This morning was a bit of a washout, owing to the rain. We didn't wake early, only at 8, and the sun was shining nicely then. However, by the time we had organised ourselves and had breakfast, it was after 10, and the weather had changed its mind a bit. We went out to have a walk, but the rain started when we had only got as far as the Marina.
We returned to the hotel to wait for better weather. The rain kept stopping and the sun came out, but by the time we had put our coats on, the rain had started again.
At 2 we started our tour. This is somewhat different from the last tours we have had. For a start, this tour is in a coach, not a mini-bus, so there are far more people. On our last tours, since we were with backpackers, we were by far the oldest on the bus - mostly, we were more than twice the age of the next oldest. Hardly anybody else was over 30, and sometimes it was a challenge, especially to me, to keep up. On this tour, we must be among the youngest, and we look to be the fittest too. One very good point about this tour is the lack of music on the bus. For 6 weeks we have been obliged to spend our days listening to the most appallingly awful noises so the current silence is delightful to us. I only hope we won't find they feel obliged to play hours of 'golden oldies' to us on long journeys!
Our first half day was devoted to a tour of Hobart. We went round Battery Point, one of the oldest areas in Hobart, and had an opportunity to look at some of the old buildings. The photographs are fairly awful though - it is hard to take a decent photograph from the bus window as it passes.
This photograph gives you some idea, but I wasn't quick enough in pressing the shutter and the tree got in my way!
Hobart contains some fine old buildings - perhaps there wasn't enough money around to knock them down in the 60s so they are still there, and I understand are now cherished.
Next, we visited the Botanical Gardens, the oldest in Australia. There were some wonderful displays of spring flowers (seems odd in October, but it is spring here) and some very fine views, as the gardens are set on a hillside. There is a beautiful lily pond, home to a family of ducks.
We counted at leat 10 tiny ducklings all paddling their little legs like mad, but not really staying together enough for a group photograph. There is a very interesting sub-arctic house, which is kept extra cold for plants reflecting what is found on some islands south of Tasmania. And the Conservatory had some beautiful cyclamen and the best display of orchids I have seem outside of Kew.
Then we drove past the harbour and up to Mount Nelson for views over the whole area of bays.
Mount Nelson was the venue for a signal station established there in 1811 for passing information about shipping and penal matters. It used semaphores and only closed down in 1969!
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