Mount Wellington & Hobart

Wednesday 01/24/18

I wake up at 7.50am because it's unusually warm in the camper. I've never experienced this before! I turn around, sleep for another hour, and shower comfortably before making myself breakfast. The strawberries I bought yesterday are super tasty, especially with vanilla yogurt - yummy!

So I sit in the increasingly warmer sun and write in my diary until a woman from another camper comes over and advises me to go into the shade. Okay, I clean up, wash up, pack everything away, lock the cabinets, and go on a little trip.

But first, I impulsively drive to a seafood shack only 3km from my campground. Here, you can eat outside in the sun at rough wooden tables and get really fresh fish. I finally treat myself to a bowl of grilled scallops - they are simply divine. About 15 pieces for $24.50 - top-notch, I must say, worth every cent.

Mount Wellington, 1270m high, is the mountain that rises behind Hobart. It is accessible by an asphalt road to the summit, and I want to tackle that now. The last 12km to the top are quite curvy, hairpin turns, and narrow, so you have to shift gears often. However, I have the impression that there are many people here who may have arrived in Tasmania only yesterday and do not come from a country with left-hand traffic. Small advice to all: Don't go up here at the beginning of your vacation, it's annoying for everyone. Either people drive at a snail's pace because they're afraid of heights and oncoming traffic, or they drive in the middle of the narrow road - which constantly leads to sudden braking maneuvers when you come around a curve and someone is trundling towards you on your half of the lane.

At the top of the mountain, there is a pretty cool wind blowing, plus it's only 17 degrees, which is already an extraordinary high temperature that can be reached here, because the temperatures up here are usually about 10°C below the temperatures in Hobart, resulting in an average maximum temperature of 10° throughout the year. So I put on my fleece jacket and explore. One side next to the parking lot is an almost moon-like rocky desert, behind which opens up a panoramic view of blue mountains. Next to the Pinnacle, you can see a mass of upright stones - the upper ends of the "Organ Pipes" that solo climbers sometimes ascend vertically. The other side offers a view of Hobart, the islands in front, and the hinterland. You have the feeling here that you can see about a third of Tasmania. The weather is perfect for this, as the sky is cloudless. There is 750mm-1500mm of rainfall here each year, depending on where you are.

On top of the mountain stands the Pinnacle, a white radio mast that also collects weather data. In any case, you can expect a fair amount of electrical radiation here, as there are various signs pointing out that remote controls for opening cars or even ignition could fail, and suggesting possible tricks to shield the disturbing radiation from the Pinnacle from your car key. It's a bit spooky. There are many Chinese people bustling around here, who, as almost always, speak loudly and shrilly and with their selfie sticks almost scoop up the rest of the visitors, taking forever for their photos and never accelerating the process of taking a selfie to let 5-6 people through.

But the view is really great and I enjoy this fantastic panorama, knowing full well that the mountain is covered in clouds on the majority of days of the year, making it an extraordinary experience to see it like this today.

Just like at other sights, there really isn't anything here where you could linger. The large shelter hall has no chairs, and the toilet booth is also not suitable for that. But other than that, there is nothing here that would sweeten a stay. My faithful camper immediately starts up normally, and soon after, I'm rolling down the mountain again.

Shortly before 5:00pm, I reach Salamanca Place in downtown Hobart, where the famous Salamanca Market takes place on Saturdays and where old casemates have been turned into arts and crafts stores, boutiques, pubs, and a lively atmosphere. I still have to put $2.80 in the parking meter because you have to pay until 6:00pm, and then I set off. The Parliament House almost disappears between the neighboring skyscrapers. It looks like a tiny Buckingham Palace - and you can sit on a beautiful lawn in front of it. There are also some old houses here that remind me very much of New Zealand, but also of South Africa and other parts of Australia. It's that typical colonial architecture from the end of the 19th century and later.

Stores, shopping - that's really new on this vacation! I'm soon delighted with two pairs of beautiful wool socks, which I actually expected everywhere because Tasmanian wool is world-famous and I was already wondering why you can't buy wool stuff on every corner like in New Zealand. Shortly afterwards, I found a great scarf and then around the corner a Tasmanian devil...On a square further back with a beautiful fountain, I found a nice bookstore with great postcards - finally, I can write the last ones. I also managed to get calendars here, which I still wanted for the kitchen and the study - and when the stores close at 5:30pm, I quickly spent quite a bit of money here.

I walk a bit towards the marina, but I don't really want to eat here, I would rather go back to my campground and enjoy the evening there in peace.

At around 6:45pm, I'm at my spot at the Seven Mile Beach Campground and now unpack my travel bag from its hiding place again to pack some more stuff. I only have half a bread roll left to eat with cheese. I still have 2 rolls left, which will be enough for tomorrow and Friday morning.

Since the end of this journey is approaching, tonight I treat myself to a bottle of well-chilled white wine. I don't want to know if the many stars that are showing themselves in the wine are due to it or to Tasmania, but I think of Tasmania - because that was often the case and again tonight at 11:00pm, there is an incredible canopy of stars above me. However, I have stashed my tripod somewhere, so there won't be any pictures, while wallabies hop around me again, nibbling a bit on the campground at night.