We arrived in Hobart late afternoon Christmas Day. After settling into our accommodation it was time for Dinner. The big question was what was open on Christmas Day in Hobart. As we walked the streets around of the CBD and waterfront we quickly realised how quite Hobart city was on Christmas Day.
Down by the waterfront we discovered a floating seafood takeaway that seemed to be doing a roaring trade. So we got our fish and chips, which turned out to be one of the best, found a quite place to sit and that my friends is how you do Christmas dinner in Hobart.
For Christmas we decided to treat ourselves to a little up market accommodation for a few nights. We booked a Bed & Breakfast just on the edge of
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is Tasmania’s leading natural, cultural and heritage organisation. It is a combined museum, art gallery and herbarium which safeguards the physical evidence of Tasmania’s natural and cultural heritage, and the cultural identity of Tasmanians.
It is Australia’s second-oldest museum and has its origins in the collections of Australia’s oldest scientific society, the Royal Society of Tasmania, established in 1843. The first permanent home of the museum opened on the corner of Argyle and Macquarie streets in 1863 and the museum has gradually expanded from this corner to occupy the entire city block.
The TMAG precinct is one of Australia’s most historically significant sites. Included in the precinct is Tasmania’s oldest surviving public building, the 1808-10 Commissariat Store; the Private Secretary’s Cottage, built prior to 1815 and originally adjacent to old Government House; and Tasmania’s first federal building, the 1902 Custom House.
Battery Point was settled in the earliest days of Hobart Town in the early 1800’s, and has retained the winding streets, colonial architecture and historical ambiance that make it one of the most fascinating historic precincts in all of Australia.
Built over a point of land jutting into the Derwent River, it has become one of the most fashionable suburbs of Hobart, all the while keeping its historical links with Hobart and Tasmania’s past.
This walk takes us up laneways, past old seafarers’ cottages and through an historic precinct in which the outside of the buildings and the streetscape is largely unchanged since it was built in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Off Salamanca Place just behind the Old Wool Store is Salamanca Square. Salamanca Square is a happening, dynamic, flexible and adaptive space that is always changing. Offering a piazza space for relaxing & entertainment, it’s a safe environment with no cars.
Hundreds of convicts were used to quarry out the cliffs, cut the stone and build the row of beautiful Georgian sandstone warehouses that were built in the 1830 that front the Square.
Within the Salamanca Square tucked away in the far corner is the Machine Laundry Cafe. Yes as the name suggest it is a cafe and a working coin operated laundry. Bring down your laundry and have a coffee or even breakfast whilst you wait.
The food and coffee are top quality and worth the visit even if your not doing laundry. The cafe is very popular.
On a nice sunny day you can’t beat the waterfront for bars, cafe’s and restaurants. It is a great place to enjoy and relax.
The International Wall of Friendship is located in the sunken garden at the Commonwealth Government Centre at 188 Collins Street in Hobart. The wall is believed to be the only project of its kind in the world.
Built as a symbol of goodwill and recognition of the contribution that multicultural groups have made to the development of Tasmania, the International Wall of Friendship includes over 54 stones donated by migrant communities who have settled across Tasmania.
The Taste of Tasmania is Australia’s biggest and longest running food and wine Festival with stunning waterfront views, inspiring street performances, live music and great local food on offer. The event is a free community event, and takes place from 28 December until 3 January every year.
The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is Australia’s cool climate garden, with a number of unique collections including Australia’s only Subantarctic Plant House. With a total of 14 hectares to explore, visitors can take time to relax and explore or tailor a walk based on personal interest.
The Japanese garden was designed by Kanjiro Harada, Japanese Gardena landscape architect from Yaizu, Japan, Hobart’s sister city. It’s beautiful in every season, with cherry blossom in spring then irises and water lilies in summer. The stunning Japanese maples put on a dazzling display in autumn, followed by the winter tracery of bare branches and conifers of all shapes, sizes and colours and camellias and azaleas flowering in the cooler months.
Relaxed restaurant specialising in craft beers, boutique wines and spirits. A heritage listed Battery Point Cottage with large outdoor Beer Garden. Kitchen open from midday – 10pm, 7 days.
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We were in Hobart for New Years Eve. We found a restaurant which did a seafood buffet which we had booked for dinner. All the Prawns and Oysters you could eat. After dinner we went to down to Salamanca Square for a few drinks and to watch the 9:30 fireworks.
Tasmania’s own market is a selection of your favourite Salamanca Market stallholders and is running each Saturday from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm from 8 August 2020. Our new look market consists of around 80 stallholders representing artisans, designers and producers.
The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is an art museum located within the Moorilla winery on the Berriedale peninsula in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere.[1] MONA houses ancient, modern and contemporary art from the David Walsh collection. Noted for its central themes of sex and death, the museum has been described by Walsh as a “subversive adult Disneyland”.[2]
MONA was officially opened on 21 January 2011. Along with its frequently updated indoor collection, MONA also hosts the annual MOFO and Dark MOFO music and arts festivals which showcase large-scale public art and live performances.
Looking at the art used to be boring. It still is, maybe, but at least here at Mona, the Museum of Old and New Art, you can get drunk and/or rage against the machine. Located just up the river from Hobart, Mona’s subterranean architecture showcases the highlights (and lowlights) of David Walsh’s $110m private collection of art and antiquities, as well as hosting a busy exhibitions program. Mona is also home to the Moorilla winery, Source Restaurant, bars, cafe, accommodation pavilions and more (plus Moo Brew, an off-site brewery).
Mona also hosts two festivals. Each January, our summer festival, Mofo, which unleashes an eclectic mix of music and art. Come June, Dark Mofo winter festival delves into centuries-old winter solstice rituals and celebrates the dark through art, music, food, film, light and noise.
Mona is located at 655 Main Road, Berriedale, Tasmania, Australia; a 15-minute drive from Hobart’s centre, or a 30-minute ride on our MR-1 fast ferries from Hobart’s Brooke Street Pier.
A direct trip between Brooke Street Pier and Mona takes around twenty-five minutes. The ferries are undercover and sail in rain, hail or shine.
Today was probably not the best day for an open top city bus tour. However as I time in Hobart was coming to an end we thought we would do a hop on hop off bus tour and check out some of the sights on the edge of the city. The rain was on and off and only light and was more an inconvenience than a problem.
During our time in Hobart we took a few days and went to Bruny Island. Check out our post on Bruny. A must visit when in Hobart. For the rest of our Tasmania adventure see our Christmas in Tasmania post.
Lower Domain Road, Queens Domain, Hobart
Located in Salamanca Place every Saturday between 8:30am and 1:30PM
Our Rig – LC 200 Landcruiser Our vehicle is a 2009 Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series. We purchased it second hand and the main reason we went for a second hand vehicle was cost. To maintain our travelling lifestyle we had
Ogoshi Glass Blowing Class | Hunter Valley NSW Hunter Valley Wine Country is only a 2-hour drive from Sydney or an hour from Newcastle and is a great place for a weekend getaway, especially for those who enjoy good food
Two Fat Blokes Wine Tour | Hunter Valley NSW It was Alison’s birthday and she decided she wanted to do a wine tour in the Hunter. Although only 45 minutes from Newcastle it still makes for a good weekend getaway.
Newcastle is a great place to visit with so many things to do. Here are a few things we did on one weekend in this great city. After receiving gift vouchers for Christmas we decided to pool them together and
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