Last month I attended my third Linux.conf.au, this time in Hobart, Tasmania, I wrote about the conference here and here. In an effort to be somewhat recovered from jet lag for the conference and take advantage of the trip to see the sights, I flew in a couple days early.

I arrived in Hobart after a trio of flights on Friday afternoon. It was incredibly windy, so much so that they warned people when deplaning onto the tarmac (no jet ways at the little Hobart airport) to hold tightly on to their belongings. But speaking of the weather for a moment, January is the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere. I prepare for brutal heat when I visit Australia at this time. But Hobart? They were enjoying beautiful, San Francisco-esque weather. Sunny and comfortably in the 60s every day. The sun was still brutal though, thinner ozone that far south means that I burned after being in the sun for a couple days, even after applying strong sunblock.

Beautiful view from my hotel room

On Saturday I didn’t make any solid plans, just in case there was a problem with my flights or I was too tired to go out. I lucked out though, and took the advice of many who suggested I visit Mona – Museum of Old and New Art. In spite of being tired, the good reviews of the museum, plus learning that you could take a ferry directly there and a nearby brewery featured their beers at the eateries around the museum encouraged me to go.

I walked to the ferry terminal from the hotel, which was just over a mile with some surprising hills along the way as I took the scenic route along the bay and through some older neighborhoods. I also walked past Salamanca Market that is set up every Saturday. I passed on the wallaby burritos and made my way to the ferry terminal. There it was quick and easy to buy my ferry and museum tickets.

Ferry rides are one of my favorite things, and the views on this one made the journey to the museum a lot of fun.

The ferry drops you off at a dock specifically for the museum. Since it was nearly noon and I was in need of nourishment, I walked up past the museum and explored the areas around the wine bar. They had little bars set up that opened at noon and allowed you to get a bottle of wine or some beers and enjoy the beautiful weather on chairs and bean bags placed around a large grassy area. On my own for this adventure, I skipped drinking on the grass and went up to enjoy lunch at the wonderful restaurant on site, The Source. I had a couple beers and discovered Tasmanian oysters. Wow. These wouldn’t be the last ones on my trip.

After lunch it was incredibly tempting to spend the entire afternoon snacking on cheese and wine, but I had museum tickets! So it was down to the museum to spend a couple hours exploring.

I’m not the biggest fan of modern art, so a museum mixing old and new art was an interesting choice for me. As I began to walk through the exhibits, I realized that it would have been great to have MJ there with me. He does enjoy newer art, so the museum would have had a little bit for each of us. There were a few modern exhibits that I did enjoy though, including Artifact which I took a video of: “Artifact” at the Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart (warning: strobe lights!).

Outside the museum I also walked around past a vineyard on site, as well as some beautiful outdoor structures. I took a bunch more photos before the ferry took me back to downtown Hobart. More photos from Mona here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleia2/albums/72157679331777806

It was late afternoon when I returned to the Salamanca area of Hobart and though the Market was closing down, I was able to take some time to visit a few shops. I picked up a small pen case for my fountain pens made of Tasmanian Huon Pine and a native Sassafras. That evening I spent some time in my room relaxing and getting some writing done before dinner with a couple open source colleagues who had just gotten into town. I turned in early that night to catch up on some sleep I missed during flights.

And then it was Sunday! As fun as the museum adventure was, my number one goal with this trip was actually to pet a new Australian critter. Last year I attended the conference in Geelong, not too far from Melbourne, and did a similar tourist trip. On that trip I got to feed kangaroos, pet a koala and see hundreds of fairy penguins return to their nests from the ocean at dusk. Topping that day wasn’t actually possible, but I wanted to do my best in Tasmania. I booked a private tour with a guide for the Sunday to take me up to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

My tour guide was a very friendly women who owns a local tour company with her husband. She was super friendly and accommodating, plus she was similar in age to me, making for a comfortable journey. The tour included a few stops, but started with Bonorong. We had about an hour there to visit the standing exhibits before the pet-wombats tour begain. All the enclosures were populated by rescued wildlife that were either being rehabilitated or were too permanently injured for release. I had my first glimpse at Tasmanian devils running around (I’d seen some in Melbourne, but they were all sleeping!). I also got to see a tawny frogmouth, which is a bird that looks a bit like an owl, and the three-legged Randall the echidna, a spiky member of the species that is one of the few egg-laying mammals. I also took some time to commune with kangaroos and wallabies, picking up a handful of food to feed my new, bouncy friends.

Feeding a kangaroo, tiny wombat drinking from a bottle, pair of wombats, Tasmanian devil

And then there were the baby wombats. I saw my first wombat at the Perth Zoo four years ago and was surprised at how big they are. Growing to be a meter in length in Tasmania, wombats are hefty creatures and I got to pet one! At 11:30 they did a keeper talk and then allowed folks gathered to give one of the babies (about 9 months old) a quick pat. In a country of animals that have fur that’s more wiry and wool-like than you might expect (on kangaroos, koalas), the baby wombats are surprisingly soft.

Wombat petting mission accomplished.

The keeper talks continued with opportunities to pet a koala and visit some Tasmanian devils, but having already done these things I hit the gift shop for some post cards and then went to the nearby Richmond Village.

More photos from Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, Tasmania here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleia2/albums/72157679331734466

I enjoyed a meat pie lunch in the cute downtown of Richmond before continuing our journey to visit the oldest continuously operating Catholic church in all of Australia (not just Tasmania!), St John’s. It was built in 1836. Just a tad bit older, we also got to visit the oldest bridge, built in 1823. The bridge is surrounded by a beautiful park, making for a popular picnic and play area on days like the beautiful one we had while there. On the way back, we stopped at the Wicked Cheese Co. where I got to sample a variety of cheeses and pick up some Whiskey Cheddar to enjoy later in the week. A final stop at Rosny Hill rounded out the tour. It gave some really spectacular views of the bay and across to Hobart, I could see my hotel from there!

Sunday evening I met up with a gaggle of OpenStack friends for some Indian food back in the main shopping district of Hobart.

That wrapped up my real touristy part of my trip, as the week continued with the conference. However there were some treats still to be enjoyed! I had a whole bunch of Tasmanian cider throughout the week and as I had promised myself, more oysters! The thing about the oysters in Tasmania is that they’re creamy and they’re big. A mouthful of delicious.

I loved Tasmania, I hope I can make it back some day. More photos from my trip here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleia2/albums/72157677692771201