Long Flight to Sydney

Somewhat Long Flight to Sydney

Today, Monday, January 19 (Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!), we leave Honolulu (after less than 24 hours -- what were we thinking?) to fly to Australia.  The flight to Sydney leaves at 11:55am and is approximately 11 hours of flying time.  Checking out of the Embassy Suites (Thanks Hilton -- thanks to the use of Hilton Honors points, our bill is exactly $0), we request a cab to the airport and are instructed to ride a super long, white, stretch limo.  Our faces say, "What, are you sure this car is for us?"  Anyway, we get in and enjoy a luxurious $45 ride to the airport.

My objective during the flight is to plan out what we will do while we are in Tasmania.  We will arrive in Hobart on January 21, Wednesday early afternoon.  Our plan for that day is to tour around the city center.  Suggested sights to see from our Fodor's guide book include:

- The harbor area, including Constitution Dock, home of the big Sydney to Hobart boat race, nearby Hunter Street, where the original British ships anchored, Brooke Street Pier, where you can catch a harbor cruise, and Elizabeth Street Pier, home to trendy restaurants and shops and the tourist office  Also worth checking out are Salamanca Place for shops, etc., and a Saturday market (our hotel, the Lenna is located here), and Arthur Circus, where you can see charming old houses.

Thursday is a full day for us in and/or Hobart.  We thought we might drive to nearby Richmond, which is supposed to be a charming old town for tourists.  Other things we might do include climbing Mt. Wellington (need more information on this), visit the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, walk around the Carnelian Bay Beach (will need to drive to this), which features a popular trail, the Queen's Walk, take a harbor cruise (?), and/or visit the MONA, fancy new art gallery just outside of town.  Other sights in central Hobart include a Penitentiary Chapel and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (includes aboriginal content).

Friday, we depart Hobart and head for the Freycinet National Park, where we will be staying two nights.  Our activities here will be based on what is recommended to us, but will no doubt include Wineglass Bay.

Sunday, we will leave the national park and return to Hobart with planned stops in Port Arthur and the Tasman peninsula.  This will feature historic sites related to Tasmania's penal colony history.  The penal history is less interesting to me, but the Tasman National Park Lookout sounds like a can't miss sight.  There is a Convict Trail map one can follow.  There is also a Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park.

Monday is another full day we can use for seeing more sights around Hobart.  The initial plan is to explore the Huon Valley and also drive to the town of Southport.  The area is know for its forests (Huon pine) and coastline/beaches.  We might also catch up on a few sights that we might not have had time for on Thursday.

Sounds like a good plan.  Too bad the flight to Sydney still has over seven hours to go!