Hobart 28 – 31 December 2007

After seeing Laura off at 10:30am when the temp was 14degs, we were shocked to have a hot afternoon when it reached 34degs at 2:30pm! 20degs higher! Don’t think we have ever experienced such a change before! For the first time since we had been in Tassie, we felt H-O-T!!~!! We actually enjoyed it as it would not, or could not, last! It was like Darwin last year in winter!
We had an enjoyable day at the docks around the city. Only a handful of yachts had finished including the winner Wild Oats and City Index Leopard - both maxis that dominated the marina. Spent a pleasant afternoon having a drink (or 2) at one of waterfront cafes with Carol-Anne and watching the people watching the yachts.
Wandered up to the City Hall to an antique Fair to admire the mainly Tasmanian antiques. While we enjoyed it, we were expecting more as this is one of the antique centres of Australia, however the complimentary champagne and food made it very enjoyable - all for a $6 entry fee! We seem to be getting lots of freebies in Tassie.On New Years Eve, we decided to drive Jimmy into Hobart and camp at the Cenotaph Reserve which had been opened for parking during the Festival week. This directly overlooks the Harbour (just imagine trying to do that in Sydney). We were able to easily walk in and out of the town and docks. Most of the yachts were in and the sight of them all moored with their tall masts reaching for the sky, was breathtaking. Two other races wrapped up at the same time as the Sydney to Hobart - the Melbourne to Hobart and the Launceston to Hobart and they brought in a multiple of smaller yachts to completely fill up the harbour. New Years Eve was a very hot day with a cool change in the evening and we were able to sit outside until midnight! We had a great view of both lots of fireworks. The midnight ones were very good with a few new ones we had not seen before. About 15 motorhomes came up to stay the night and we made a few new acquaintances for the evening. We were surprised how quiet the night was after midnight and slept in to find a real cold, wet winter morning again!