We're in TASMANIA

Mar 17

If you were to tell us we would be in Tasmania for St. Patrick's Day, prior to booking this Aussie Adventure, I'd have a difficult time believing you!

Today's 20,000 steps had us exploring Hobart, Tasmania's capital. This city has a rich history as a British penal colony founded in 1804, evolving into a major whaling port and then a center for primary industries before becoming a dynamic, cultural city.

This is the oldest theatre in all of Australia. Wild that it's here.

Oh man, so many thrift stores, so little time.

They appreciate their postal service. Isn't this a gorgeous post office?

Meet Sir John Franklin KCH FRS FLS FRGS (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847), a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. During his third and final expedition, an attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1845, Franklin's ships became icebound off King William Island in what is now Nunavut, where he died in June 1847. The icebound ships were abandoned ten months later, and the entire crew died from causes such as starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy. He is a hero here.

Steve's lunch was a traditional scallop pie. He said it was delicious.

A millinery. Oh my!

Kelly's Steps is an architectural landmark. The steps, named after early Australian explorer and whaler James Kelly, connect the suburb of Battery Point to Salamanca Place. At the time Kelly constructed the steps in 1839, Battery Point was on a cliff that overlooked wharfs of Sullivans Cove. The steps were cut into the stone of the cliffs. The warehouses that lined the wharfs on what is now Salamanca Place were built with stone quarried from the cliffs.

All the houses in this neighborhood have history lessons posted. The house below was a backyard shipyard. Look at the finished boat being transported by where Steve stands. Wild.

History is everywhere in Hobart. Walking along the water's edge we came upon this 12.43, opposite a gazebo-like colonial building, the Tide House, where the height of tides is still measured. Datum level for Hobart is 12.43 feet above high tide mark.

This octagonal tide gauge house, located in Castray Esplanade in Battery Point and designed by Robert Huckson, was opened in December 1889, and still contains a working tide gauge where the height of tides is still measured. Twice a day, a metal float sinks into a saltwater-filled pit cut through a rock beneath the tiny building. Twice a day, the float rises with the tide.