Hobart

Two and a half weeks to organise my life and accomplish my writing goals before heading out on a road trip. Unfortunately, I found myself prone to laziness and spent a lot of time reading and watching Netflix, an activity I hadn’t made much time for in the last 6 months or so. It was nice to relax, but I quickly became anxious that I was wasting my time. 

It’s an odd balance while traveling to enjoy the little things, feel like you are living somewhere and should spend the afternoon in bed if that’s what you want, and get out to explore. Luckily, I made a good group of friends at the hostel that we helped encourage each other out of the habit of napping everyday and into exploring. It even felt like coming home after my road trip around Tasmania, falling right back into the group.

Once again, I was working for accommodation at the YHA, my key to saving money this past year. For two hours a day helping with laundry, vacuuming, or guest activities such as making hot chocolate or bringing people to trivia night, my room and laundry were free.

I reconnected with part of Team Freo the first couple days and saw Jo, my 3 month travelmate, and Simon, from the Alice Springs family.

With new and old friends, I explored Bruny Island and Port Arthur, walked the botanical gardens, hiked Mt. Wellington, and wiled an afternoon at MONA. 

I loved Hobart, it has a small town vibe with a super walkable downtown, a waterfront harbour, and the largest outdoor market in Australia. I made local friends with amazing balcony views where we introduced the art of an American s’more and tried our hand at making dumplings. We fed ourselves through the free shelf at the hostel and embraced a pub for $1 chicken parmis and $6 steins. 

But, I didn’t come to Tasmania for the city life. I came for nature, hiking, and camping - so off on the road trip I went and then headed to Melbourne on another car relocation.