EC-Rider Travels

I have had the most lovely three days exploring Hobart, a city so much larger and sophisticated than I thought as indeed is the island of Tasmania. I imagined it to be the size of the Isle of Wight when it is in fact quite a lot bigger than Scotland! Everything is just bigger and bolder than you ever think down here! Hobart is a sprawling city with lovely residential neighbourhoods overlooking the sea and a ‘down-town’ full of nice shops and cafes and more eateries than you can possibly imagine! It is located in the south-east of this southern most Australian territory, sitting on the estuary of the River Derwent overlooked by the recently renamed Mt Kunanyi (previously Mt Wellington). Hobart is the capital city of Tasmania and home to almost half the island’s 500,000 population. Its harbour is the second-deepest natural port in the world with an attractive waterfront built on reclaimed land.

Just 150 miles away from the mainland, the history of Tasmania (Tassie!) is pretty extraordinary. It is thought to have become separated from the mainland approximately 8,000 years ago due to rising sea-levels which formed the Bass Strait. It was inhabited by Aboriginal people for 40,000 years before British colonisation in the early 19th century when it was established as a penal colony. Once again it is not a good story and the Aboriginal population was virtually wiped out within 30 years of the ‘Black War’ followed by the spread of infectious disease against which they had no immunity.

Today, Tasmania’s economy is formed on eco-tourism, agriculture and aquaculture, education and healthcare. It is incredibly beautiful with huge areas (over 40%) of protected land in reserves. Apparently, the world’s first environmental political party was founded in Tasmania.

Talking of which, on Thursday Justin took me to Hobart’s stunning botanical gardens, and you can perhaps see why. It was beautifully laid out full not only of the most wonderful indigenous flora but also just so many of their ducks which of course made me very happy.

I even spotted a little rodent type person called a brown bandicoot, which I was apparently quite lucky to see.

We then drove to the top of Mt Kunanyi, the highest peak of the mountain range overlooking Hobart. Climbing up a windy road, known as Ogilvie’s Scar (after Premier, Albert Ogilvie ordered the road to be built in the 1930’s as a relief scheme for the unemployed) you eventually emerge out of the top of this forest blanketed mountain to the most fantastic 360 view of Hobart and the River Derwent. It was the most beautiful evening and, despite the huge number of Japanese tourists taking photographs of themselves, it could not have looked more stunning.

Alice returned from her racing escapades ‘up north’ this evening. So lovely to see her after so long and a lot to catch-up on.

Friday was the most amazing day as we went to the infamous MONA gallery. I had heard so much about this and once again expectations were worryingly high. But OMG it was the most amazingly, extraordinarily, wonderfully, irreverent place, I think I have ever been to. The experience starts when you leave Hobart harbour on a totally bonkers boat, covered in graffiti with a cocktail bar as you walk in and fibreglass sheep to sit on, on one deck and great big pink penises on another! There is humour everywhere and if you wish you can sit in the black leathered, tinted windowed ‘Posh Pit’ and be served champagne all the way there and back or in ‘cattle-class’ with the sheep and penises.

After a gentle twenty minute journey across the waters and through the docks you arrive in an area called Berriedale and to the most extraordinary looking structure set deep into the hill of what was the Moorilla winery.

The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is the creation and passion of local Berriedale self-made billionaire, David Walsh, and is privately funded. The majority of it is underground on three levels of huge, tunnelled galleries. The exhibits and installations are all unique to say the least and range from the sublime to the ridiculous usually centred around themes of sex, death or other things we are often reluctant to talk about. From a pink carpeted wall of (real) ceramic vaginas, showing there is no such thing as ‘normal’ to Cloaca a pooing machine! A huge great fat red Porsche to a ‘Ladies Lounge’ where only women are allowed to go!

There are also a number of really beautiful pieces including the most incredible spider webs forming part of a fascinating temporary exhibition about air pollution – pretty scary. Tasmania is unquestionably the place to live.

One of the most extraordinary ‘installations’ was The 4pm Project where a local composer, a friend of Alice and Justin’s, Dean Stevenson, creates an orchestral piece of music, from scratch, every day, which is played by four members of the Tasmanian Symphony orchestra at 4pm. He was on day 177!

There are the most charming, well informed staff everywhere (never seen so many) and everything is immaculate and of the highest possible quality. No corners have been cut from the exquisite display cabinets, frames, lighting even to the food on offer outside. Walsh lives on site in a strange looking home with glass panels into some of the galleries – bit weird! He describes his gallery as a ‘subversive adult Disneyland’! Walsh made all his money from gambling but his generosity in wishing to give back to his home city is more than admirable. What MONA has done for Hobart and the local, formerly rough area of Berriedale, has been transformational. He appears to wish to share his passion for art, inviting Tasmanians to visit his gallery for almost nothing and in addition hosting two huge annual festivals of art and live performance for them. Incredible.

It was such a privilege to go round with Alice, (an art teacher) who not only knew/or had taught most of the staff but saw each piece from such a different and enlightening perspective. Just LOVED it!

On Saturday, Alice and I we went to the most wonderful Salamanca Market which takes place every Saturday down by the waterfront. There must have been over two hundred different stalls selling local produce and really beautiful handicrafts. Great fun. We then met up with Sophia and headed for a gorgeous white sandy beach under the gum-trees. Amazing to have this just fifteen minutes away and though we were not the only ones there (being mid summer-holidays) and a pretty chilly sea, we had a really lovely couple of hours. We then scooped up Cecilia, who was at a different beach, to drop her at the restaurant where she works some evenings. We shortly received a call from her saying it was all a little quiet and would we like to head down to swell numbers, which we happily did and had a delicious, and of course beautifully served, bowl of pasta.