We woke up to a chilly morning of minus 1 degrees. Brrrr! We wanted to grab a snack before our cruise so we decided to check out Bread & Butter, which is a local bakery founded by a lady who started off by creating cultured butter. This has become a Launceston favourite, with a very well patronised Sunday morning. We both ordered savoury pastries which were obviously made from real & natural ingredients. The pastry was melt-in-the-mouth flaky and delicious.

The cruise took us along the point where the three rivers meet (North Esk, South Esk and Tamar), at Home Point. Captain Steven took our little boat through Cataract Gorge while explaining the history and quirky facts about Launceston. He also explained about the history of the colonisation of Australia, being that London was so over crowded that they needed to find a quick way to solve the dire problem. The way that they did this was to make it possible for the police to arrest you for virtually anything. The laws that could be punishable by transportation (to Australia) were referred to as the 19 Crimes, these are very interesting, some very questionable and well worth a read.

Cruising further into the gorge, Captain Steve explained that in the warmer months it is common to see rock climbers tackling the dolerite rocks that towered either side of the gorge. He also explained about the flood mitigation system, which diverts flood water from flowing into the township back into the river. This proved its worth when they experienced one of the biggest floods in 2016.

After the cruise we sought out lunch and went with a recommendation from a friend (thank you Sensay Sue!) and dined at Hallams Seafood. We shared Kilpatrick oysters (surprise surprise!), battered local fish & chips, and a truffle & pecorino pasta dish. Delicious! We can totally understand the attraction of living in Tasmania. The emphasis on green energy, the fresh air and clean living, with top quality produce leaves nothing else to be desired.

Home again to freshen up before walking down the road for our tour of the James Boags brewery. Our guide Nicole was an excellent host and led us on a historic journey of the development of one of the best beers from Tasmania. This was topped with a beer tasting of their Premium, Triple X and Wizard Smith brews. Highly recommended if you are a beer drinker.

For dinner we had decided to wing it and find somewhere open on a Sunday night on our walk back to our apartment. Unfortunately we did not take our driver Terry’s recommendation, and instead tried our luck at a little restaurant/bar called Backstage. Here we finally had the lowlight of our holiday. The food was not enjoyable, with the ‘homemade’ tortellini being a gluey mess swimming in a foul tasting sauce. The other dishes were very subpar and not even worth a mention. We had to laugh that we had been professing how amazing our trip had been and that everything we had been served had been so top quality. Here was the universe reminding us that nothing is ever perfect!

Getting up early Monday (today) morning to be at the airport for our 10:15am flight. We returned our Hyundai Kona to the Bargain Car depot near the airport. The whole hiring process has been good value, fuss free, and they had a shuttle bus to take us to the airport terminal.

The check in experience at Launceston airport was the complete opposite of what we experienced in Sydney. Our flight was delayed, but once it arrived we knew we were on our way home! We are now at Melbourne airport awaiting our connecting flight to Sydney. What better way to kill a couple of hours than to blog, drink Prosecco and play cards. Good afternoon!

We decided to only book a half day wine tour, which included one winery, a lunch and then a gin factory tour with a tasting. Our driver, Terry, arrived and announced that we were the only ones who had booked the half day, so we essentially had our own private car. No complaints!

Our first stop was the Velo cellar door. On the way Terry informed us of the history of the wine industry in Tasmania. He was very knowledgeable and personable. After tasting and buying some delicious local wines, we apparently had a little bit of time before our lunch booking so he drove us around Grundelwald. This was a lovely little town that had been built into the style of a Swiss village. The houses and architecture were to be marveled at and apparently now attract quite a pretty penny. He also took us on a little track down to a lake made especially for the town that was home to lots of ducks and other water birds. A great detour and a town we would have never known about had we not had some time to kill!

Lunch was the Ducks restaurant, which was on the property of the Ninth Island Vineyard. Terry advised us that the signature dish was the crumbed Tasmanian scallops and chips, so we ordered that and a Tasmanian mushroom risotto to share. Both of us admitted to not being big fans of scallops usually, but agreed that the freshness of the local seafood has been second to none, and once again we enjoyed this meal very much. The risotto was so lemony and flavourful, and packed with mushrooms. All washed down with local Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir. On the way out Michele couldn’t resist patting one of the resident golden retrievers, Nutella and Marmalade.

Bellies full, we were now driven to Three Cuts Gin Distillery, where we were given an awesome private tour of the entire process of both whiskey and gin production. It was interesting to see the raw processes of the mash being fermented in the stills. This distillery is so young that it hasn’t actually released its whiskey yet, as it takes a minimum of 2 years to age in the barrel. Gin takes a much shorter time to create, hence why they are producing this in the meantime. Our tour guide then directed us over to the bar area where we tried 4 different styles of gin, explaining the different processes and ingredients that go into producing the flavours and intensity of each. We purchased the Rose gin.

Terry took us back to our apartment and we got ready to walk down to our dinner at Cataract on Paterson. We enjoyed oysters mornay and Kilpatrick, and shared mains of Tasmanian crispy pork belly and loaded potato skins. Washed down with local wine…of course!

Tomorrow we tour Cataract Gorge by river cruise and then have a tour and tasting at the James Boags Brewery. Good night!

Yesterday afternoon we had noticed that you can order restaurant quality breakfast and barista coffee room service. We ordered 2 coffees and the chilli crab scrambled eggs to be delivered at 7:30am this morning. Once again they did not disappoint.

On check out, we made sure to tell the hotel staff how impressed we had been with every experience we have had with them. Very highly recommend The Movenpick Hotels.

MONA was a very short 20 minute drive out of the city centre. As we were booked for 10am which was when the museum opens, it was easy to find a good park right near the entrance. We’ve always enjoyed visiting quirky and unusual museums and we can now add MONA to the list. Some notable exhibits include: the infamous wall of vaginas (I won’t write the exact name of the artwork here, but it’s an easy Google), an amazing waterfall installation, an optical illusion room and an awesome giant Sidney Nolan wall mural. There is also an app that you download which uses your location to tell you about the art around you.

On the way out we ran into a couple on the stairs who we had formed a little friendship with since the beginning of our holiday journey. They were a young couple who we got talking to in the line to the service desk once our first flight had been cancelled. They were working on Cradle Mountain and were on their way back after visiting family in NSW. They had previously worked on Hamilton Island and so bonded over shared experiences, since Michele had worked there many years ago too. We also discovered that we had similar itineraries and mused that we might run into each other again during our time in Hobart. The morning that our flight had been rescheduled we found each other and chatted before cheering together when our flight was finally called for boarding. We found out when we disembarked the plane that we were actually seated in the same row as each other. It’s just so funny the little friendships that occur out of unfortunate events. So, even though we had left each other at the airport saying “might see you at MONA”, we were pleasantly surprised to run into them as we were leaving! We shared our experiences of Hobart so far and they gave us a good recommendation for dinner in Launceston before saying our final goodbyes and wishing each other well.

The drive from MONA to Launceston said 2hrs & 15mins. The roads were not busy at all and the scenery was very picturesque. We stopped at a little Italian cafe in Campbell Town for lunch and then made it to Hideaway on George, our Launceston accommodation by 3pm. The room is very spacious with a large modern bathroom & good heating.

For dinner we booked the Rupert & Hound restaurant (which was the one our new friends had recommended). It was a 20 minute walk from our accommodation, allowing us to explore the city along the way. The venue itself is right on the water and we arrived as the sun was setting, which added the beauty.

For dinner we shared oysters Kilpatrick and also some ones with a chorizo panko crumb. Teresa’s main was garlic prawns and Michele had Tasmanian lamb loin. We noticed that their “Wine of the Moment” was the Derwent Estate Pinot Gris that we had enjoyed a couple nights prior and ordered a bottle….at literally half the price of the one we had in Hobart.

We enjoyed everything and once again marveled at how delicious every single meal we have had, and how friendly every single person had been. Back at our hotel we settled in for the night. Tomorrow we do a mini Tamar wine and gin tour. Good night!

Happy Birthday Teresa!!

We awoke to the bells of the clock tower from the Town Hall of Hobart. A quick Google search showed that sunrise was not until 7:41am! That was a bit of a shock. We then walked down to our car to embark on our drive to Mount Wellington.

Siri took us on an interesting route that consisted of driving up a steep and windy dirt road (much to passenger Teresa’s angst). We drove through a mountainside town, finally back on paved roads, and made it to a little clearing with a coffee shop called The Springs. Teresa was confused, as she had been up to Mount Wellington before and this route was not familiar, so we stopped to ask for directions only to be told that the road up to the top was closed for the moment. All that scary driving for nothing!

On the way back down we were able to stop at a part at the side of the road that still had stunning views looking out to the south, it was breathtaking and made it all worth it.

Once back in town we valeted out our car and set out on foot to do some exploring and find a place to have some brunch. The hotel is in a perfect centralised location and to access the harbour we just had to walk straight down a hill. We explored the wharf area and found the Waterline Restaurant, where we enjoyed the sunshine, Bloody Marys and good food by the water. Teresa had Spanish potato omelette with crayfish salad, and Michele enjoyed smashed avocado & Tasmanian goats cheese on toast. Once again, a top notch meal!

After our brunch we continued walking to Battery Point via Salamanca. The markets weren’t on today but there were still plenty of crafty and quirky shops to explore. Walking up to Battery Point, Siri once again took us on a “creative” route. It had been recommended to Michele by a friend, so she was expecting it to be an actual point. Once we had walked around and marveled at the beautiful little historic houses, it dawned on us that Battery Point was the name of the suburb. It was very lovely and quaint.

It is worth noting that Hobart is not a flat city, so any walking involves a lot of hills. After walking around the hills of Battery Point it was time to rehydrate, and the Prince of Wales Hotel happened to be right there on the corner to serve our purpose. We ordered a couple of James Boags on tap and sat and people watched for a bit.

Back to our hotel room to freshen up, we forgot that the Movenpick Hotel has a “chocolate hour” from 3:30-4:30pm every afternoon. This means free chocolate. Michele selected a pink chocolate stiletto. Score!

Earlier when we were at the wharves we had noticed a complex called the Mures, which housed a restaurant that had also been recommended called Pearl & Co. We booked this for an early dinner.

Just before dinner time we explored the other side of the city and then sat down to a magnificent dinner of Tasmanian oysters and fish washed down with Arras. We cannot express enough how much the local food is of the upmost quality. Delicious.

A short walk back to our hotel to take in the wonderful views from our room while playing cards and drinking wine. Teresa was particularly excited to speak with her favourite son over FaceTime. Michele tolerated it. 😆

Tomorrow we see Mona and then Launceston. Good night!

Another early start but a lot closer to our destination. The Stamford was a good choice, the beds were comfy, the shower was hot and all up it was fuss free. Downstairs we thought we could find a cab but the Town car driver negotiated a price and took us past the horrific traffic through a shortcut that he knew and dropped us down the bottom of T2. Awesome choice! It saved us at a whole heap of time in traffic, well worth the extra dollars.

At the airport the queues were horrendous, beyond anything we had ever seen before. The security line started outside the doors. We were a little worried, even though we were 3 hours early for our flight. Thankfully the airport seemed to be much better organised than we had heard on previous days and our bags were dropped and we were through security within an hour.

After a couple of hours lazing around drinking coffee we headed to our terminal, where our flight was finally called to board, yayyy!! The flight to Hobart was so short (only an hour and a half) and before we knew it we were collecting our hire car from the airport carpark and on the road!

Port Arthur was our first stop. We toasted our first meal in Tasmania with 2 glasses of Arras to wash down our pizzas. The tickets to go into the site were $47 each, but included a free informative cruise past the Isle of the Dead and around the Port Arthur bay. This was lovely. It also included a 45min introductory tour, which we skipped because it was getting late and we needed to get to Hobart before dark. Instead we took ourselves on a speedy tour through some of the ruins and viewed the gallery, then got back into our car to head to the Movenpick Hotel in Hobart.

The hotel is very modern and the staff are very friendly and accommodating. We checked in and then headed down to the restaurant for dinner. Michele had a Cape Grim eye fillet, and Teresa had fresh Tasmanian oysters and Italian meatballs. This was washed down with a delicious Derwent Estate Pinot Gris. 5 star rating for everything!

We are so happy to finally be on our holiday and tomorrow the birthday celebrations begin. Good night!

We had hoped to get back to Europe this year but a range of circumstances have caused us to postpone. We decided that our holiday this year will still be across a ditch, but a smaller one. We booked a week in Tasmania.

With the torrential weather and after reading horror stories about extreme delays checking in and navigating Sydney domestic airport, we decided to err on the side of caution and be super early for our 6:55am boarding call to Hobart. Our alarms were set for 3am and the taxi booked for 3:45am.

Even though the taxi was pre-booked and paid the day before, we still had a panic when we logged onto the app at 3:35am and the appointed driver was sitting at a residence in Miranda for another 10mins without moving. We were able to call the driver through the 13cabs app however, and he answered on our second call and assured us he was on his way. He was 10mins late but luckily we had built plenty of time for error into our trip. The roads were clear, the rain had subsided for a short time, and we had a good run to the airport.

Arriving at the airport, we breezed through baggage drop & security and then had lots of time to kill. Coffee & good lounge seats by the window allows for a comfortable and scenic couple of hours as we watched the poor airport staff outside battle through the wild weather.

We made our way to the gate and did some trivia while waiting for the boarding call. There was a delay but we were still in good spirits, as the man next to us had decided to join in on our quiz and we were having fun. Then it was announced over the loudspeaker that our flight had been cancelled due to not being able to have enough staff. Great. The poor guy next to us cursed and told us that it was the second time in 2 days that this flight had been cancelled.

Everybody made their way to the service desk and just waited. Virgin were already relocating people’s flights which Teresa discovered when she contacted them on the phone. We retrieved our luggage and the next part of our adventure began.

In true Renneberg form we refused to let this news dim our holiday and so we booked the Stamford Plaza close to the airport for our flight (hopefully) tomorrow morning. Even though it was early in the morning and check in was not until 2pm, the hotel stored our bags and gave us a key to their lounge, which was a kind of lobby space with computers and a phone. We were able to call the hotel and car company in Hobart to inform them of the cancellation. Both companies were very understanding and changed our booking without charge. It seems that this is life at the moment and everyone is very accommodating.

Once the formalities had been addressed we made our way into the city and had a lovely brunch (although it felt like dinner 🤪) at The Grounds in the City. We had a good walk around and shared a bottle of wine at Cargo bar. A taxi back to the hotel and now ready for dinner and an early night. Fingers crossed tomorrow’s flight goes ahead. Good night!