The mandatory chore day seems to follow each stint of free camping. We had washing to do, supplies to buy, and organising to be done, but we managed to book end the day with a massive play for Theo with a family we have run into a few time along the way, a run into town over the oldest bridge in Australia (still in use), and finished off with meeting up with Willow and Matt. The kids enjoyed feeding the ducks down by the banks of the Coal River.
Being in the heart of the fruit bowl that is the Coal River Valley, we headed off to a farm to experience fruit picking first hand. Theo took to it with gusto, trawling the isles for the perfect strawberry.... and promptly eating it. We did buy some strawberries after our efforts, but I imagine Theo's belly held two or three times the amount we paid for. Lunch at the farm followed with a beautiful lamb shoulder and sweet potato rosties, all locally grown.
Hobart beckoned, so we headed off early to squeeze in a hike before hitting the town (obviously our memories of South Cape Bay had faded). The Organ Pipes track was our choice leaving mid way up Mt Wellington and climbing 400 metres to the base of the sheer cliffs of fluted dolerite columns. Neither Bern nor I had previously paid attention to how big Mt Wellington really is. In the drive there, it was enveloped in cloud so we were none the wiser, but as the drive went on and on, we climbed up and up, the temperature gauge plummeted from 18 degrees down to 8 degrees. Yet again we were not prepared, leaving all of our warm clothes conveniently in our van located exactly 50 kilometres away in Richmond.
This didn't deter us, so we wrapped Archie in a rug and tied him to Berns back, gave Theo a lolly and we were off. As we climbed and climbed we could see glimpses of Hobart and the Derwent river through the clouds, and as we climbed the cloud started to thin, and burn away with the day. We reached the base of the Organ Pipes with a spectacular view out to the city, and the cliffs faintly obscured by mist. By this time the temps were pretty good, we had a snack and Bern and Archie headed off up to the Pinnacle via the Zig Zag track while Theo and I headed down to grab the car and meet them at the top. Amazing views in all directions and as far as the eye can see...
Battery Point, Salamanca and Hogs Breath Cafe rounded out a great visit to Hobart with some exhausted kids asleep in the car on the drive home...