Roundabout Hobart

Ken and Bron arrived at the marina to scoop us up for lunch at Bellerive Waterfront with one of Ken’s four sons, Hamish who is a horticulturalist by trade and is in the process of building his home with his partner. This pretty suburb of Hobart was bathed in warm sunshine on the day as we chatted our way through an al fresco meal.

Then we moved on to Kangaroo Bluff where Hobart decided to build itself defences in the form of a five cornered battery. But interest seemed to lacklustre very quickly and the site was run more as a testing ground for guns and training for its volunteer military than a serious attempt to ward off invasion. My attention was attracted by the mention of the Armstrong Guns with their innovative loading system designed to keep the soldiers manning them safe and out of sight. Do you remember Armstrong’s Disappearing Gun on the Otago Peninsula in the South Island New Zealand? He is the same W.G. Armstrong, the Scottish Victorian solicitor com amateur armaments expert who resided at Cragside in the Lowlands.

From the battery we went to Bron’s daughter, Karyn’s home on Midway Point which juts out into Pittwater where we were to spend a few days bringing in the New Year. After a welcome cup of tea we returned to Zoonie in the kind loan of Karyn’s car as she and hubby Luke and his daughter, Taylar were off to the popular Falls Festival for a few days.

Back on board Rob fitted the fridge parts and found a home for Ken’s painting in the aft cabin while I pottered about in readiness for an expedition the next day to Port Arthur, the world famous penal colony.