Question: What do you do if you arrive on a clear day in Hobart, Tasmania and only have a few hours of daylight left?

Answer: You drive up Mount Wellington and take in the breathtaking views of the city and the surrounding Derwent river estuary.

And that is exactly what we did on our arrival at the smallest state in Australia. The other island. This was the start of our holiday. Welcome to Tasmania…

The mountain rises steeply almost out of the city but it is about 22 kilometres (14 miles) from Hobart central business district. It rises to 1,271 metres and dominates the area. Clearly visible from most parts of the city it provides a perfect backdrop for the small coastal city (compared to the likes of Sydney) of Hobart. It was a clear day but boy was it cold up there…

As always photos never show such sights in their true glory. Ever. These places need to be seen with your own eyes and a four inch mobile phone screen shot is never going to do it justice. But all I can do is try and relate how awesome these places are.

Into the City via an Old Factory…

And after bearing the chilly winds up at the top of the mountain what better way to warm up than a few cold beers. Erm… Well, a trip to Australia’s ‘oldest operating brewery’. The Cascade Brewing Co. which sits snuggly below the hug mountain is said to be the oldest “operating”. They all make these claims though eh? But in this case I think they may be correct – and the key word is “operating”. Anyway, we were very hungry and I wanted to try some Tasmanian beer…

Just enough daylight left to have a quick wander around the city centre where we found another smaller (craft) brewery hiding behind the big old dock buildings. After sampling the beers that left just enough time to grab a meal and get some sleep. This was just a quick stop over. We would return to Hobart before flying home…

The next day we would head off into the wild Tasmanian countryside on the start of a hectic tour.First impressions are simple: I liked Tasmania the minute we arrived. Let’s see how that develops…

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