Our start in Australia's southernmost state was not a good one – even though the beautiful green island of Tasmania already wowed us from the plane. One disappointment after the next. But that changed quickly.
On the day of our departure, we took a leisurely stroll through the Victoria Market in Melbourne and bought 10 passion fruit for only 3 AUS dollars. Finally again Maracujas! What a bargain! We wanted to eat them the next morning in Hobart, Tasmania's capital city.
But unfortunately we had to throw away the fruits directly after arrival, because importing fruits to Tasmania (even from Melbourne) is forbidden. I don't know why, and we found out only half an hour before we landed in Hobart (so we didn't have the chance to eat the fruits).
At least the sniffer dog at the airport was incredibly cute – so my anger quickly subsided. By the way, the dog not only sniffs at you and your hand luggage, he also walks past every single piece of checked luggage on the baggage carousel. We therefore advise against sneaking inside.
Tasmania's Cadbury factory
Next disappointment: I was so looking forward to visiting the Cadbury chocolate factory (north of Hobart), but when we got there, all we found were faded posters and a sign saying closed to tourists. No chocolate for Meli.
Next destination: the Moo Brewery. Also that had unfortunately to. No beer for Basti.
Brewery visit
At least we really enjoyed the views on the drive, and at our 3. destination, the Cascade Brewery, we were lucky then. For 12 AUS dollars there were 3 beers for Basti and 1 cider for me – all not at all disappointing. For this we had a very tasty lunch. Afterwards we walked a bit through the beautiful garden of the brewery and to the Female Factory.
Women's Prison Hobart
In the Female Factory female convicts from England were imprisoned and forced to work from 1828 to 1856. Convicted they were u.a. because of theft (many women stole but only to survive) to often not less than 7 years imprisonment.
We recommend the Heritage Tour and Her Story to everyone (the combined ticket costs 30 AUS dollars per person; more info here). Her Story is an interactive play that tells the life of a female prison inmate. Wonderfully done and highly interesting!
Mt. Wellington
We can also recommend the viewpoints on Mount Wellington. We were lucky with the weather and had a great view of Hobart and the surrounding area.
Our Hobart tips also include the Salamanca Market, which takes place every Saturday, and the Farmgate Market, where you can get great bread, cheese, vegetables, good coffee and many other things on Sundays. We were a bit disappointed with the selection of cheese stalls at both markets (there was only one each, but at least it had super tasty cheese). For this there was u.a. lots of alcohol to taste (and of course to buy) and a wide selection of honey.
Finally, a dining recommendation: The very cozy Sydney Hotel Pub not only has delicious beer (according to Basti) and cider, but also great food (the lamb was so tender) and super nice waiters.
Arrival from Melbourne
By the way, we flew to Tasmania with Tigerair from Melbourne. The flight takes just over an hour. There is also a ferry connection, but the crossing is very expensive and takes forever. In Hobart we rented a car for 12 days at Redspot. In these 2 weeks we saw a lot of the island – but we could have spent another 2 weeks there.