Australia Day Seventeen: Hobart, Tasmania Part Two. Gardens, Mountains And The Moon.

Australia Day Seventeen: Hobart, Tasmania Part Two. Gardens, Mountains And The Moon.

Botanical Gardens  -20
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Well I decided I had to do two posts on my first day in Hobart since there was just so much to see in this  beautiful city. After breakfast I  walked to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.  I have always loved, flowers, trees and plants and   always try and visit the local Botanical Gardens  on my travels.  I checked the maps briefly, knew it would be a nice walk,  and headed in the general direction of the Gardens. Botanical Gardens hike -2

As often  is the case, getting somewhere by foot is not as easy as it appears on a map. I walked along the street I thought would get me there but I ran into  a fence  and was   directed  to an underpass, past a water fountain and into a park.Botanical Gardens hike -3

I was a little unsure of which way to proceed so walked toward where I knew the Gardens would be, Unfortunately, the streets didn’t co-operate and I found myself asking for directions. Not always a good idea. A woman, with good intentions, I hope, sent me up a road that proceeded up a long hill. It was a nice walk, for awhile, with beautiful  views of the city and the surrounding mountains.Botanical Gardens hike -19

I walked past tennis courts, a soccer stadium and a track. There were also a lot of trees filled with squawking  green  parrot like birds. I continued walking but the cool air was warming up from the late summer sun and it was getting pretty hot  out. It is still summer down here, Botanical Gardens birds 2-1
Botanical Gardens hike -6 I knew I should have been at the Botanical Gardens by now, and, I looked for someone to ask where I was. It wasn’t good news, it seems I was led far from where I wanted to be. I wouldn’t have minded except I had booked a tour for 3:30 so didn’t have much time to be hiking all around Hobart. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike to the Botanical Gardens. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-seventeen-tasmania-hobart-botanical-garden-hike

I eventually found the Botanical Gardens. However, I now had only about a half an hour to spend exploring these expansive grounds.Botanical Gardens -1

It was almost torture. There was so much to see and so little time to take it all in. Oriental ponds surrounded with exotic plants, fern gardens, rose gardens, North American trees and from all over the globe. .  Of course, I wanted to see it all but had to settle for a fleeting glance at the many exotice species of plants,trees and flowers. .  Botanical Gardens -13

I did make sure I got to the sub-antarctic room, a kept cold so as to allow species found only in the antarctic regions can live and thrive so far from their frozen home. It sure was cold inside but brought back memories of my visit to Antarctica. I left the gardens for the long walk to my hotel. Here is a link to some more photographs from my brief visit to the Botanical Gardens. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-seventeen-tasmania-hobart-botanical-gardens-february-20-2016Botanical Gardens -29

I only had time to get to my room, grab my ticket and head to catch my bus for a ride to the top of Mt. Wellington., the mountain that looms over Hobart and is so much a part of this delightful harbour town.  I had a problem at the bus, having been told I could pay with a credit card at the bus pickup. I was now told I couldn’t  and I had no Australian cash.  The first guide told me I wouldn’t be allowed to board the bus or take the tour. However, a second guide, who was going to take us up, took me into a visitor center where I was able to pay for the trip with my credit card. It was a very kind gesture on his part. We than proceeded up the long and winding road to the summit. Bus to Mt. Wellington-6

We first passed residential houses and drove through thick  eucalyptus forest. We learned of the devastating fire that occurred in 1967 burning hundreds of thousands of acres and killing 62 people. Bus to Mt. Wellington-7

We got glimpses  of the spectacular views that awaited us as we slowly made our way up the mountain. Finally,  we made it to the top and joined the scores of other tourists who came up for the fantastic view of the ocean and mountains. Here is a link to some more photographs of our journey up the mountains. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-seventeen-tasmania-hobart-bus-ride-to-mt-wellington-february-20-2016Bus to Mt. Wellington-18

We left our bus and had a forty five minutes to explore the summit. It was cloudy when we first arrived but the clouds broke and we were treated to the awesome vistas of the surrounding, seemingly, endless mountains, ocean and the town of Hobart far below us. Mt. Wellington-20

I took a walk to the overlook, then walked along the various trails on the summit taking in the different views the height of the mountain provided us.Mt. Wellington-2

It was chilly and windy up there and you could tell from the many wind blown shrubs and other plants growing among the many rock and boulders that were strewn atop the mountains summit. Here is a link to some more photographs from atop Mt. Wellington. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-tasmania-hobart-mt-wellington-february-20-2016

I wish we had more time but we returned to the bus for our long ride back to town, I returned to the hotel, showered and rested, before I had an early meal at the interesting Drunken Admiral tavern located near my hotel. The food was great as was the bar itself.  Mt. Wellington-14Hobart downtown walk two -1

The moon was nearly full that night, and although I was tired from a long day of sightseeing, I had to walk the docks under the moonlight taking in another perspective of this quaint and exotic harbour town on the edge of nowhere. It was another wonderful day in this remote part of the land “downunder”  Here is a link to some more photographs from my moonlight walk along the docks. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-seventeen-tasmania-hobart-full-moon-walk-february-20-2016Hobart moonlight walk-15

 

“Nothing can be compared to the new life that the discovery of another country provides for a thoughtful person. Although I am still the same I believe to have changed to the bones.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,Hobart moonlight walk-18