Since its inaugural race in 1945, the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has become one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world. It is also widely considered to be one of the most difficult competitions of its kind. Last weekend, I shared photos from the start of the race in Sydney. The finish line of the Yacht Race is located off Castray Esplanade on the River Derwent in Hobart.
Here are more photos - enjoy.
We went out to the dock in the early morning. We stayed at the luxurious MACq01 Hotel, which was right on the water.
Crowds of spectators arrived on the quai, or dock, to catch a glimpse of the winners. The Taste of Tasmania also started on this day, so thousands of visitors were in the area. The Taste of Tasmania is the state’s largest food and wine festival. The week-long event is held in Hobart’s Salamanca and waterfront precinct and is run by the City of Hobart.
Here is a great shot taken from above. The race’s line honor winners are just reaching the end. The first place line honors went to Wild Oats XI from New South Wales. (Photo provided by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia)
Wild Oats XI was first to cross the finish line at 8:07am, Australia time, after one of the closest contests in the event’s history.
I took this photo while watching some of the footage on television.
Wild Oats XI won in a time of one-day, 19-hours, 7-minutes and 21-seconds.
And the total distance of the race is approximately 630-nautical miles from Sydney. Here is another view of the finishing boats with their large black sails.
Watching the sails come down is also fun – these are self-furled sails, meaning they are brought down and rolled with the push of a button.
The docks were full – so many people turned out for the race. There was music playing and lots of fanfare.
Afterwards, we went to a small, but delicious restaurant called Small Fry on Bathurst Street in Hobart. It serves cutting-edge Tasmanian cuisine.
Small Fry is open for breakfast and lunch or for a coffee and snack on the way to work.
Small Fry only seats 20-people, so we did have to wait, but in the end, the service was sensational, the coffee spot on and the breakfast top notch. Here is my beautiful daughter, Alexis.
While we waited, we enjoyed some delicious coffee – here is a latte made with espresso and hot steamed milk – it is milkier than a cappuccino.
And here is a cappucino – they always add their designs with cocoa.
Here is another nice photo of Alexis, Jude and Truman.
This is Small Fry’s head-chef, owner, and general manager, Rhys Hannan. He wanted the restaurant to have an open kitchen and casual, fresh and relaxed atmosphere, where visitors can interact with the staff while the food is prepared. Here, Chef Rhys is using an Italian slicer to cut meat.
Look at this carpaccio of cured beef – so fresh.
They also had quail eggs. Quail eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs, but also richer in vitamins and minerals. These eggs are farm fresh and barn laid from Kettering Quail in Tasmania.
They make their own homemade breads at Small Fry – they were so delicious.
Several freshly wrapped croque monsieur sandwiches sit nearby ready to be cooked.
The establishment is famous for its donuts. This is an apple crisp donut. All the fillings and toppings are handmade from scratch. Pastry chef, April Matusik, starts baking at about 1am and cooks through the early morning hours to deliver the delicacies fresh by 7:30am each day.
And look what they use to catch any dripping water around the cafe – used corks.
Here is our breakfast being prepared behind the counter.
The children enjoyed these grilled cheese sandwiches made with four types of cheese and served on brioche.
Look at the inside of the croque monsieur – so full of warm cheese.
Truman loved it and ate every morsel.
This is a hot smoked Huon salmon served with local avocado and a salad.
This fried egg was served with greens on sourdough bread.
I had this egg white omelette with bacon – everything was so flavorful.
It was a spectacular meal and worth every minute of our wait. Of course, they sent us off with a little gift.
More of their amazing donuts. Please visit Small Fry if you are ever in Hobart – it is a wonderful eatery. http://small-fryhobart.com.au/
If you’re ever in Tasmania, Australia, and want to visit a most intriguing and inspiring museum, I encourage you to make a stop at the Museum of Old and New Art, MONA - it is among the biggest attractions on the island state.
MONA was founded by art collector, entrepreneur and businessman, David Walsh and opened in January 2011. Thousands of visitors tour the museum every year to see its enormous collection of ancient, modern and contemporary pieces. Alexis, Jude, Truman, Pamela and I loved this museum. In fact, my grandson told David that visiting MONA was “perhaps one of the best three days of [my] life.”
Here are some photos - enjoy.
In order to get to the Museum of Old and New Art, you must take a ferry from Hobart up the River Derwent – about 25-minutes one way. Here is a photo taken from above. (Photo by Rémi Chauvin, courtesy of Museum of Old and New Art)
We saw several statues along Hobart Harbor. This is one of two bronze pieces by longtime resident, Stephen Walker. It is called Bernacchi Tribute (2002).
This is the other called Seals and Penguins (1998). Both art pieces are made of bronze and presented to the city to honor the brave explorers who passed through this Antarctic gateway.
Once we arrived at MONA, we met its founder, David Walsh, and his wife, art curator, artist, and practitioner of sustainable architecture, Kirsha Kaechele. Here we are posing for a quick photo.
We walked up a giant stairway called Mona’s 99 Stairs. The 99 stairs lead to and from the Boltanski Pavilion, and the Mona MR-1 Ferry jetty. (Photo by Rémi Chauvin, courtesy of Museum of Old and New Art)
I took this photo looking up another section of the staircase. In the black dress is Emily Wood from Black Books VIP Travel. She coordinated our entire visit to the museum. The exterior of the museum is clad in concrete and Corten steel panels. Corten steel is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting. They form a stable rust-like appearance after several years of exposure.
Here is a view looking down. If you look closely, you can see Kirsha in the gold dress with her young daughter, Sunday Walsh. The museum is built on a sandstone hillside cascading down and facing Hobart.
This is the Courtyard House designed by Sir Roy Grounds. (Photo by Rémi Chauvin, courtesy of Museum of Old and New Art)
Here is a closer look at the architecture of the structure – everything is a piece of art.
This 1950 building is the Round House, also by Sir Roy Grounds.
The single-story MONA building appears at street level, but most of its interior is underground.
This is one of several installations by artist James Turrell. It is called Amarna and springs to life at dusk when large lights of various shades play against the changing night sky. The hole in the center was created especially for visitors to see the light and spatial relationship in the sky.
Here is the side of the expansive museum. The museum had a lot of new construction in the works. David also announced plans to open a small high-end casino on the museum’s grounds.
Here is a closer look at the concrete waffle facade and Corten steel walls. (Photo by Rémi Chauvin, courtesy Museum of Old and New Art)
Near the entrance to the museum, there is even a well-kept, hard-surface tennis court – David likes tennis.
Jude and Truman loved Chen Zhen’s musical trampoline. Each child was allowed two minutes alone inside the trampoline. Smaller children were accompanied by an adult. Truman was not very happy about the time limit.
Another part of the playground included this climbing pyramid.
On another side of the expansive property was an outdoor grill area.
Here we are in the circular lift, or elevator.
The lift is made of glass and surrounded by a spiral staircase.
This area inside the museum is called The Void, the lowest level of MONA. It includes a 240-million-year-old sandstone wall, a full cocktail bar, and a waterfall artwork called bit.fall by Julius Popp, 2006-2007. Notice the Victorian furniture in this very modern space. The seats allowed for a very participatory and comfortable experience. (Photo by Leigh Carmichael, courtesy Museum of Old and New Art)
I captured this quick photo of Alexis, Jude and Truman walking through The Void.
This is called the Pharos Lawn, which overlooks the river. Music plays all the time for visitors of the Pharos Lawn. (Photo by Jesse Hunniford, courtesy of Museum of Old and New Art)
Here we are at ground level walking toward the lawn – the views were so beautiful.
Here is one visitor taking advantage of the nature – resting on the real grass and under the summer sun. More Corten steel walls surround the lawn.
Here is another outdoor view of the museum. Fender Katsalidis Architects in collaboration with Antarctica Group designed the MONA. Many of the works come from David’s own personal collection. He made this museum a place that not only shocks and intimidates, but also inspires – it was a great visit.
MONA has roof sections that are removable to lift bulky artworks into the building gallery.
Truman loved this installation – Spazio Elastico or Elastic Space by Gianni Colombo, 1967-1968. Strings fill the room from top to bottom. I took this photo with the flash…
…And this photo without. Truman is still there.
This is in the museum’s restaurant, Faro, the Spanish word for ‘lighthouse’, which is the English word for ‘pharos’, which is the Greek name of this wing of the museum.
This sphere is called Unseen Seen, 2017, also by James Turrell. (Photo by Jesse Hunniford, courtesy Museum of Old and New Art)
The sphere sits in the middle of the restaurant with tables all around. It is quite large.
Here are the children sitting across from me at one of the tables. They’re actually several feet from the sphere.
Aside from the restaurant, there is also a bar – all spread across the complex and supplied by MONA’s in-house brewery and vineyard.
This is a black margarita. The blackness of the cocktail is made with the addition of charcoal powder. The glass is also rimmed with black salt. It was quite delicious.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Faro and had more tempura bay bugs. This salad also has seaweed and other greens.
At the end of our visit, the children lined up again for another two minutes each inside the trampoline – this was where the children could use up some of their energy. Jude and Truman loved it.
More than 1.28 million people have visited this museum since it opened in 2011. If you plan to visit Tasmania, put this on your list of things to do – you’ll love it.
There’s so much to see in Australia - if you’ve never been, I encourage you to make the trip.
After a glorious, but brief stay in Sydney, Alexis, Jude, Truman, Pamela, and I traveled to the island state of Tasmania, also known colloquially as Tassie - the 26th largest island in the world. We spent several days in its capital city of Hobart, filled with picturesque views, rugged mountains and captivating wildlife. One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Bonoring Wildlife Sanctuary, a rescue center for endangered and injured native animals. Enjoy these photos.
But first, a few scenic images from our plane taken by my granddaughter, Jude - she is an avid photographer.
We flew Virgin Australia to Tasmania, and while reading the in-flight magazine, I caught something very interesting… if you follow my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may already know…
It was this line at the end of this story – “Where is Martha, Texas” – it was quite amusing. I wondered if Marfa, the small desert city in west Texas, had changed its name.
Jude loves taking photos from the airplane. Here we are during the early morning flight. Tasmania is located 150-miles to the south of the Australian mainland, separated by the Bass Strait.
Bass Strait is approximately 160-miles wide and 310-miles long, with an average depth of 200-feet. The widest opening between Cape Portland on the North-Eastern tip of Tasmania and Point Hicks on the Australian mainland.
Tasmania is the only Australian state that is an island. It is often referred to as the ‘Holiday Isle’ or ‘Apple Isle’ in reference to its outstanding apple industry.
Jude captured this photo of the land and water – it is so very clean.
The flight from Sydney to Hobart was just under two hours – here we are nearing our destination.
Hobart is the second-driest capital city in Australia. It receives about half as much rain per year as Sydney.
Once we landed, we went straight to Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Brighton – just outside of Hobart, a wonderful and informative center. https://www.bonorong.com.au/
Here we are on the way – Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, pronounced “Bon-a-rong”, which is Aboriginal and means “Native Companion” was established in 1981 and is Tasmania’s most popular wildlife park.
Do you know… about 500-thousand native animals are killed on Tasmania’s roads each year? That equates to about one animal per head of Tasmania’s population, giving the state one of the highest roadkill rates in the world. The motorists lobby in Tasmania has launched a joint campaign to reduce this number.
Here is a metal structure of an animal reminding drivers to drive carefully. Bonorong, which runs a statewide wildlife rescue service, receives thousands of calls a year because of roadside and other accidents.
Bonorong operates 24-hours a day, seven-days a week, and much of it is done with volunteers. It was nice to see so many people visiting and learning about the work done at Bonorong. The children were so excited to see the animals.
Bonorong has signs everywhere informing the public about the animals in residents and how they are helped.
Here is a Forester kangaroo with its one-year old joey in her pouch. The word “kangaroo” derives from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos. Kangaroos are often referred to as “roos” for short. Male kangaroos are called bucks, boomers, or jacks. Females are does, flyers, or jills. And the young ones are joeys.
Here is a group just lounging in their enclosure – watching all the activity at the Sanctuary. Kangaroos live and travel in organized groups called “mobs”.
We were instructed to pet them only under their chins, on their necks.
Here is a joey looking to hop back in its mom’s pouch.
This is a quoll. Quolls are carnivorous marsupials native to mainland Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. It is very rare to see two, but I was able to capture this photo. If you look closely, there are two quolls on this ledge.
Their coats are brown or black, with a sparse scattering of white spots. They have bright pink noses and long snouts. Adults are between nine and 29-inches long, with hairy tails about 13-inches long.
And while they are small and cute, they DO bite.
This is a bettong. Also known as the southern or eastern bettong, these little creatures were once common along the coastal areas of eastern Australia, from south-east Queensland to the south-east tip of South Australia. Due to the introduction of the red fox and the European rabbit, this species of bettong is now extinct on the mainland, and has a ‘near threatened’ classification in Tasmania.
Bettongs have distinctive hind limbs, perfect for hopping, and short forelimbs. They are colored brown-grey on top and have white or light bellies. The tail of the bettong is as long as the head and body and usually has a white tip.
There are also many snakes and lizards at Bonorong. Bonorong never turns animals away. Its innovative service provides safety and care to thousands of animals every year.
Greg Irons is the director of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and is extremely passionate about caring for Tasmania’s wildlife and ecology. He was so nice to give us a tour of the facility and to teach us about the animals there. Here he is with a sulphur-crested cockatoo.
I loved seeing all the birds – many of them are so colorful.
Here is Truman petting an echidna. The short-beaked echidna is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey.
Due to strict wildlife regulations, most guests at the Sanctuary are not permitted to hold the animals, but if you’re with a Bonorong expert, you can sometimes pet the animals. Bonorong is very protective, and never forces its creatures to interact with the public. These echidnas seemed to like our visit.
Sometimes called the spiny anteater, the short-beaked echidna measures a bit more than a foot long and weighs six to 15-pounds.
Echidnas are monotremes, or mammals that lay eggs.
I was lucky to get this photo of one echidna as it looked up at me.
These owl-like creatures are frogmouths. The tawny frogmouth is a species native to and found throughout the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Tawny frogmouths are big-headed, stocky birds often mistaken for owls due to their nocturnal habits and similar coloring.
Tawny frogmouths have three distinct colors, but this grey brown is the most common in both sexes.
Truman couldn’t wait to see the famous Tasmanian Devil, which is only found in Tasmania. It is the largest carnivorous marsupial.
Its spine-chilling screeches, black color, and reputed bad-temper, led the early European settlers to call it The Devil. Although it is only the size of a small dog, it can sound and look incredibly fierce.
These feisty little mammals have a coat of coarse brown or black fur and a stocky profile that gives them the appearance of a baby bear. Most have a white stripe or patch on their chest and light spots on their sides or rear end. They have long front legs and shorter rear legs, giving them a lumbering gait. The Tasmanian devil reaches 30 inches in length and weighs up to 26 pounds when full grown. Its oversize head houses sharp teeth and strong, muscular jaws that can deliver, pound for pound, one of the most powerful bites of any mammal.
Greg introduced the children to this orphaned baby wombat. It was among their favorite animals.
Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia.
Here is Jude petting the wombat – she adored him. they are not often seen in the wild, but leave lots of distinctive evidence – cubic poop.
Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backward-facing pouch, which protects young when the mothers are digging. Be sure to look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see more photos of Jude, Truman and their new friend.
Greg and I posed for this photo together before we ended our visit. Please go to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary web site to learn more about their mission and how you can help. https://www.bonorong.com.au/
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