First Full Day in Hobart: Tasman Island, Dolphins and Port Arthur

In each of the three cities we visited, we had one day with a full day excursion that was more adventurous.  For Hobart, that would be a cruise around Tasman Island followed by a visit to Port Arthur.   We had an early meetup time of 7:30AM.  Today's breakfast was a quick muesli granola bar and some much needed coffee at the hotel apartment.  It was a quick walk to the tour office where we would pick up the bus.  After checking in, we were boarding the bus and on our way.  The first stop was at the Port Arthur Lavender farm where scones and tea were waiting.  We found out this was actually a stop so that they could pick up more passengers from the Port Arthur location for the tour company.  We enjoyed both savory (bacon and cheese) and sweet scones served with a lavender jam and cream.

The views were magnificent.  I also went to the distillery where they showed how they make lavender spirits including gin.  I had never heard of anywhere in the United States where this is done but it was quite common in Australia.

Distilling equipment at Port Arthur Lavender farm

After the short stop, it was back on the bus to drive to the pier for boarding our boar.  We were boarding small boats that were designed specifically for the rough conditions in the water around Tasman Island.

The views we saw were amazing!!  So many caves!!  And it was interesting to see how the water had eroded the rocks over the years.

We also saw the most amazing pod of dolphins!!  Check out the video below.  I highly recommend this sailing.



  

The cruise around Tasman Island was about two hours and we were now headed to get dropped off at Port Arthur.  I had never heard of Port Arthur before booking this excursion so it was all new.  What I learned is that it was used as a hard labor camp for housing "criminals" from England.  I use quotations since the majority of the people sent here had committed petty crimes.  England had made conditions so bad for the poor that many had to steal bread just to feed their family.   Port Arthur was built to house these criminals.  Crimes were punished by sending the accused across  the world to what was called Van Diemen's Land at the time. Sentences were for a minimum of seven years.  Even if a prisoner completed their sentence, most had no way to get back to England since they would have had to pay their own way on a ship and would have no money.  Then getting jobs in Port Arthur area were scarce, even if someone was willing to hire them based on their being a prisoner.

 Port Arthur was more than just a prison.  It had a church, doctor's offices, gardens and officers quarters.    Families of the officers lived at Port Arthur.  It was very much a community, even with the terrible conditions the prisoners suffered.

Before we started our tour, we were given a card that had one of the residents that had lived at Port Arthur.  You had to go to a gallery to find out who that person was. There is a picture of the card I received below.  Was he a convict of officer?  More on that later. 

We then had lunch.  The tour guide had asked us earlier whether we wanted salmon or ham for lunch.  I went with salmon.  When we showed up to the cafe, the table was preset with the lunch I picked.

Soon they served a hot soup which was a pumpkin cream.  It could have used some more salt for my taste but the hot soup was welcome on this cool day.

Pumpkin cream soup with roll

The bag included all kinds of goodies starting with this smoked salmon sub with fresh greens.  The salmon was so tasty and I can't think of any time where I had a sub with salmon as the protein.  Such a great idea.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich with greens on fresh baguette

Several desserts in the bag.  There was a gingerbread style cookie with chocolate (not pictured), a fresh apple (probably Fuji) and a piece of organic chocolate.  The apple was one of the best apples I had had.  Firm and juicy, with just a great mix of sweet and tart.

Apple and Chocolates

After lunch we started touring around the large grounds.  We only had a short time so had to pick a few areas to explore. 

They had many of the old buildings set up so you could tour them.  This was the doctor's home.

This was the remnants of the church.  There was a huge fire here that destroyed many of the buildings.

A view of the gardens and church.

And while I thought the person on my card looked very innocent, he was actually a convict.  He was convicted of stealing food.  This is the remnants of the small cell he inhabited.

After the tour, it was time to get on the bus back to where we were picked up in the morning.  It was about a 90 minute drive and there was time for a little napping.  I had done a little research the day before and found there was a section of town called Battery Point which had lots of bars and restaurants. It was only about 15 minute walk from where the bus let us off.  So off we went and found this great pub called the Whaler.    I tried Harbour Master from Hobart Brewing, the Hazy IPA from Balter Brewing, Raspberry Berliner Weisse from Wayward and Beetlejuice Black NEIPA.   All were good but Beetlejuice was my favorite with it's deep coffee flavors.  The beer quality in Australia had greatly improved since my last visit in 2012.  Back then, all the beers tasted the same - very malty and skunky without much hops.  I didn't recall seeing a single stout other than Guinness.  There were very little IPAs and the ones they did have were lacking hops.  So glad to see that the beer quality and variety has improved.

For (first) dinner I went with the Banh Mi sandwich with BBQ pork!!  This was so fresh and tasty with a roll that was perfect to sop up all the goodness!!

The fried cauliflower was terrific.  Lightly fried - a bit more batter than a tempura but super crispy.  This is hard to do with cauliflower since it has so much moisture.  I am thinking they may have partially roasted it before they fried it to get it so crispy. It was served with a chipotle sauce.

One of the more surprising things I discovered in Australia, and particularly Tasmania was all the gins they had.  I expected to see a huge selection of whiskeys and bourbons - which I did.  I saw the old standbys - plus some local brands.  But seeing all the local gins was impressive.   Some bars had about 50 gins - and only a few were brands I knew.   So many local gins.   This was one of the favorites called Deadman's Point.  In other future blogs, you'll see some of the other including one made from green ants!!  Yes - you could see the ants in the bottle, much like the worm in mezcal.

My wife and I were still a little bit hungry so went with some fried chicken tenders.  Maybe it was the atmosphere of being in a cool pub, but these tasted so good!!  They had a similar sauce that came with the cauliflower.  Crisp breading and tasty chicken - that is all you want in a good tender.  And the pickles they served on the side were no joke!!  They were the spiciest pickles I have ever had.  Must had had habaneros in the brine.

After a long day, we were ready to walk back to our hotel apartment.  Tomorrow we would be checking out a museum and trying some of the downtown pubs.