HOBART, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA

We had an overnight in Hobart, so there was one sleep without "rocking and rolling".  Yesterday was a cold day in Hobart, but we relaxed on the ship for the afternoon, and arranged with a gal to be picked up to play bridge in the evening.  It was a very nice evening with welcoming people, even though we played badly.

Today was a blue sky day, and our first stop on our tour was Mt. Wellington.  It is 4000 ft high (1280 m) and its base is part of Hobart.  There are homes built halfway up the mountain.  After that, the vegetation starts to change from large eucalyptus trees, to smaller versions, and then at the top Arctic dwarf trees and scrub vegetation.  It was cold on the top, and there is always a frigid wind.  There was still snow on the ground from Easter.  But the view!  Since it was a clear day, you could see for miles!

Next we had 90 minutes to enjoy Hobart's Royal Botanical Gardens.  They were wonderful!  We think they are the best botanical gardens we have seen; in some ways they almost equal Butchart Gardens.  The Japanese Garden section was particularly attractive.  I have many pictures!

Well, the highlight of every day is dinner, and tonight was the Captain's dinner--lobster and giant prawns, for the main course (there are always 5 courses available).

We are bouncing along through the Tasman Sea on our way to Sydney.  We have some things planned for our overnight in Sydney, but the details will be released in our final blog after we get home!  So, keep on reading and thank you all for putting up with our comments.  Hope you get the chance to do it too, some day.

g'day