Since everything is shut down on Christmas day, I took my friend from North Sydney Masters Christina's advice to head to Wineglass Bay. So, after a 2.5 hour drive I arrived in the Freycinet National Park's Coles Bay and did the 6k roundtrip bushwalk to Wineglass Bay.
Yes, hard to believe but on Christmas Day I went bushwalking! And in my backpack I brought a picnic lunch and my painting gear so I could really enjoy the view and the experience.
It does look like a wineglass and it's very pristine and beautiful so was well worth the very, very steep hike. Not as steep and difficult as the Giant Staircase Hike down to the base of the Blue Mountains, but it is a close second!
SUNDAY, DEC. 26
I was very lucky that on Boxing Day they still held the Salamanca Markets! I had great fun checking out all the vendors and did what I could for the Tasmanian economy with my purchases.
And only in Tasmania can you purchase an echidna toothpick holder - how cool is this! :)
After a morning of shopping I went to check out the wineries in the Hobart area. Again, from a friend's recommendations I visited Moorilla Winery (this one was my favorite) and after doing my own research checked out Meadow Bank Winery and Coal Creek Winery. Tasmania is mostly known for pinot and riesling and grapes that do best in a cool weather region.
Shout out to Tomu: You have to check out this FlipVideo - I actually tasted beer for you!
Then I headed to the Royal Botanic Garden in Hobart and learned about the trees and ferns indigenous to Tasmania - my fave is the Huon Pine.
And while it was already a busy day - I fit one more thing in - a drive to the top of Mount Wellington. For anyone that's driven to John Muir Woods north of San Francisco, you'll understand when I say this is a very, scary drive. Basically, it's along the lines of the opening scenes of a James Bond movie whereby you have this windy road on the side of a cliff with a very, very steep drop. I got to nearly the top when I started to really get freaked out because although I was focusing on the road in my peripheral vision I could see this huge drop. I found a rest area and actually turned around and headed back down to the bottom. Then feeling like a total wimp, turned around again, gritted my teeth and drove all the way to the top.
The top is 1,270 meters above sea level and absolutely freezing (the next day I heard there was snow) and had a great panoramic view that really showed just how much of Hobart I was able to cover in my short stay there.
And here's the cute light blue car that I zipped around in over my Tasmanian Christmas holiday!
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