Kaibab Journal - Antarctica Day 24 - Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

King penguins		Farthest south!
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This journal is constructed as one web page for each day of my journey, including the arrival day in Auckland, and the final two days, which I spent in Hobart. I have tried to keep the picture images of a reasonable size for easy web page loading.

To see a much larger view of (practically) any image, just left-click on the photo.

Our last night aboard ship was one to remember - the rolling was so severe, I fell out of my bunk a couple of times. But, I awoke at 5 a.m. to the first lightening of the sky and the

calm waters of the harbor at the city of Hobart, on the island of Tasmania, in the country of Australia. The pink hue of Mt. Wellington served as an impressive backdrop to the city at our arrival.

Our customs procedures began at 5:30 a.m. That was earlier than expected as a 3000 passenger cruise ship was right on our heels (the Sapphire Princess) and they would also need to go through customs. Everything went smoothly and we were soon on our way. Most of the passengers boarded a bus for the Grand Chancellor Hotel, either to spend the day, before heading off elsewhere, or to spend the night. I had made arrangements to rent a car for my three day stay, so I joined a small group that got shuttled to the airport, where I could pick up my rental.

David, says good-bye to Ingrid . . . . . . . Historian John wishes folks farewell . . . . . Mike, Brogan & Stu chat.

Rod & Art bid adieu . . . Bags lined up on the pier . . . . Mr. Ting pauses . . . Danielle rounds up folks . . . Nigel assists.

The airport isn't that big, but there was construction going on, and I had to walk around a bit to get to the rental car area (with all my bags). I had been paying close attention to people driving, as this would be my first experience driving on the left side of the road. As it turned out, it wasn't that difficult. I did have a problem interpreting a traffic signal on the bridge, leading back into town. There was a light for each lane, and mine was red; as people would catch up to my stopped car, they would shift to a different lane, which had a green light. I really couldn't figure it out, so, after a few moments, I drove through the red light - it turns out that there were vehicles merging in from the left. Ouch! Well, all was OK, and I was able to get to my hotel easily enough.

Once in my room, I turned on the TV - it was Super Bowl Sunday and I had just arrived in time for the kickoff. While it was an exciting game, I ended up only watching the first half. I felt guilty at not being out and about, so I decided to walk around town for a bit. That felt great - after being "cooped" up on the ship for a month I really did enjoy the freedom of walking around.

I was hardly a block away before bumping into Bethan (who had been doing a video for Welsh TV). She, and cameraman Richard, were staying in the same hotel as I was staying, as were our ship's artist, Liz, and fellow passenger, Anna. We made plans to all get together for dinner. Down at the harbor, I bumped into more folks from the ship, including some staff members who only had a few hours of shore leave - the Kapitan Khlebnikov sails at dusk!

I visited a free museum, where I ate lunch, strolled through the Franklin Park, wandered along a pedestrian mall, picking up postcards to send out. Once back at the hotel, I got a chance to talk to Cara Lynn on the phone - it was sure nice to hear her voice after so many weeks of just e-mail contact. In the afternoon, I took a drive up nearby Mt. Wellington. Great views of Hobart, and the southern part of Tasmania.


A communications tower atop Mt. Wellington, above Hobart.	Mt. Wellington view point.	Franklin Park in Hobart.
	Hobart harbor; click to see the KK.	My rental license plate . . . and me!

For dinner, I met up with Bethan, Richard and Anna. We walked down to the wharf and watched the KK sail out of the harbor. Fellow passengers Paul, Kate and Rita were there as well. [They were staying at the Grand Chancellor.] We ate at a little place on the pier and continued to revel in walking around!

Follow the "Next" and "Back" links to go from page to page. Or, return to the "Antarctica Home Page" and link to any day from the "Daily Logs" shown there. If you have any comments, e-mail me to me at: dfoster<at>kaibabjournal<dot>com. Please put “Antarctica” in the subject category.