A Quick Visit with Frappells in Hobart
We Should Do This More Often
February 2016
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In February 2016 we headed for New Zealand, with a stopover on the way in Hobart to see our friends
the Frappells. We stayed at the
Miriam Bed and Breakfast.
The accommodations were great;
we had a small kitchen where we could prepare some food,
and a nice yard to relax in when it wasn't raining.
Our host, Saed, was originally from
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He picked us up at the airport and took us to the B&B,
On the way we learned that Tasmania was having a severe drought
the cable that delivered electricity from Tasmania
across the
Bass Strait
to the rest of Australia had failed,
and there was a mad scramble to fix it.
Unfortunately we did not spend any other time with him to talk about his homeland.
We also had a clothes washer,
which to my surprise had both an energy rating and a water conservation rating.
The rest of the developed world is way ahead of the United States when it comes to looking ahead.
I've never seen anything except a toilet in the U.S. with a water conservation rating.
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| Washer with Water Conservation Rating |
Dona wanted to do some bicycling to get in shape a little
since we were going on a five day bike ride in New Zealand.
Dierdre and Frapps loaned us two of their bicycles and we rode into Hobart.
There's a nice bike / jogging trail most of the way;
it runs near the shore and through some parks.
At one point there was an exercise setup,
so we stopped and cranked a few.
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| Exercise Park on the Bike Trail |
We had a great dinner at a local restaurant.
Those are fillets, not dessert, and boy were they yummy!
It makes my mouth water just thinking about them.
Thanks, Frapps!
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| Dinner -- Dierdre, Dona & Frapps |
We wandered around Hobart on our bikes,
and I enjoyed looking at some of the boats tied up at the docks.
The S/V Rhona H was a nice looking gaff-rigged ketch.
I was puzzled by the shape of her rudder;
I don't understand the purpose of the large horizontal plate at the top.
We stopped in the old part of town for ice cream,
then headed back to New Town by way of the Botanical Garden.
To get back on the bike trail from the "end" of the Botanical Garden
we ended up having to cross the freeway.
I was surprised there wasn't an underpass or overpass at that spot,
and we didn't want to go all the way back,
so we waited for a break in traffic and hurried across.
Australia is a great place;
they even have day care for husbands!
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| Husband Day Care Advertisement |
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| Dona Cycling by the Botanical Garden |
On our way up the last hill in New Town towards our B & B,
I saw a cockatiel in a tree.
I think it must have been an escaped pet,
as it let me get really close -- about a meter.
I probably could have picked it up,
but I didn't try because I didn't want it to fly off
in case the owner was nearby.
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| Cockatiel (Nymphicus Hollandicus) |
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| Skink |
On our last night in Hobart Dona and I fixed lamb shish-kabobs on the barbie.
With wine and a great fruit salad it was a pretty good meal,
and the company was hard to beat.
Thanks again, Frapps and Dierdre!
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| BBQ |
The next morning we hopped a plane from Hobart to Christchurch, NZ,
and on to Invercargill,
from where we would start exploring New Zealand's
Southland.
