Vacation - Hobart Tas.

Vacation Hobart.

Situated on the Derwent river estuary with Mount Wellington in the background Hobart is on the south east coast of our Island state Tasmania.

Founded in 1803 Hobart is the capital city of Tasmania.

Hobart is very historic, and an ideal place for an Australian vacationer to spend time while in Australia.

Hobart is also the Antarctic port for Australia and France, as well as the finish point for the world famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The Derwent river area was inhabited by the Mouheneener aboriginal people before white settlement, and was covered in she-oak forests which have long since been logged, with just a few remaining trees left and preserved.

Sydney is the oldest Australian city being founded in 1788. The second oldest city in Australia is Hobart settled in 1803.

Began as a penal colony, Hobart was shifted to it's current location at Sullivan's Cove one year later.

The city was named after the Colonial Secretary Lord Hobart, the fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire a British Tory politician in the time of George 111 and the Prime Ministership of Henry Addignton.

The Tasmanian art gallery is in Hobart and the arts form a large part of local culture on the Island..

Hobart is also the home of the Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute, providing opportunities to fresh and promising musicians.

The Wrest Point Casino was Australia's first, and is an International casino that attracts many big gamblers from all corners of the globe to Hobart.

Mount Wellington when looking from Bellerive sits directly behind Hobart creating a large backdrop to the city creating a beautiful setting to take photo's, or just to take in a full perspective of this city of 200,000 people.

The top of the mountain that is 1,2271 meters above the city forms a backdrop that is often covered in snow.Summer or winter this is a great part of Tasmania.

The view from the mountain is spectacular taking in a panoramic view of the city and surrounding seascape and inlets.

Mount Wellington itself is steeped in aboriginal history, and Charles Darwin climbed the mountain in 1836

Here is Darwins's description.

In his book "The Voyage of the Beagle", Darwin described the mountain thus;

"... In many parts the Eucalypti grew to a great size, and composed a noble forest. In some of the dampest ravines, tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds forming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like that of the first hour of the night. The summit of the mountain is broad and flat, and is composed of huge angular masses of naked greenstone. Its elevation is 3,100 feet (940 m) above the level of the sea. The day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us. ..."

For people who like to explore heritage villages the waterfront suburb Bellerive is perfect.

Unlike a suburb This picturesque little village has a full view of Hobart city and Mt Wellington from the esplanade.

Looking at Hobart from Belerive you can see how big this little city of Hobart really is.

The dock area in Hobart is a great spot to see some serious sailing boats along with fishing boats.

If you are staying at a city hotel, just stroll down to the docks for fine seafood restaurants and a lovely spot to just sit and watch the shipping go by. Very peaceful and a favorite place in Hobart.

Hobart is home of Constitution Dock. World famous for being the ending port of one of the hardest races in the world. The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Leaving Sydney on Boxing Day (the next day after Christmas Day) and arriving at the Dock after traveling 630 nautical miles down the east coast of Australia.

The race is very dangerous having claimed six lives as recently as 1998 when a hurricane took out 5 boats and ended 6 lives.

Of the 115 boats that left Sydney only 44 got all the way to Hobart.

The weather information and organizers wore some criticism from the coronial inquiry.

The spectacle when the race begins on Boxing day empties the houses and apartments all around Sydney as we all go to bayside to watch the huge number of boats in the race and see the thousands of water-born spectators on the bay with them.