruny Island Cruise, run by Rob Pennicott. If you haven't read about this trip, you should google it. It is one of the world's great adventure day trips, and we have now been lucky enough to experience it. I will try and do it justice in a few paragraphs. Lynne and Paul's dog Harley, had been put into Doggy Day Care for a couple of days. 

We went through the gap at speed!!

It is without doubt one of the best organised tours we have ever been on. From the time we met the bus driver at the beautiful seaside town of Kettering, we knew we were in for a great day. The bus driver was Mick, a man with saltwater in his veins, and a personality and well practised humour, tailor made for the job. Turned out he was also to be our skipper on the boat. The bus takes the car ferry across from Kettering to Bruny Island, and then on a 40 minute journey down the full length of the island to our cruise departure point at Adventure Bay. The whole thing is a well oiled machine. Arrive at Adventure Bay where hot coffee and muffins are waiting (for a fee), then order your lunch (for a fee) so it will be ready for your return from the cruise, then onto the boats. On our day there were 4 boats, each carrying around 30 passengers. The boats are amazing, purpose built things powered by three 300hp outboards, incredibly fast and manouverable, allowing access within centimetres of the cliff face, and patting distance of the seals!

Relaxation without a care

Our weather was cold (14 C) and overcast, and you needed the orange suit and every thing else under it, as we literally flew along the coast stopping all the while to see caves and countless other attractions always looking up at those amazing granite cliffs looming above, only metres from the boat. Huge gardens of giant kelp clinging to the rocks that in many parts are teeming with bird life.
We reached the Southern Ocean, and a group of islands covered in seals. You smell these buggers before you see them. There are thousands clinging to the rocks, resting, sleeping or fighting. It is quite a show! The return journey is further out to sea, in search of bird life, and we are not disappointed as we see albatross, gannets, gulls and terns, and plenty of the more than 19 million short tailed shearwaters (mutton birds), that make the annual migration from the Bering Sea in Siberia, to have their babies and then return home. Ain't nature grand!!!

Mick, behind John pointing out
the oysters nutritional values.

Back on shore it is time for lunch. We are glad we ordered soup, not because we are hungry, just so we can hold the cup and thaw out! Back on the bus for home, but we make a couple of stops. An Oyster Farm with the fantastic name of "Get Shucked". A small tasting box last seconds, the sweetest freshest Pacific Oysters we've ever had! One more stop at the Bruny Island Smokehouse, for a taste of their fabulous smoked salmon and ocean trout, as well as wallaby and rabbit, which Mick assured us wasn't road kill. It was all good, but the salmon was great, and went into the bag for later on. 
We were soon back in Kettering, and the fantastic adventure was over, but the memories will last forever. We decided to finish off the day with a seafood dinner around the buzzing waterfront of Hobart's Constitution Dock. Two cruise ships departing, made for a carnival atmosphere, and we opted for Mure's Seafoods, Hobart's version of Doyles, as the venue for our meal and a celebratory glass of wine, to finish a great day. Well almost finish the day. We found the ice cream bar on the way out, so wandered the docks with delicious home made ice cream for dessert!

Pipe Band on the village green
at Richmond

Next day we were back in Hobart, as it was Saturday, and the famous Salamanca Markets were on. Everything from fresh produce to souvenirs, clothes, crafts and jewellery, this market is well able to make claim to being Australia's biggest and best. The day just disappeared. Lynne & Paul headed off early to pick up Harley, so Carol & I decided to hag around and watch the transformation, as Salamanca quickly returns to being the vibrant night scene of galleries, bars and restaurants, for which it is equally famous. The whole area reminds us of Sydney's Rocks and Circular Quay, and we felt right at home. We enjoyed browsing the galleries, had a couple of drinks at a lovely bar and then had dinner at a lovely little Indian restaurant at the far end of Salamanca Place. We have another week in and around Hobart over Easter, and will really give the place a going over then.

Not Happy Jan!

Upside down Tassie Devil!

Sunday was Scottish Day in Richmond. The weather cleared after some heavy overnight rain, and the bag pipes were in full swing early. There was a pipe band contest, tents with Scottish Clan information, a grand official opening by the mayor, followed by a mass band showing, and a dancing dog display that seemed to be a bit of a work in progress. Nonetheless it was all good fun. With the sounds of the bagpipes still ringing in our ears, we headed out to a local zoo to see what it was like, and hopefully get up close and personal with some locals, the Tasmanian Devils. We weren't disappointed. The zoo had some beautiful white lions, including a new cub which was full of fun, as well as a couple of Sumatran Tigers. In addition there were some good bird displays, a farm animal nursery and an interactive area where you could feed the wallabies, goats and sheep. We did get close to the devils at feeding time, which was most interesting as the young keeper introduced them as some of the dumbest animals on earth, and then set out to prove his point!
We have also done a day at Port Arthur, but really did not get to see it all, so we have been given convict "tickets of leave", which allow us to return at a later time to finish our experience, so I will do a separate story at a later date. We will also be back in Richmond, as Carol still has lots of shops to explore!! 
So off to Bicheno we go. Last stop with Lynne & Paul. Can't believe how fast it has gone.