While the weather in Hobart wasn’t exactly beautiful, we managed to shop at famous Salamanca Market, visit beautiful old Richmond, pet some more Kangaroos and Koalas and drive up all the way to Mt. Wellington for a fabulous view. Oh, and we also paid interesting and weird MONA museum a visit. And then – last, but not least – we finally tasted our Sullivans Cove Single Cask American Tawny Oak whisky, fresh from the barrel. Great experience!
Then off we went to Brisbane, for a not so pleasant surprise as our just re-confirmed accommodation suddenly was not available anymore. So we were sitting at the airport (where there is not even a decent cafe in the arrival hall…) trying to figure out where to spend the night… Luckily Roland found a great replacement, also in South Brisbane, and soon we were on our way there. Great view over the river and towards the CBD, so all was good after all. Dinner was a tasty Pho close to home and we were ready for our last Australian city to explore the next day.
After a visit to the really interactive Science Museum, rainy weather did not stop us to walk around the CBD area including Queen Street Mall and City Hall (without the clock tower as tickets were already sold out for the day). Another new addition for the family was Max, fresh out of a claw box gifted to the boys by some lucky (not for gifting it, but for getting it out of the box) teenagers. After the walk, we were too tired to go anywhere and stayed home for pasta and a movie… which the boys loved, anyway.
Luckily, the next day brought some sunshine again and we got some more good views from the Wheel of Brisbane (scarily high, said the boys) before walking along Southbank, which features a great playground and an amazing beach and pool and later discovering Governor’s House, Parliament House, Botanic Garden and finally making our way back to South Brisbane on a river ferry. Early dinner at the amazingly packed Julius Italian restaurant, which was indeed very authentic.
With again (too) early a start the next morning [we thought this was a vacation], we left Australia, good wines, good seafood and big cities behind us and boarded the plane to Solomon Islands, all ready for our big South Pacific adventure.
More on that next time… we are now on island time where all is a bit slower…
The MoNsTers on tour 