This week had a bit of everything in it – eating seafood, walking on the beach to poke and prod at invertebrates and washed-up seaweed, hiking, wandering through the botanical gardens, and even a bout of bowling.
Having been in Australia for 2 weeks already, I was in dire need of some fresh seafood. An evening out on the wharf for that very reason did not disappoint. I was spoiled with an adventurous plate of three styles of oysters: the Tasmanian Pacific Natural – which is just your classic oyster; the Tassie Blush – which are oysters with pepperberry mignonette and strawberry (believe it or not!); and lastly the Uni Pearl – oysters with Tasmanian sea urchin, miso dressing, and wakame (quite exotic!). As a main, I got a seafood pasta with shrimp, scallops, calamari, and probably other stuff that I couldn’t identify but tasted amazing. It was all very delicious and succeeded in satiating my seafood appetite… for now.
An evening walk down Bellerive beach consisted of briny sea air, the incessant calming sound of waves lapping onto shore, and views of sailboats, the towering Mt. Wellington, and the Sandy Bay and Taroona foothills opposite the bay. On one end of the beach are some neat sandstone rocks with interesting erosional patterns of striations and shallow holes. The other end of the beach has some tidal pools. After spending some time staring at little amphipods scuttling around in the shallow waters, I came across a little crab. I couldn’t resist the temptation of having him walk on my hands for a few rounds. I also spotted some barnacles and a chiton.
My dreams came true at last – I went on a hike, finally! I hiked the iconic Organ Pipes Track on Mt. Wellington (kunanyi). Starting at the Springs parking lot, I hiked 8.2 km to and from what is known as the Chalet following the Organ Pipes Track. The organ pipes are tall Jurassic dolerite columns situated just below the top of the east side of the mountain which you can see from anywhere in Hobart on a clear day. The view from up there boasts a panoramic scene of Hobart nestled into the mountain’s lush valleys surrounded by a plethora of bays and specks of islands in the distance. It was breathtaking. For a more detailed dive into this hike, click here.
Whenever I visit a city, I love taking a stroll through its botanical gardens to take in the region’s vegetative splendor. Having visited Hobart’s botanical gardens before (click here to check it out), this particular trip was somewhat of a lighter foray but still no less pleasing. The fern gully and lilly pad pond are my favourites. There’s also a great selection of succulents and roses, and there’s even a zen Japanese garden with several little waterfalls.
Other notable things I did this week – I ate my first Bunnings sausage sizzle (the hardware store here, named Bunnings, has a little tent set up outside where they cook up sausages – here, they call them snags – and they put them on a slice of white bread topped with onions. I also did some gardening and went bowling – where I surprisingly won a round!
