TASMANIA

It's always great to see familiar faces when you have been traveling for a while, it's even greater when those faces belong to family carrying 2kilos of Cadburys chocolate! It was now Malcom and Christine's turn to join us on our adventure. Although after hearing that in the week before meeting us they had been in Melbourne, had climbed Mt Oberon on Wilson's Promontory, witnessed hundreds of little penguins emerge from the sea round dusk on Philip Island, attended an Aussie rules football game and eaten their weight in mussels at the Melbourne Mussel festival, it felt like we were joining them on their adventure. 

Hobart in Tasmania was our destination for the week and as we touched down half a day before Malcom and Christine, we went for a little explore around Salamanca Market and the pretty little lanes that lie above on the hillside. 

We all met up later at our home for the week just the other side of Hobart's famous bridge. After much hugging, handshakes and chocolate giving we went for a meal overlooking the near by harbour and caught up from the last year. Boats swayed in the calm waters and the masts clinked and chimed in the slight breeze.

The following day we decided to visit MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). It's like a James Bond villain's layer turned art gallery which descends five stories under a hillside at the end of its own peninsular. To add to the Bond aesthetic, the main way to access the gallery is via a grey and blue camouflaged catamaran. Depending on how you look at it, a villains layer is not far from the truth. The owner apparently made his millions using complex algorithms to cheat/win millions out of Australia's booming gambling industry. The courts and lawyers are still trying to get their own back. I think ploughing his money into the arts was a way of avoiding tax. Either way he is no ordinary man and this was no ordinary place

I always struggle with modern art as in my opinion it's usually a load of pretentious twaddle that makes me a tad angry. However there are always one or two pieces that stand out for whatever reason. The highlight at MOMA Hobart by far is James Turrell's light installation, but I'll come onto this later.

One piece that caught my eye, well my nose actually was a machine that recreated all the stages and chemical processes of a human stomach, digesting human food which culminated in a rather pungent human poo. My overall opinion of this piece was that it's a bit shit, but it does add to the villains layer aesthetic quite nicely.

At the centre of this colossal underground labyrinth was a Gilbert & George exhibition. Bursting with the artists opinions and reactions to many aspects of society and recent history, it made for a powerful collection of rooms to wander. Some were quite dark and others quite comical. However as striking as their imagery is I still hadn't found anything I would hang on my bedroom wall. A Crucifix made from four poo's coming out four bums came close. I was noticing a theme emerging. 

Other highlights included a room full of plaster of paris vagina moulds (not the most comfortable situation I have found myself in with Helen and her mum), a flabby sports car and a waterfall instillation that spelled out words with droplets.

If I'm honest the building and the surreal boat ride is what I found the most inspiring. The mixture of industrial materials, unusual angles and levels juxtaposed with the rough blasted rock walls was really captivating. Pulse the shear size of the underground space is astounding. 

After our fill of art we headed back into the city centre to fill our glasses and our stomachs. The Drunken Admiral answered both these requirements.

One of the days we made the long drive round to Port Arthur. It was originally a revered prison for exiled convicts. However now it is a tranquil place with beautiful gardens amongst the ruins and a few restored period houses. The massive cruse ships that tower over the harbours of Sydney and Hobart also manage to find their way into this small inlet which in all its whiteness and windows clashes with the peaceful countryside and lagoons. The last of a massive group of tourist (numbering well over a thousand we were informed) were just being shipped off back to their expensive cells. With the crowds gone we practically had the place to ourselves.

On the way back we stoped off at a number of the eastern coastlines famous rock formations. A grand natural arch, a cave of angry churning whitewater and a naturally gridded rock slab named the Tessellated Pavement.

Looming over Hobart is Mount Wellington standing proud at 1271 meters over the city. Usually by midday it's top is cloaked in cloud, so mornings are key if you're planning a visit. One of the mornings we were up early enough to race the clouds to the top. We got some fantastic views of the bay and surrounding countryside before Wellington put his cloak on. 

Even though we drove to the top we still felt like we had earned a rest and rewarded ourselves with an afternoon on a beach five mins from our flat, for a swim then walked back around the headland which ended in sunset beers and Thai food.

On one of the more adventurous days we headed west into the bush. We were in search of a suspended sky walk through the thick jungle that makes up a lot of the south west of the island. It was a cracking experience to stroll through a Tasmanian jungle canopy, however I wouldn't want to be up there in a strong wind. Which is a big fear if you walk behind Helen.

The roads to and from the skywalk wind through a massive area of vineyards and orchards. It wasn't long before we screeched off the road into a little wooden building we clocked on our way, that advertised cider tasting and bottle shop. No sooner had we got back on the road and we were parking up again this time outside a place called The Apple Shed as some of us were still thirsty.

Shooglenifty are an Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock. We managed to catch this eclectic bunch at a traditional old mirrored spiegeltent tent that was also on tour and happened to be in Tassie.

You can't visit Hobart without taking a trip to the rugged and tasty Bruney island. It's a short ferry hop from Hobart and takes about a day to drive around. As well as beautiful scenery, nice walks and wildlife it has become quite a foodie place with with many places advertising traditional local ingredients etc, so lunch was an exciting event. However after realising there were no cows on the island the Bruney Cheese Company lots it's authenticity. 

They did however brew their own beer on the island, still everything was imported from the mainland. We did find some tradition at Get Shucked, a rustic oyster shack selling locally caught oysters from the bay. On route home we swung by a Methezes Greek Taverna, a Mezze place in a quiet court yard just down an ally from Salamanca Market.

Most evenings at some point we found ourselves nipping back and forth over Hobarts famous Tasman Bridge bridge which crosses the river Derwent. One evening we decided to drive up to a look out point near our place to take in the city lights. 

Just south of where we were staying is a long crooked peninsular called south arm. We went exploring one morning and split off into two groups, walkers and surfers. The afternoon took us right round to the tip that almost faced back to where we had come from. We took a walk along a picturesque little beach with mismatching colourful houses lining the sand. Now I had clocked where the waves were and how to get my hands on a board we decided to return the following morning. 

Whilst we were at MONA a few days ago, we stood under a nicely designed but relatively uninspiring outdoor canopy with a square hole cut into the roof framing the sky. We found out later that the whole structure was designed by James Turrell and comes to life at sunrise and sunset. Visitors are encouraged to arrive long before the museum is open or after it has closed, sit on heated concrete seats and watch the installation mirror the colours of dusk and dawn. As we couldn't surf until after dawn we borrowed the car and raced over to MONA via the back roads. H and I weren't sure what to expect however when the first tones of red and orange filled the sky setting off the calm but vivid lighting inside the installation we knew this was a good idea. The square hole that framed the sky was jet black against the contrast of the coloured lighting from below. It was almost hypnotic to watch as the sculpture welcomed in the new day.

In our relaxed and slightly mediative state we rented some boards and jumped into the sea back down on the south arm to wake up. The waves weren't the best but it was nice to be surfing somewhere new and out in the elements.

We caught up with Malcom and Christine exploring Salamanca market and went for a spot of wine tasting at a place called the Gas Works. (Weirdly no one made any fart jokes). We had gained a voucher for free wine tasting from somewhere and presented it to the lady at the door waiting for the financial catch. Surprisingly there was none and they were very generous with their portions. We tasted our way around all the places we had been on the island, before purchasing a bottle to have with our fish and chips supper.

The final morning I had some work to finish off so I got settled into a near by cafe with a coffee and an internet connection while the others took a wander in the botanical gardens. They came back a few hours later all in hysterics about the picture below. I can't imagine why.