Visiting Hobart and Port Arthur!

For our summer getaway in Australia this year we decided to spend a week in Tasmania…

This time, as we were leaving for the airport, we made sure we had ALL the bags with us, including Xander’s nappy bag (which we left behind at first when travelling to Fiji). So without encountering any issues we made it onto the plane where we managed to keep Xander occupied for the short flight. After collecting our bags and our rental car for the week we made it to Hobart.

On our first day in Hobart we walked along the harbour and the Salamanca area where they host the markets every Saturday (more about that later). We also made the drive up to Mount Wellington along a very narrow and curvy road where we were rewarded with some outstanding views over the city and its surrounding areas. Also, as it was a very hot day, the mountain offered some cooler weather which was a very nice change!

The rest of the day was spent lazing around the park while Xander ran around discovering a new place. Later that afternoon we made our way back to Hobart Harbour where we sat down at Mures and enjoyed some fresh local seafood accompanied with a great local Sauvignon Blanc!

The next morning we made the scenic drive towards Port Arthur to visit its historic and former prison colony. On our way there we saw how badly the recent bush fires had affected the area. Everything was very dry, most of the trees were dead or dying which gave their leaves an almost reddish tint. We also drove through the small town of Dunalley where we could see the ruins of the houses that were destroyed by the fire. It was however great to see that the school was up and running again….

A short while later we arrived at the historic site and started exploring. In our entry fee there was a tour included which provided some great background history about the former prison, its prisoners and guards. However, there was a little man with us who preferred to run off to explore on his own 😉

The area of Port Arthur is a great spot to visit in regards to both its beauty and historical significance and we spent a few hours exploring most of the different structures and ruins on offer (and there are quite a few) before we sat down to cool down and have a nice lunch. Heading back towards Hobart, we stopped at a berry farm where they offered “Pick Your Own” fruits. However, as the temperature at this point was well over 35 degrees we decided to skip it and hopefully do it at a later stage. Xander did find a big rooster at that location though which he enjoyed running after while shouting “Chicken”…. he didn’t catch it though!

During our time in Hobart we also made sure that we visited the Salamanca Markets which lived up to its reputation. There were a lot of different stalls here selling everything from locally brewed Ginger and Chilli Beer (non-alcoholic) to Viking Ice-cream and everything inbetween… We spent a while walking up and down the stalls (it’s not easy walking fast, specially when pushing a stroller) and ended up getting some Falafel and German Brautwurst for lunch! We passed that afternoon by once again sitting down in the park to relax, beer in hand, while watching Xander as he ran to explore the area…

Hobart is a great little city/town where everything is within a 5min drive from everywhere. We enjoyed our time here and would not mind coming back in the future to explore some of the places we didn’t have time for or just couldn’t do with a small toddler.