As usual we arrived on-time in Hobart, Tasmania. A little overcast to begin with but the temperature was supposed to warm up to 75 degrees plus. After a quick breakfast on the Lido, we all met ship side for whatever that plan was going to be.

When I walked out of the cruise terminal there sat Paul in his 8+ passenger Chinese van. Will you take the six of us on a tour of Hobart - Yes sir was his response. We all piled in an left the pier for points unknown. In the early stages the weather started to sprinkle, but we were in the van so that was a good thing.

A quick tour of Hobart proper, a great city of 220,000 people. As I've said before, sometimes you just get a good feeling about a place - again this was the case here in Hobart. After a great tour and commentary by our driver Paul, we headed for Mount Wellington. It's a funny thing, I always get a little weird in cabs - staring at that meter does something. When a driver says to me that we can do a 3-hour tour and we'll be on the meter, I just don't know. In any event this was the best deal we could have possibly asked for. The 4-hour tour on the ship went for $239.00US per person - so based on the six of us our Hobart tour tab could have been $1434.00US but our total tab was only $245.00 Australian - you can see what a rip-off the ship tours are.

It was about 45-minutes to get to the top of Mount Wellington (approximately 1,500 meters or 5,000 feet) on a good but narrow highway right to the top. There's not many places around the world that offer this access/convenience to locals and tourists alike. As we rose to the top, you could tell that we were changing micro-climates - the wind picked up, the rain and even hail started to hit the windscreen. Paul had asked me to be careful when I opened the passenger side door, but did I listen. Anxious to get out and take pictures at the summit, I opened the door and POW - the door flew out of my hand and bent the hinges badly. While it closed, it made a distinctly busticated sound every time I entered or exited. I cannot believe the weather change that we experienced on the summit - only three of us ventured out of the van.

Back down the mountain we drove by the oldest brewery in Australia, The Cascade Brewery along with their lovely gardens. The lawns were so manicured it looked like a carpet, apparently the wallabies come out at night and provide the lawn care services free of charge. He dropped all of us off at Salamanca Place for some shopping and cabin supplies. While we were shopping he took the van off for door repairs (no cost to Bob). From there we headed to Rosa Bay to an overlook of Hobart and a great view of the bridge to the city.

Back at the cruise terminal, we shopped a little - Jean shopped more. We're out to sea tonight - as a matter of fact we out at sea for the next three (3) days and heading to Milford Sound where thing are supposedly spectacular. We'll see, stay tuned - more pictures to follow.

Thanks for following us along on this amazing adventure - Deborah and Jean say hello to everyone too !