March 19, 2026
TASMANIA has always had a meanacing sound to me, probably because of the famed Tasmania Devil! So it was a nice surprise to find such a lovely, friendly place. Hobart is the capital of the island state, and is Australia's second oldest city, blending colonial history with dramatic natural scenery. The population of greater Hobart is roughly 250,000. The city sits between the sparkling Derwent River and the towering slopes of Mount Wellington, making for a picturesque waterfront.
I was suppose to go on a bus excursion to the top of Mount Wellington when we arrived on the 16th of March, but the fog was so thick our bus driver changed the route, to take us to other city sights. We went to the top of two former signal lookouts, on either side of the the Tasmania Bridge, so we got a good view below the cloud cover of the whole harbour. The Tasmania Bridge now closes to traffic everytime a large freight vessel needs to pass by, due to an accident that occurred on January 5, 1975. A bulk carrier vessel, the Lake Illawarra, collided with several bridge pylons causing the bridge deck to collapse onto the ship below and the river.Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on the Lake Illawarra and Hobart was cut off from it's eastern suburbs. The ship wreck still remains in the River today, as it was safer to leave it. The bonus of this excursion was we got to go the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.
I also enjoyed the Victorian architecture of the homes and buildings in the town.
