Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 14 . TASMANIA
Tips Staying Connected
It’s relatively hard to find public access to the Internet in Hobart, but you
can try Drifters Internet Café, Shop 9/33 Salamanca Place, Hobart (in Salamanca
Galleria) (& 03/6224 3244). The cafe charges A$5 (US$3.25) per
half-hour.
VISITOR INFORMATION Information is available from the Tasmanian
Travel and Information Centre, at 80 Elizabeth St. (corner of Davey St.), Hobart,
TAS 7000 (& 03/6230 8233). It’s open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to
5:15pm, Saturday and public holidays from 9am to 4pm, and Sunday from 9am
to 1pm (9am–4pm Dec–Apr). You can pick up information on the State’s National
Parks at the Lands Information Bureau, 134 Macquarie St. (& 03/6233 8011).
CITY LAYOUT Hobart straddles the Derwent River on the south coast of
Tasmania. Salamanca Place and nearby Battery Point abut Sullivan’s Cove,
home to hundreds of yachts. The row of sandstone warehouses that dominate
Salamanca Place date back to the city’s importance as a whaling base in the 1830s.
Behind Princes Wharf, Battery Point is the city’s historic district, which in colonial
times was the home of sailors, fishermen, whalers, coopers, merchants, shipwrights,
and master mariners. The open ocean is about 50km (31 miles) farther
down the river, though the Derwent empties out into Storm Bay, just 20km (12
miles) downstream. The central business district is on the west side of the water,
with the main thoroughfares—Campbell, Argyle, Elizabeth, Murray, and Harrington
streets—sloping down to the busy harbor. The Tasman Bridge and regular
passenger ferries reach across the Derwent River. Set back from the city, but
overlooking it, is the 1,270m (4,166-ft.) tall Mount Wellington.
GETTING AROUND Central Hobart is very small, and most of the attractions
are in easy walking distance. Metro Tasmania (& 03/6233 4232 or 13 22
01; www.metrotas.com.au) operates a system of public metro buses throughout
the city and suburban areas. Single tickets cost from A$1.40 to A$3.20 (US91¢–
US$2.10) depending on how far you’re going. Day Tripper tickets can be used
between 9am and 4:30pm and after 6pm during the week and all day on weekends;
they cost A$3.60 (US$2.35). Purchase tickets from bus drivers. If you plan
on busing about, stop off at the Metro Shop situated in the General Post Office
building on the corner of Elizabeth and Macquarie streets and pick up a
timetable, brochures, and sightseeing information.
The Roche-O’May ferry company (& 03/6223 1914; www.ontas.com.au/
cartela) operates morning and afternoon tea cruises, and lunch and dinner cruises
on the Cartela, a wooden-hulled, former steam-powered ferry built in Hobart in
1912. One-hour afternoon coffee cruises cost A$12 (US$7.80), 2-hour afternoon
cruises cost A$16 (US$10), and lunch and dinner cruises A$24 (US$16). Call
ahead for departure times. The company also runs a ferry service on the Wanderer,
with coffee and tea and full commentary. It stops at the Wrest Point Casino, the
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Sullivan’s Cove, and the old suburb of Belle
Reeve. These ferries leave Brooke Street Pier on Franklin Wharf at 10:30am,
noon, 1:30, and 3pm. The 1 1 ⁄2-hour cruise costs A$10 (US$6.50) for adults, A$5
(US$3.25) for children, and A$25 (US$16) for a family.
Tasmanian Tours & Travel Tigerline (1300/653 633 in Australia, or 03/
6272 6611) offers a range of sightseeing tours of Hobart and its surrounds.