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.

  • Slide title

    Harbour view from atop Mount Welligton ( from web)

    Button

  • Slide title

    Mount Wellington on our way out of Harbour, with fog finally clearing

    Button

  • Slide title

    Odyssey in Port

    Button

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.

View more

I also enjoyed the Victorian architecture of the homes and buildings in the town.

View more

PADAR ISLAND, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 3, 2026
PADAR ISLAND , one of the other 3 major islands in Komodo National Park is stunning and unihabited with a walking trail of over 800 steps to the summit, for these amazing views.

KOMODO VILLAGE, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 3, 2026
KOMODO VILLAGE is a small, mainly fishing family population of just 300 to 350 households. It sits on the east end of Komodo Island within the National Park and is a unique community where locals coexist alongside the native Komodo Dragons.

KOMODO ISLAND, INDONESIA

By Pat Patrick • May 2, 2026
KOMODO ISLAND NATIONAL PARK in Indonesia was an unexpected rare twist on this voyage. We had no idea that we would be able to anchor right in the heart of this National Park for 3 days. The National Park is comprised of 3 major islands & 26 smaller ones and is home to the legendary Komodo Dragons! We were suppose to anchor at the coastal town of Labuan Bajo and shuttle into the Park. But hours before docking, the Port Agents directed us to anchor right in the heart of the Park. Captain Val made it possible for our tour vendors, to pull right up to the Odyssey , so we had super easy access to our tours saving us lots of logistics and time.