SODA BREAD

You have arrived and stoked the fire and poured the glass of wine. It's been a busy day visiting Mona and the women's prison in Hobart and you're thinking of what your plan will be tomorrow. Should you pack up the car early and head for Kettering to catch the ferry to Bruny Island, or will you just relax and do what people in farm houses do. Bake some bread. You've brought a few ingredients with you such as the chia seeds and you look in the pantry. There's a packet of flour and salt. You can imagine the smell the bread cooking in the oven. It's soda bread which takes your fancy. Look here for the recipe as well. You could follow this up with a self saucing pudding.

BRUNI D'ENTRECASTEAUX

BRUNI D'ENTRECASTEAUX
I think everyone interested in Tasmania has heard about him by now. Bruni D'Entrecasteaux was the first European captain to sail  through the channel between what is known now as Bruni Island and the mainland of Tasmania. Leaving France in 1792 Bruni sailed in along the Derwent River, past Bruni Island and and into Port Cygnet, Port Esperance and the Huon River. Napolean and his wife Josephine were particularly interested in Australia and in their home outside Paris, Malmaison they collected many drawrings of aborigines, flora and fauna brought back by the French explorers before and at the time of Napolean's reign.

Hobart was settled in 1804. There is an exhibition winging its way to Melbourne to tell the untold story of the emporer's fascination with the world Down Under.
Napolean: Revolution to Empire which will be on at the the National Gallery of Victoria, St Kilda Road, from June 2 until October 7. You can see a gallery of images on The Age ipad app.

SUPERMOON

I am not the only person who is talking about the SUPERMOON. Last night I was away from Tassie in Apollo Bay and I took some photos. I posted them on my facebook page and then began to realize that lots of people out there were interested. What is this SUPERMOON? All around the state of Tasmania the photographers were out with their cameras.Who could get the best photo?

The French

I was chatting to my brother-in-law about the position of Wavestation, which is on the edge of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel looking towards Bruny Island.This lead to talking about the French after whom many places are named in Southern Tasmania. They were here before the English who were looking for somewhere to colonize. The French had scientists and hortaculturalists on board and sought knowledge and science. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/04/29/2230849.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudin_expedition_to_Australia Baudin dying of tuberculosis in Mauritius on his way home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruni_d'Entrecasteaux

RESTAURANTS IN HOBART and THE HOBART BOTANIC GARDENS

Garagists, Ethos and Stackings

Garagists and Ethos are some of the fine restaurants in Hobart. 
There are others and the number is growing. Hobart may become the eating capital of Australia.


My friend sent me a link to an article about the growing number of restaurants in Hobart. Try Me Wah Restaurant in Sandy Bay.


Take time to see the gardens in Hobart. You will be anazed at the magnificent sight of the leaves turning from green to yellow to brown and dropping in swathes on the ground. Take your time driving down to Wavestation and visit a few places on your way. Look out for the Hobart Botanic Gardens. Approaching Hobart from the airport and driving over the bridge the Gardens are on your right. There is an excellent display vegetable garden and a very special Japanese garden.


Out of Hobart and along the Channel Highway  Peppermint Bay Hotel in Woodbridge has an excellent restaurant called Stackings Woodbridge is forty minutes from Hobart and 15 minutes from Wavestation (at Middleton).Another wonderful place to visit is the handweaving studio, up the hill from the turnoff next to the Woodbridge store.

AUTUMN BREAK

A few days without committments in Melbourne allowed us to book a flight to Hobart to seek out the Autumn delights in Tasmania. Arriving in Hobart on a Sunday morning we immediately head for Constitution dock to check out the latest offerrings in the sailing boat market. There was a huon pine double ender made for a couple for long distance cruising. There was a long range fuel tank and a lot of water stored. We met a fellow called Mike Deck, a boat dweller with two young boys who they "home school". Not a simple task and a year long committment is required and a comprehensive curriculumn drawn up. The boat was Erik and his website http://www.decks-awash.com/ reports conditions on the waves and contained the sad news of the skipper who was washed overboard resetting the anchor. I am looking forward to reading Larissa's children's stories to be published soon.

We pulled out our copy of The Hon Peter Heerey AM QC, retired Federal Court judge "Guide to Hobart for innocent Mainlanders". He recommended "Me Hah" in Sandy Bay as a more humble but good value restaurant. So we head there to check it out. We think it's a little bit of Heerey humour as the place was booked out and looked a million dollars. We settled for a truely humble alternative on Sandy Bay Road, "Written on Tea". This was authentic Chinese food, simply prepared and a very modest establishment. One couple walked out but the others patrons seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Prossers on the waterfront was closed on the Sunday.

Having read the recent article by Holly Kerr Forsythe in "The Australian" the boys dropped me off at the old "Women's Prison" in South Hobart in Degraves Street, not far from Cascade Brewery and Gardens. There is a lovely perennial garden with a range of hostas. The museum has a well organized tour.

 Colonial houses in Hobart

 Women's prison South Hobart

 Modern wall

 Fall of leaves at Cascade Gardens

We bought our fish at the "Fish Man" on the wharf at Constitution Dock and enjoyed Steves' expert cooking. A simple batter of flour and egg for the King Fish and layered on baked potato for the salmon. Delicious!

ADVENTURE ON BRUNY ISLAND

Friends have just returned from the Bruny Island Adventure tour. You can meet up with the tour at Kettering with a bus which takes you over on the ferry to Bruny Island and over to the other side of the island where the water adventure starts. The bus leaves Kettering at 9 am.

http://www.brunycruises.com.au/tours/kettering-pickup.aspx