Tag Archives: Tasmania

Quite Possibly Australia’s Best Brekkies

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Tasmania

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Australia doesn’t have a whole lot of native foods – vegemite, anzac biscuits, aussie pies, and kangaroo steaks are part of a pretty short list of foods that originated down under.

The delicious Salmanca side of Hobart – home to many tasty breakfasts!

That being said, Australia does some pretty amazing takes on food staples – like adding beetroot to burgers. It sounds strange, but man is it tasty. Another food that Australia really excels at? Brekky.

With that in mind Mrs. Selfish and I set out to find the tastiest breakfasts that Hobart had to offer.

Zum – A great place for Ricotta Hotcakes

Our first stop was at Zum restaurant, which is located just off the wharf near the Salmanca market area of Hobart. Zum has a pleasant, neighborhood café kind of feel to it, and was packed with natives when we stepped in Sunday morning.

I ordered the Ricotta Hot Cakes ($17 AUD) while Mrs. Selfish tucked into the Trio of Mushrooms ($18 AUD).

The Ricotta Hot Cakes were served in a berry compote, with syrup and king island cream. The hot cakes were light and fluffy, and the king island cream was lighter than butter while adding a crucial moistening component. The real star of the show, however, was the berry compote, which was sweet, tart, and fruity all at once. For my money, the cakes were even better than Bill’s in Sydney!

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Inside the MONA, the World’s Strangest Museum

27 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Oceania, Tasmania

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Mrs. Selfish and I have been to dozens of museums throughout the course of our Selfish Year. The British Museum. The Louvre. The Trick Eye Museum in Seoul. The Sydney Modern Art Museum. The Port Arthur Museum. None of these could prepare us for Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art.

The MONA was built and owned by David Walsh, Tasmania’s millionaire gambler, who earned his fortune by developing his own horse racing gambling techniques. The museum opened in January 2011 and holds hundreds of pieces, ranging from ancient Egyptian pieces, to modern art pieces showcasing the work of Madonna, to a machine that simulates the human digestive system and poops twice a day.

It’s fun. It’s shocking. It’s thought-provoking. It’s cutting-edge. In Walsh’s own words it’s the “subversive Disney World for adults.”

Even the building is awesome.

Getting there and tickets

The Mona has a ferry that departs from the dock area of Hobart. To visitors that haven’t done any online research, the ferry is probably the first indication that this isn’t your typical museum.

Ferry-goers have two options for tickets. A $20 normal round trip ticket, or the $50 posh-pit option. Guess which one we chose.

Boo yeah.

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Fancy Dining in Ol’ Hobart

26 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Tasmania

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Mrs. Selfish and I ended our 6-day stint through Tasmania in Hobart, Tasmania’s largest city in Tasmania. That being said, it is a small city at just over 220,000 people. It is also a stunning city.

A common theme we noticed while wandering around Australia is that food is excellent. Even your worst meal is destined to be pretty good. I imagine this has to do with the size of the country, and the freshness of local food.

Tasmania takes that to the extreme. Everything is local. Every is fresh. Everything is delicious.

Staying at the Henry Jones Art Hotel

First we needed a place to stay. Since it was my birthday we decided to splurge and grab a room at the Henry Jones Art Hotel. Located near the harbor, the Henry Jones is a great jumping off point for some amazing meals – and is also close to the MONA ferry and Salamanca Market.

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The Cruel and Beautiful Port Arthur

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Oceania, Tasmania

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While we still had the car, Mr. Selfish and I visited Port Arthur, which is the former convict settlement on Tasmania. From 1833 until 1853, Port Arthur was a penal colony for the hardest of British criminals. In fact, in order to get into Port Arthur, you had to be a secondary offender that reoffended after coming to Australia.

Even though it was a penal colony, Port Arthur has a beautiful setting. It is set on a verdant peninsula, which is probably more cruel than anything.

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Savoring the Wine, Cheese, Berries, and Oysters in Tasmania

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Food & Drinks, Oceania, Tasmania

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Mr. Selfish and I were surprised at the quality of food in Tasmania. Everything that we ate was simply delicious. Since Tassie is an island, the vast majority of the food is local, which means that everything that you eat is fresh and in season.

The first stops we made were at two wineries in Tamar Valley. On our way from Hobart to Rosevears, we stopped at the Josef Chromy winery (370 Relbia Road, Relbia 7258) for lunch and a wine tasting.

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We enjoyed a yummy saffron soup, greens, and a salmon and fenugreek risotto. We also had a wine tasting. Tamar Valley is known for its white wines, which me and Mr. Selfish adore. We restrained ourselves and only purchased one bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.

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Tasmania’s Amazing East Coast Sights

23 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Australia, Oceania, Tasmania

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Since Mrs. Selfish and I were visiting Tasmania during Australia’s Winter, we decided to hit Tasmania’s East Coast. Not only is the weather rather temperate for winter (we only experienced temperatures reaching the mid-40’s), but the coast is full of many naturally gorgeous sights.

Like the Bay of Fires.

So beautiful.

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The Outstanding Wildlife in Tasmania: Wombats, Wallabies, Platypi, and Echindas

22 Monday Jul 2013

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Mr. Selfish and I spent a wonderful six nights in Tasmania, which is the little island off of the southern coast of Australia. We loved Tassie the most out of all the areas that we visited in Australia.

To get to Tassie, we took a short flight from Sydney to Hobart. We then rented a car since it’s difficult to get around otherwise. Here’s our six day itinerary, which was well-suited for the rainy winter weather we had at the time: Hobart to Launceston to St. Helens (near the Bay of Fires) to Swansea (near Wineglass Bay/Freycinet National Park) to Port Arthur to Hobart.

Tasmania

Next time, we’ll definitely hit up Cradle Mountain and some of the western portions of Tassie. And we’ll make sure that we go in the summer, instead of the dead of winter.

Upon our arrival in Tassie, we immediately drove to Rosevears, which is a little town outside of Launceston and about a 2.5 hour drive from Hobart. We spent two nights at a wonderful airbnb rental.

Narawntapu National Park

Our primary reason for staying in Rosevears was to visit Narawntapu National Park. The park is known as the “Serengeti of Tasmania” due to its abundant wildlife. I especially wanted to see wombats, which are stout little marsupials resembling teddy bears. I was not disappointed.

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