Trees then Taste of Tassie ... Ending 2014 with a BANG

Midnight fireworks in Hobart! 

The pace of life we've adopted while here in Hobart hasn't slowed over the past week.  We've caught up with friends from Lake Macquarie, rekindled friendships with people we met in the Louisiades Rally in 2013, and enjoyed celebrating the turn of another year with our Hobart cruise buddies from 'Celay' and 'Bogart'. 

All this and we haven't even been back out on the water in 'Southern Belle'!   Mind you the wind has been blowing and blowing and blowing - hard - so I haven't missed being out on the boat at all.   When Di and John - friends from the Louisiades rally - came aboard they told us an interesting thing about the wind down here.  They said the wind tends to come in with the "Big End" first!  In other words, instead of building up to it's maximum strength for the day it starts out at the max and then works itself down.   I think we've seen that a good bit even here in the marina as we clocked over 36 knots blowing right here in the pen!  The good news - and we're hearing this from everyone - is the wind calms down considerably starting in mid-January and things get better and better for cruising as we move into February and March.  I'm certainly looking forward to that!!

We're lucky with the weather ... we have all the time in the world to enjoy Tasmania because we don't have to get back to Sydney any time soon.  Stephanie is taking good care of Molly and the house and we don't have work commitments so we can take our time and enjoy everything this amazing place has to offer.  And that's just what we've been doing .....

On Monday of this week we drove down south of Hobart to take in some of what is called the 'Huon Trail'.  The website describes it like this ... "a world of extensive and serene waterways, wild coastlines, quiet farmlands, boutique vineyards, and rugged but accessible World Heritage wilderness".   And it certainly lives up to the description.  The drive is lovely with vistas that change as you climb and descend each mountain and cross the Huon River valley. 

Monday we headed for the Tahune Airwalk.  This is presented in the tourist brochures as a walk among giants ... a walk at the very top of the forest canopy.  After seeing the huge trees at the base of Mt Wellington I wanted to see what it looked like towards the top of these beautiful and ancient trees.

To enter the Airwalk you cross a bridge over the mighty Huon River and start the climb up through the forest floor.

Once inside the forest area there are huge trees (as seen in the background here) - apparently left from past forestry cuttings - mingled in with new growth and massive fern trees.  As we drove through on the way to the Airwalk site there were signs along the road dating the regrowth from the early 1960s through to the late '70s.  Makes you wonder what this wild part of Tasmania would have looked like today if the original huge trees had been left to live their life unchanged. 

The airwalk at the top of the forest.  The walk is only as wide as one or two people and it is quite high up in the tree tops. It swings and moves with the wind and the weight of people walking on it.  The view was breathtaking and, in some parts, the "swing" of the walkway was disconcerting.  I loved it.

Then, as you descend back down and cross the forest floor, there are many areas to enjoy the peace, tranquillity and sheer majesty of the area.  Well worth the visit!

On Tuesday we woke to a drizzly morning with a windy day forecast.  Di and John delivered a boat around to our marina and came aboard for morning tea and invited us to their home in Launceston for the weekend.  I took advantage of the breaking sunshine and wind to get some laundry done.  This is the first marina we've been in that provides a clothesline next to the laundry so we don't have to run our clothes through a hot dryer.  So good and so Tassie!  This seems very much an environmentally "green" state.  In the afternoon we escaped the wind by going to a movie .. we saw "The Water Diviner" and liked the film a lot.  See it if you get a chance.  I was so glad to see the cinema almost full for the film ... usually Australian audiences don't support Australian films like they should.

Wednesday was New Year's Eve.  The 6 of us - me & George + Ian & Sharon from 'Bogart' + Peter & Sue from 'Celay' - had purchased reserved seats for the "Taste of Tassie" NYE celebrations months ago.  After attending the first day of the "Taste", where the crowds were pretty thick, I wondered if we would enjoy the night or if it would be a huge crush of people all vying for the vendors inside.  But it turned out the party was just for ticket holders and the crowd was large but manageable which meant it was easy to sample all the wines on offer as well as try a lot of the food.  The theme for the night was Pirate and a lot of people dressed up.  We didn't ... with the exception of Sharon who donned a frightful black beard as well as an eye patch.  Great fun!

George and Sharon in the pirate guise!

Our table with the young couple that had reserved the last two seats on the end.  They were such nice people visiting from Arnamland in the Northern Territory where he teaches. 

One of the sample cheese boxes from a vendor.  The sample plates, boxes and dishes were delish!

A group selfie during the 9:30 fireworks!

The scene behind us - with the Sydney to Hobart yachts at the main wharf in the distance - as everyone settled back in to drinking and eating and waiting for the midnight fireworks.

We had a great night!  If you ever get a chance to come down to Hobart don't miss the "Taste of Tassie" event.  It is done so well.  The people running the stalls are so friendly plus the food and wine are excellent.

Yesterday 'Bogart' and 'Celay' left the marina to cruise around for awhile.  We're going up to Launceston to visit with Di and John for the weekend so we said goodbye in the morning.  I wanted to spend a lazy day reading but George wanted to take a drive down another section of the Huon trail road so off we went down the other side of the channel.

More spectacular scenery with lots to do and see along the way. 

Apologies for the length of this post ... there is so much to show and tell.  More later from Launceston.  We're still loving it down here!