Day 4 (18 Dec 2017) : Hobart – Port Arthur
After checking out of St Ives, our first stop this morning was the summit of Mt Wellington. It was very windy and cold when we got to the observation station. Inside the station, there were telescopes for those interested in having a closer look at the surroundings. It was also a good place to seek refuge when it got too cold and windy outdoors.
The summit of Mt Wellington provided a good view of Hobart and its surroundings. There were clear walking trails and viewing decks for visitors.
While walking along the walking tracks, I caught a view of a lone photographer which I thought was an interesting picture.
We did not linger for long because we were all too cold. So we descended Mt Wellington after a short visit and went to Tas Live Abalone.
Visit to Tas Live Abalone Pty Ltd:
This is an abalone factory which provides visitors with basic information on abalone harvesting and tasting.
We paid A$5 each for a short video and introduction. Then we were given 2 abalone tasting. One eaten like sashimi and one cooked abalone.
They were also selling their products. They offered green lip and black lip abalone in vacuum packs. We bought some for our planned dinner at Port Arthur and also some to bring home for our Chinese New Year celebration coming up soon. I paid a total of A$286 for 2 green lip abalone and 5 black lip abalone.
Honestly the A$5 tour and tasting was not necessary. You don’t get anything meaningful out of the “tour”. This is more a shop to buy abalone which is considers a delicacy by ethnic Chinese. When we were there, many Asian tourists just turned up to buy the abalone. BTW we had to guard our tasting treats as some customers who did not pay for the tasting wanted to share ours!
Lunch @ Velvet Cafe, Sorell
The plan was to go to Sorell after lunch where we had planned a Pick Your Own fruits activity. So we decided to head directly to Sorell to find a place for lunch. Again, I consulted TripAdvisor and decided on Velvet Cafe. I called them and managed to make a reservation for a table for 10. It would have been nice to sit outdoors but unfortunately the outdoor tables were small and they could only accommodate us indoors.
At Velvet Cafe, you place your orders and pay at the counter and they will serve you your food. Among my own family of 5, we had 2 steak sandwiches, 1 beef burger, 2 fish & chips. 3 coke, 1 ice chocolate and 1 ice coffee. Total cost was A$99. There was an additional A$0.50 charge for the single serve pack of ketchup that I wanted with my fries. The steak sandwich was huge and came with egg, bacon,, carrots, vegetables and a serving of fries. The burger had similar ingredients, except it came with a burger bun and beef patty. They were delicious. Only complain was that DS1 asked for his steak sandwich without cheese but it still came with cheese. We did not send it back and DS1 just lived with it.
We browsed at the gift shop next to the cafe after lunch and DD bought a necklace. The pendent was made with chip offs ceramics so it was quite cute.
Fruit picking @ Sorell Fruit Farm
After lunch we went to Sorell Fruit Farm for our fruit picking. Sorell Fruit Farm is not a commercial farm. It is a tourist destination catering to Pick Your Own fruits experience for tourists. Therefore they have a variety of fruits and berries in their farm that are available for picking almost throughout the year. Cost was A$20 for adults and A$10 for children aged 7-15. Children from 4-6 pay A$5. Each person is given a box to fill their fruits. Adults get a big box, children 7-15 get a smaller one and those 4-6 get a mini one. If your kids want a big box, you can always pay an adult price. But really not necessary because you will be hard press to finish all the fruits the family pick!
When we were there, the pink cherries, strawberries, silvanberries and tyeberries were ready for picking. The strawberries were almost all gone as we went after lunch. We had to patiently look under the leaves for the fruit and DS2 actually found a snake! It is normally more advisable to visit in the morning so that the fruits that are ready for picking that day are still plentiful.
We were advised to pick the cherries, strawberries, silvanberries and tyeberries in that order so that the more fragile berries are not squashed by the heavy cherries. I must say that the silvanberries here are really sweet if you pick those really dark and ripe ones like those in my box in the photo below. Those we get in supermarkets in Singapore are all so sour! I have picked quite a lot of silvanberries as I thought that they will look good on the Pavlova that I have planned to “make” for dinner that evening. More on that later!
Stay @ Port Arthur Villa
We left Sorell Fruit Farm and went directly to Port Arthur Villas where we will be staying for 2 nights. We arrived around 4plus. We had booked 2 large 2-bedrooms apartments which can accommodate 5 pax each. Each apartment cost A$220 per night.
The property is spacious with the apartments all lined on one side and a common BBQ and playground area in the centre. We were able to park our cars in front of our villa so it was really convenient. Each apartment was provided with some single serve milk capsules for our tea and coffee. They also provided 2 bottles of drinking water as the tap water in Port Arthur, while safe to drink has a brownish tint which some guests may not be comfortable with. Additional bottled water can be bought from them for A$2 each. We boiled the tap water for our hot drinks and cooking but bought additional bottled water from the supermarket for drinking.
The apartment was very comfortable for the 5 of us. One bedroom had a queen size bed and the other had a bunk bed and a single bed. There was a small 2-seater sofa and armchair in the living area. Dining table can comfortably accommodate 6. Kitchen was well equipped with utensils enough for 6 persons. Cutleries, pots and pans were clean. There was a dishwasher and they provided dish washing detergent. No washing machine in the apartment but there is a coin operated washer and dryer in the common laundry room. It cost A$2 each for a load of wash and a load of drying. They provide free laundry detergent too which is very considerate. But we had brought our own.
The negative here is the WiFi and mobile data connection. Each WiFi password can connect one device only. They had given us 2 passwords per villa for the 2 days stay so each of us could only connect 2 devices to the WiFi network and the data usage is limited to 256MB each which is very little. It was very inconvenient especially since there is no network service from Optus here. There was only Telstra network and only DS1 was on Telstra. The rest of us were on Optus.
The property manager was very friendly and helpful. We had arranged with them to use the BBQ pit that evening. The property had 2 BBQ pits. There was no extra charge to use the BBQ pits. They were also able to help us arrange food for our BBQ. For A$15 per BBQ pack, we were provided with 1 Steak, 2 sausages, 1 risole, onion, tomato, bread, bbq sauce, tomato ketchup and butter. We ordered 7 packs. We had bought additional potatoes, salad and marshmallows from the supermarket in Hobart. We did not eat the bread and kept the loaf that they provided for breakfast. They even helped us start up the BBQ pit.
DSis prepared the baked potatoes and salad. She also marinated the beef with olive oil and the rosemary she picked from Sorell Fruit Farm. DH was the BBQ chef that evening.
I was in charge of dessert that evening. I bought a pack of marshmallows and we BBQed them! We love BBQ marshmallows….yum yum!
But the main dessert that night was Pavlova. I found ready made Pavlova base in Coles when we went grocery shopping in Hobart, and thought that it’ll be great with the berries that we were going to pick today. In the end, it was the right decision to buy the pavlova base. Granted that I had to handle the fragile meringue in the process of transporting it all the way from Hobart, but it was worth it. We picked so many berries at Sorell Fruit Farm that we would have gotten sick of eating the cherries and berries. The Pavlova added some variety to our dessert. It was really easy to put together and was delicious. All I needed to do was add whipped cream and the cherries, strawberries and silvanberries to the pavlova base. It was loved by everyone!
Overall it was an enjoyable and relaxing evening. There were not many eating out options at Port Arthur and so having a BBQ was a great idea. It was also much cheaper than eating at a restaurant, and was lots of fun too!
Next Up : Day 5 – Port Arthur