Hobart is abuzz with
a new glow

The capital of Australia’s little island is making waves

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY GABI MOCATTA

Hobart. The H stands for hip. You could say it’s H for historic too, but these days, that’s old news: Hobart’s just plain happening. Imagine a city where, from the downtown waterfront, you can watch an Antarctic icebreaker pull up close to the main street and disgorge a cargo of scientists back from six months on the ice. Imagine a capital where you can eat your sushi dockside, while watching a pod of dolphins or where a walk home after a quiet drink can turn into a mindblowing lightshow by the aurora australis. Yes, there’s beautifully preserved Georgian architecture and a great old-world vibe, but there’s also so much
Blown glass at The
Handmark Gallerymore.

Increasingly, Hobart’s just a little offbeat: think Friday-night jam sessions, exuberant festivals and Australia’s coolest art hotel. If this city was once a straight-laced outpost with not much vivacity and barely a caffe latté to speak of, those days are long gone. Tasmania‘s capital has been transformed, and for those in the know, it’s one of the hottest towns around.

Down at heel, high on cool

Elizabeth Street Pier and
square riggers

Take Hobart’s docks. Once seedy and cutthroat, the waterfront is now downright groovy. The docks are a hotspot for food and entertainment, yet as the centre of a working port, still pleasingly real. It’s easy to lose an afternoon just ogling the magnificent boats round Kings Pier Marina, Elizabeth Street Pier, and Constitution and Victoria Docks – home to the partying Sydney to Hobart fleet every New Year’s. Getting out onto the water yourself is the best way to appreciate Hobart’s gorgeous natural setting, though. Tall ship Lady Nelson (Elizabeth Street Pier, tel: +61 (3) 6234 3348) does harbour sails on weekends and by charter and, if you want to, you can help man the ropes, too.

A fisherman with a
blue-eye trevalla
on Hobart’s docks

Right on the waterfront are the distinctive sandstone warehouses, built with the trading fortunes made in Tasmania’s early days. Hunter Street was once famously home to the IXL Jam factory – and that industrial past works a treat in the swish new Henry Jones Art Hotel (25 Hunter St., tel: +61 (3) 6210 7700). The hotel showcases the work of contemporary artists and is definitely Hobart’s hippest place to stay. Hobartians pop in to the spectacular glass-roofed atrium for coffee and cake, while the hotel’s IXL Long Bar is a top spot for people-watching.

Mount Wellington from
Sandy Bay Beach

Set just back from the water is Salamanca Place – now Hobart’s cultural and culinary precinct crammed with galleries, craft shops, cafés, restaurants and chocolatiers. The Handmark Gallery (77 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 7895) offers works by the best talent from Tasmania’s flourishing arts and crafts scene, and at Norman and Dann (33 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 4777) there are handmade chocolates to die for. At Tasmania’s best deli, Wursthaus Kitchen (1 Montpelier Retreat, tel: +61 (3) 6224 0644) take plenty of time to browse the dazzling display before you even think about buying. And ask to taste-test: the staff are obliging. Things are especially lively each Saturday, when Salamanca Market adds more buzz, with hundreds of
Zum restaurant humsstalls selling organic everything, delicious tidbits and all things crafty.

From Salamanca, it’s a short stroll into the village-y neighbourhood of Battery Point. Storybook-lovely Hampden Road has great views of 1,270-metre-high Mount Wellington at Hobart’s back and panoramas over the water. Its tiny worker’s cottages now house funky cafés and restaurants aplenty too, making the area well worth a wander on a leisurely afternoon.

Southern taste sensations

The fabulous new
Henry Jones Art
Hotel

A good part of Hobart’s recent revival is founded on its thriving food and wine culture. There’s fish from the pristine Southern Ocean, plentiful fresh produce, and great cool-climate wines. For seafood lovers, Fish Frenzy (Elizabeth St. Pier, tel: +61 (3) 6231 2134) is an informal dockside spot to drop into. The spicy calamari salad’s a standout: tender and piquant, it’s a melt-inthe-mouth experience. On the North Hobart restaurant strip, Fish 349 (349 Elizabeth St., tel: + 61 (3) 6234 7788) is all minimalist and edgy in stainless steel and glass. In contrast, the food’s delectable: try the tempura oysters or Tasmania’s famed salmon, served poached.

At Salamanca, breezy Italian eatery Maldini (47
Maldini’s famed
tiramisu cakeSalamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 4460) is a Hobart institution. The tiramisu, in particular, is out of this world! New on the Salamanca scene is Zum (29 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 2323), with ultra-hip décor and a menu to match.

For coffees and in-between nibbles, try Hobart’s best bakery, Jackman & McRoss (57-59 Hampden Rd., tel: +61 (3) 6223 3186), or Machine Laundry Café (12 Salamanca Square, tel: +61 (3) 6224 9922), which also does the best breakfasts in town.

Salamanca Market is great
for shopping

Hobart’s wine scene begins just 15 minute’s drive up the road. North of town, on the banks of the River Derwent, lies Moorilla Estate (655 Main Rd., Berriedale, tel: +61 (3) 6277 9900). Sample the estate’s premium pinot noir, or try one of the MooBrew offerings from its new micro-brewery. There’s great dining, frequent outdoor concerts, and a definite avant-garde air.

Where the wild things are

A waterfront statue of an
Antarctic explorer

Hobartians revel in their long summer evenings, but they also love nothing better than building a blazing log fire in winter. But no matter what the weather, for those in the know, the weekend starts with a drink and some grooving at a hidden courtyard behind Salamanca Arts Centre (77 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6234 8414), affectionately known, as Rektangos. With free entry, usually a band playing, and beer and glühwein (mulled wine) on sale, the atmosphere is outgoing, family-friendly and fun.

Nibble on the best breads
at Jackman & McRoss

Knopwood’s Retreat (39 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 5808) is easily the city’s most popular watering hole and the landmark place to meet. However, competition has arrived just down the road in the form of The Quarry (27 Salamanca Plc., tel: +61 (3) 6223 6552), which offers drinks and light meals in stylish surroundings before your night on the town. On the waterfront, T42 (aka Tavern 42 Degrees South, Elizabeth St. Pier, tel: +61 (3) 6224 7742) has long been a favoured drinking spot for
Norman and Dann melt
hearts with their fine quality
chocolatesthe glammed-up young crowd. Music-lovers can head to The Republic in North Hobart (299 Elizabeth St., tel: + 61 (3) 6234 6954), where there’s a band playing most nights, and then roll down the hill to Lizbon (Level 1, 217 Elizabeth St., tel: +61 (3) 6234 9133), a late-night den with toned-down lighting, a distinctly European feel and a cocktail list as long as the bar.

For a quieter night out, the State Cinema (375 Elizabeth St., tel: +61 (3) 6234 6318) is perfect for arthouse flicks, a mean latté and some tempting food.

Edge of the world

chill out with a cool drink
at either T42 or Maldini

There might still be cold, dark nights in Hobart when the streets feel all but empty, and wild-weather days lashed by snow showers, even in summer, but it just adds to the exotic, edge-ofthe-world feel. There’s an energy about Hobart these days that makes it feel like anything’s possible: like seeing your first aurora australis make light magic in the sky.

Come down. And don’t forget to look up.

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