hobart
10 Mar 2025
It's been a long while since I last travelled, September 2023 to be exact. I returned home from my overseas trip in October 2023 to find my Dad in a Brisbane hospital. For the next 15 months, Brisbane was the only place I visited. I broke the drought in January with a trip to Melbourne to attend a family wedding, then February I jumped on a flight down to Hobart.
I've always loved travelling and it's something I've missed. Hobart was the last place I visited in 2020, before 2 long years of COVID lock-downs and travel restrictions clipped my wings. I really had no plans for my time while in Hobart, other than to roam around with my camera and reacquaint myself with one of my favourite places. Would you like to see how I spent my time there?
My parents took a trip to Tasmania when I was a teenager and they sent me a postcard of the Cat and Fiddle Arcade. I stayed at the Movenpick Hotel, which was only a short walk from the iconic Cat and Fiddle Arcade, so I made a pilgrimage to view the famous clock. The whole shopping centre has been redeveloped and I was a bit worried the clock might have gone, but it's still there.
I walked from Salamanca Place through Prince's Park to Battery Point, my favourite part of Hobart. It was a grey afternoon, so I only took a few photos and decided I'd return another day when the sun was out.
I walked past the Lenna Hotel and over to the charming Arthur's Circus.
In black and white and in colour.
From there I walked over to St. George's Church.
I walked down Butler's Steps and over to Constitution Dock.
I'd read about an old restored street sign on the Loretto Building in Macquarie Street, so I made a pilgrimage to photograph the sign. McCann's Music Centre operated for 142 years, only closing it's doors in 2023.
It only seemed fitting to photograph the sign using black and white film.
On Friday I went on a trip to New Norfolk. I decided not to rent a car while I was in Hobart and went by bus but unfortunately there was a tight connection in Glenorchy which I missed by about 30 seconds. I then had an hour to wait for the next bus and I can report that there is not a lot to do in Glenorchy.
When I arrived I went straight to the Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk, located in the grounds of Willow Court, which operated as a psychiatric institution from 1827 up until 2000.
Willow Court is a mixture of both horrifying and grand with the willow trees after which it was named, long gone.
The kiosk is only open for a few hours Friday to Sunday and as I arrived an hour later than planned, I went straight inside to see what was on the day's menu.
The menu is concise but the pie of the day looked good and tasted great. The desserts looked magnificent and if the pie hadn't been so filling, I might have succumbed but I had some shopping to do at Miss Arthur before I caught the bus back to Hobart.
There were early signs of autumn in New Norfolk.
I found the light in Hobart was at it's best late afternoon, so once I was back in town, I headed over to Cornelian Bay to photograph the iconic boat houses against the backdrop of the Tasman Bridge.
The Bay is the start of the Cornelian Bay Coastal Walk which takes you past the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and from there into the City.
It was after 5.00 pm and there were very few visitors.
The light at that time of day was just magnificent.
I was the only person at the lily ponds. Pure bliss.
A salmon roll for breakfast seemed to be the thing.
I paid a fleeting visit to the grounds of the historic house Narryna, where a wedding was taking place.
I walked down to A.J White Park for a view of the Derwent River.
'Gift from the Earth' by Keizo Ushio
Everything looked delicious.
From there I walked over to St. George's Church.
It was mid week, so naturally the building was locked.
The driver on the airport bus recommended Flippers for fish and chips, so it seemed wrong to go anywhere else for my dinner.
The following morning I explored North Hobart and New Town and hunted down a shoe repair shop when one of my sandals inexplicably fell apart.
I'd read about an old restored street sign on the Loretto Building in Macquarie Street, so I made a pilgrimage to photograph the sign. McCann's Music Centre operated for 142 years, only closing it's doors in 2023.
It only seemed fitting to photograph the sign using black and white film.
I had lunch plans with friends down at the Blue Eye Restaurant at Salamanca Place so I walked there via St David's Park.
I walked back to the Movenpick via the newly opened and very glamorous Tasman Hotel.
When I arrived I went straight to the Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk, located in the grounds of Willow Court, which operated as a psychiatric institution from 1827 up until 2000.
Willow Court is a mixture of both horrifying and grand with the willow trees after which it was named, long gone.
The menu is concise but the pie of the day looked good and tasted great. The desserts looked magnificent and if the pie hadn't been so filling, I might have succumbed but I had some shopping to do at Miss Arthur before I caught the bus back to Hobart.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I walked to the gardens.
It was after 5.00 pm and there were very few visitors.
The light at that time of day was just magnificent.
I was the only person at the lily ponds. Pure bliss.
I thought I could catch a bus back to the city from the gardens but I was mistaken so I slowly trudged the last few kilometers home on my now blistered feet.
Saturday was Salamanca Market Day so I was up early along with every other visitor to Hobart or so it seemed.
During my stay, most of the travellers to Hobart were in the mature age group and mobility aids were not uncommon.
A salmon roll for breakfast seemed to be the thing.
I looked at the downtown shops, visited the Maritime Museum of Tasmania and in the afternoon I paid a return visit to Battery Point.
I paid a fleeting visit to the grounds of the historic house Narryna, where a wedding was taking place.
I walked down to A.J White Park for a view of the Derwent River.
'Gift from the Earth' by Keizo Ushio
On my last morning I had just a few hours to spare before my flight back home, so I packed my bag then walked the few blocks to the Farm Gate Market.
Some of the stalls already had queues when I arrived at 8.30 and I recognised a few vendors from the Salamanca Markets.
I returned home with a bottle of Rough Rice Mothership Fermented Chilli for my neighbour.
Everything looked delicious.
When I returned to the hotel I chose the Crushed Potato Rosti with caramelised red onions, creamy whipped lemon tofu, crunchy kale leaves and mixed mushrooms from Mr Brown & Towns (the stall pictured above) for my breakfast which fueled me for my trip back to Sydney.
All in all it was a good trip and hopefully it will kick my travel plans for 2025 into gear.
See you all again next week.
Bye for now,
Jillian
