Food, fun and festivals

Trip Start Dec 13, 2008

Trip End Apr 26, 2009

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Flag of Australia Hobart, Australia
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

We have only been in Tasmania for just over 2 weeks and yet we feel a million miles away from mainland Australia.
The pace of life here is so much slower and we are enjoying the relaxed atmosphere; great local food, fresh, clean air (though cooler than we are used to) and friendly locals make for a great combination.

Seven Mile Beach was a lucky find as it is a sleepy seaside village with only one store which stocks just about anything one could need and a marvellous beach for long walks (well wrapped up against the wind, of course) and elevated coastal paths affording sweeping views. These walks remind us of some of the better-known New Zealand coastal tracks. There are beautiful wild flowers; tiny daisies in many colours and the wattles are just starting to bloom.

Our spot in the caravan park is sheltered and we have been able to sit outside in our annexe most days to enjoy the sound of the birdlife.

Fairy wren

There are Kookaburras laughing in the trees and blue fairy wrens flitting around and twittering in the shrubs and today, on our morning walk, we saw a flock of bright green parrots chasing a hawk. On our Christmas Eve beach walk around a rocky headland we saw a flock of about 20 sooty oystercatchers which are big black birds with bright red beaks and legs. They were majestic as they waded in the shallows looking for food and so festive with the splashes of red though David thought them rather clown-like. Sorry no photo as the 'photographer' forgot the camera.

We also see and hear planes taking off from nearby Hobart airport but the lack of disturbance is an indication of the number of planes using the airport. We are close to 4 golf courses including Royal Hobart but David has not yet tried them out; we have been too busy eating. Barilla Bay oyster farm is only a few kms away so David has been enjoying the fresh local oysters.

Christmas lunch

For Christmas Eve we had crayfish followed by sherry trifle which were both delicious and on Christmas Day a turkey which was rather dry as it took ages to cook in our small caravan oven. In the past we have cooked larger roasts outside on the Weber BBQ but decided to keep the caravan warm with the oven on. Not a good idea as, I think, the problem was the size of the turkey compared to the oven. A lesson learned and in future we may break with tradition and have something different. I say that each year but relent. Still, the home-made Christmas Pudding smothered in brandy sauce made up for it.

Christmas day turkey

On Boxing Day we watched the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race on TV then 2 days later we were in Hobart at the docks watching them arrive and seeing the winning yacht's crew throw the skipper overboard.

Waiting for the yachts to arrive

Wild Oats - line winner

Skandia

The first 2 super-maxis; 'Wild Oats' and 'Skandia'; are huge and so beautifully fitted out. We were surprised that one could walk out onto the pontoons in the harbour and go right up to all the boats. There were some amazing yachts in the harbour worth countless millions.

The finishing line

Ichiban

We went back the next day to see more arriving. There were also lots of other sporting events such as swimming, kayaking and rowing; all adding to the excitement in the harbour area.

Swim race start

Sunday was also the start of the Taste of Tasmania festival which goes on for a week and is held in an old apple shed in the docks. It is a celebration of Tasmanian produce and one can sample the food and drink from the stalls. There are also buskers and street-performers and stages set up for shows as well as food presentations. It has a real party atmosphere and we have spent lots of time there already and will probably return for another day of tasting. If you double-click on the 'taste menu' photo you may be able to read an example of interesting fare offerred.

Tassie Taste offerings

It is the perfect time of year for the festival with berries and cherries in season. The raspberries are particularly delicious. Local salmon; fresh and smoked is plentiful and well-priced, as is other seafood. We enjoyed scallops cooked in their shell and calamari. One of the presentations we watched was given by a Tasmanian chef/personality, called Waji, and he demonstrated how to cook crayfish and calamari using a BBQ and made it seem so easy. A national TV food presenter, Maeve O'Meara, was part of the judging panel and she was fun to listen to.

Taste of Tas cookery demo

Another interesting presentation was on wine and cheese matching using produce from the Bruny Island cheese company; we are planning a few days on Bruny Island later in January so will definitely visit the dairy; the samples were very tasty.

Apart from the Taste Festival we have sampled other good local produce; we stopped at a smallholding near Seven Mile Beach which advertised young Pink-Eye and Dutch Cream potatoes. Tasmanians really know their potatoes and many gourmet varieties are available.We drove in and the lady, whose property it was, dug up the potatoes while we watched and then gave us fresh young purple garlic and cut parsley and mint from her herb garden to go with the new potatoes. That's typical of Tasmanian hospitality. What a great way to welcome tourists.
We also had a surprise visit from Santa on Christmas morning; we walked out of the caravan to find a pack of 6 mince pies and some jelly beans in the annexe. We thought that it was we who were supposed to leave mince pies for Santa not the other way round. Maybe Tasmanians do it differently. Anyway it was another lovely surprise.