Day 1 Jan 14

Woke to cool overcast skies, stark difference from yesterday’s bright shocking Tasmanian heat—the transition from Seattle weather was abrupt as well. After many visits to Wellington NZ, Hobart has a familiar feel. A harbor stocked with boats—wooden sail and fiberglass glitz—ringed by old trade buildings: stone warehouses near the water now storing tourists and selling fried sea creatures. Monumental stone government/insurance/medical institutions piling up as the land rises from water’s edge. Charming is both a quaint and condescending term, but here it is spot-on. A flat white on water’s edge at the fully-licensed award-winning Harbor Lights Cafe reminds me to start the day and the trek at a walker’s pace. There are preparations to attend, but first comes the slow, due attention demanded by place—Tasmania, another end of the world.

T. Hugh Crawford