by Ron Largent | Feb 9, 2018 | Australia, Australia and the Rain, Melbourne, Milford Sound, New Zealand, Rain Forest in Cairns Australia, Tasmania, The Rocks in Sydney, Uncategorized
And the two day crossing from Hobart into New Zealand we had waves that rock the boat the first night second night was fine but depending on the weather this can be a fairly up two days or smooth as last due to the current at this end of Australia it can bury significantly and the captain kept making good reports on where we were with wind explain the dropping a weather boys explain how the crew sheep ships keep in touch with each other regarding weather very well done to inform one of the status of the ocean but so far these two days for the roughest see days we had otherwise very mild
by Ron Largent | Feb 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
Our day in Hobart started with our taking the hop on hop off bus to the Botanical Gardens even though it was a bit rainy we were able to leisurely scroll through the gardens and as a result definitely recommend this for a short visit buy books that like flowers. I got some great photos of flowers and we really enjoyed the walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens at the end of the hop on hop off bus route. We then came back to the information building which is an excellent source for travel and tourist information for both Hobart and Tasmania. We then walk up to the beautiful post office building with the huge clock tower and went in to mail some postcards and the building has been totally restored and is a beautiful inside building as well as the beautiful huge clock tower. Reason came back towards the marina areas and went to the Art Museum which is right adjacent to the marina this was a great opportunity to see the Tasmanian devil exhibit and the library and the museum in general which is extremely well done and pre admission. We then went to the mall send an article exhibit the building and the museum and had a very outstanding briefing on Mawson and his exploration to Antarctica I bought a book that describes his life and times and the presentation was extremely well done we looked at maps that gave us an indication of the size of an article compared to both Australia and New Zealand. We even took a leisurely walk back by the harbor to look at the large fishing boats which has been and is another big part of the local economy. We had an early dinner reservation before we went in to see the ventriloquist and that 45 minutes show was absolutely great he is a regular on the cruise ship circuit as a ventriloquist and certainly is outstanding we all laughed until we cried at his jokes and the way he did his performance.
by Ron Largent | Feb 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
Have dinner we talked about the highlight of Hobart as it would apply to a one day visit buy a cruise ship and probably divide the presentation into a couple of different parts. One part could be the history and the economy that is so evident and the porch with a large timber lumber activity both coming into the fork and going out as well as the container traffic going to an Anartica. There were probably 25 to 30 containers in one area that would be taken 2 Anartica which is a 6 day ocean trip and then return with containers back to Hobart. As part of the history we could talk about the connection with Antarctica and the museum exhibit. The museum and the Mawson exhibit could be in a 2 hour segment as they are just a block apart. The second segment could be a visit to the Salamanca restaurant and bar and small shopping area near Parliament Square this would be for people that would want to have lunch on their Hobart visit. For the people that would want a more general overview of the area the hop on hop off bus takes you from the downtown area north to old Hobart and the brewery and then back to town and down to the Royal Botanical Garden. This is about a2 hour round trip without getting off. If you were going to get off at either the brewery or the royal Botanical Gardens add about another hour and maybe 2 hours to this trip other than the information building area there is not a lot of souvenir shopping in the downtown area when you get off of the cruise ship you go into a large reception area that has a very complete information desk as well as about 25 vendors with various information to hers etc and some clothes but not a lot to choose from. So in an 8 hour visit to Hobart 2 hours for the museum and Mawson. 2 hours for the hop on hop in the presentation show photos with points over and then also include the history portion with points over going back to the 1800 when Hobart was founded which is Illustrated along the doc area off plus add an hour for the gardens and then an hour for the Salamanca area plus lunchtime probably would fill the day. This is a very unique area and historically very significant even though a small city of 200,000 on a island of less than 500000 people.
by Ron Largent | Feb 8, 2018 | Australia, Australia and the Rain, Burnie, Cairns, Hobart, Kuranda Classic Train in Cairns Australia, Manley Island in Australia, Port Arthur, Rain Forest in Cairns Australia, Sydney Australia, Sydney Opera House, Tasmania, The Rocks in Sydney, Travel the World, Uncategorized
We had a very interesting day in Hobart awaking in Port to see thousands of logs timber that are waiting to be unloaded onto shift bound for China Japan. We left the ship about 11 to go to the adjoining information building which was servicing both hardship and celebrity solstice that arrived earlier in the morning. From there we walked to the Information Center to get tickets for the hop on hop off bus which we didn’t road for about 2 hours as it was slow stop a lot and very hot up top. We went through the commercial area and along the marina and Bay and Harbor which is the second largest Harbor Bay in the southern hemisphere Rio de Janeiro being larger we saw the small businesses in the commercial areas of Hobart and it is a very beautiful quaint both old and new town with the foothills and mountains coming right down to the waters edge in locations mini very expensive homes both older and new on the hillside overlooking the bay and the Tasman see. We came back through the CBD known as the central business district and then got off and walked back to the ship for a late lunch. Then later in the afternoon all day and I walked to the Salamanca Salamanca which is a street full of restaurants and bars very very pretty very European looking and right past the park called Parliament Park very beautiful. Hobart is a city of 200000 and very interesting and that for many years has used the lumber industry as their basic source of economy it has since run to include a university and a large medical facility and serves as the capital city or the state have passed mania. I suggest and that visitors to a heart first go to the Information Center and look at the vendors and displays then take the 20 minute walk along the bay and along the marina to the Information Center and then if interested in more than just the immediate downtown area take the hop on hop off bus which is a reasonable fair of about $30 a day
by Ron Largent | Feb 7, 2018 | Akaroa and Christchurch, Burnie, Cairns, Christchurch, Cruise Line Deals, Dunedin, Dunedin, Fjords, Hobart, Holland America Cruise, Holland America Cruise Lines, International Travel, Kuranda Classic Train in Cairns Australia, Manley Island in Australia, Melbourne, Milford Sound, Napier, New Zealand, Port Arthur, Sydney Australia, Sydney Opera House, Tallin, Tasmania, The Fjords, The Rocks in Sydney, Travel, Travel the World, Uncategorized, Wellington
Port Arthur is a most historical town just to the north of Hobart, the
capital of Tasmania. As we approached the bay of Port Arthur it became very
obvious that this area was incredibly heavy wooded….which started to
verify that 90% of Tasmania is wooded…..
- The Bay is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was
discovered in the early 1800’s for its timber…and in 1930 became a timber
outpost for Australia , 2. Needing workers, the Australian government in
cooperation with the local business people in the lumber business, decided
to bring convicts to the area as laborers…and in 1833 created a
Penitentiary for convicts that then became the labor force. It grew from
there for the next 40 years….thus the current ruins and remains of the
original town as well as the small current town, Carnarveron,Tasmania, Australia.
- The Ship docked in the bay and we got on the Ship Tenders to go ashore…and
this entire procedure was orderly and well done…with about a 12-15 minute
ride in to the dock. From the dock it is easy to go to the Visitors Center
and from there take a leisurely 2 or 3 hour walk around all of the buildings
which have been renovated and modernized as much as possible, still making
it a kind of museum…
- The detailed history of Port Arthur is well documented, and info on the
prison, the prisoners, and their work and activity is well presented. Very
well done.
- Included in the Ship package was the 25 minute boat tours around the
Bay…where you can see where the Boys prison was, as well as the Island of
the Dead, which was their cemetery.
- This is a great one day stop…..just enough time to see this beautiful
area.
- In summary, so far Tasmania has been a must see spot if you enjoy natural
beauty with mountains, beaches, wooded areas, and little towns right down
to the waters edge….one of those best kept secrets.
- Another factor about Tasmania is that it is one of the southern most
points before you get to Antarctica. I am told the part of Antarctica that is
easiest to reach is from South America….but if you look at the world map
you can see that Tasmania is almost as far south. One of the slogans in
Burney was “welcome to the edge of the World”…..and seems to be true. But,
also one of the most beautiful that we have seen in that you have the
feeling of the tropical areas along with the mountains and the trees…
We are in Hobart now….which is about a 2 hour ship journey south from Port
Arthur. Gorgeous wooded mountains coming right down to the city of Hobart,
which has 200,000 people….and as I write I am looking out on acres of
labeled logs ready to go on ships for export. Probably 500 containers here
either filled or empty but extremely well organized and all seem to be in
order. We will spend 2 days here…should be interesting.
All for now,
by Ron Largent | Feb 7, 2018 | Australia, Australia and the Rain, Burnie, Port Arthur, Rain Forest in Cairns Australia, Tasmania, Travel, Uncategorized
Port Arthur is a most historical town just to the north of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. As we approached the bay of Port Arthur it became very obvious that this area was incredibly heavy wooded….which started to verify that 90% of Tasmania is wooded…..
- The Bay is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was discovered in the early 1800’s for its timber…and in 1930 became a timber outpost for Australia , 2. Needing workers, the Australian government in cooperation with the local business people in the lumber business, decided to bring convicts to the area as laborers…and in 1833 created a Penitentiary for convicts that then became the labor force. It grew from there for the next 40 years….thus the current ruins and remains of the original town as well as the small current town, Carnarveron.
- The Ship docked in the bay and we got on the Tenders to go ashore…and this entire procedure was orderly and well done…with about a 12-15 minute ride in to the dock. From the dock it is easy to go to the Vistors Center and from there take a leisurely 2 or 3 hour walk around all of the buildings which have been renovated and modernized as much as possible, still making it a kind of museum…
- The detailed history of Port Arthur is well documented, and info on the prison, the prisoners, and their work and activity is well presented. Very well done.
- Included in the Ship package was the 25 minute boat tours around the Bay…where you can see where the Boys prison was, as well as the Island of the Dead, which was their cemetery.
- This is a great one day stop…..just enough time to see this beautiful area.
- In summary, so far Tasmania has been a must see spot if you enjoy natural beauty with mountains, beaches, wooded areas, and little towns right down to the waters edge….one of those best kept secrets.
- Another factor about Tasmania is that it is one of the southern most points before you get to Antartica. I am told the part of Antartica that is easiest to reach is from South America….but if you look at the world map you can see that Tasmania is almost as far south. One of the slogans in Burney was “welcome to the edge of the World”…..and seems to be true. But, also one of the most beautiful that we have seen in that you have the feeling of the tropical areas along with the mountains and the trees…
We are in Hobart now….which is about a 2 hour ship journey south from Port Arthur. Gorgeous wooded mountains coming right down to the city of Hobart, which has 200,000 people….and I I write I am looking out on acres of labeled logs ready to go on ships for export. Probably 500 containers here either filled or empty but extremely well organized and all seem to be in order. We will spend 2 days here…should be interesting.
All for now,
