Destination or stopover?

Friday, December 29, 2023
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
After a lovely, busy Christmas we were ready to head off on our annual New Year’s getaway with Tony and Clare. 12 months late, the boys were about to embark on their Boys’ Own Adventure in celebration of their 60th birthdays. But we were coming along for the ride. 
With Hattie house sitting and a last minute call to Jed to have a look at our ever-failing retic we were ready to leave the heat of Perth behind and head to Tasmania for a summer getaway.
We met Clare and Tony at the airport, quickly checked in and settled for a coffee while we waited. 
We had a 5 hour stopover in Melbourne, thanks to Virgin changing our flight times. Rather than stay in the airport, I had booked us lunch at Three Blue Ducks, a short 15 minute uber away. It is located at Urbn Surf - a surf park with generated waves. It was busy all afternoon and provided a picturesque backdrop for our meal.
The food was delicious. I had eaten at the Three Blue Ducks in Sydney with Jude. They are owned by a group of chefs, including Andy Allen and Darren Robertson.  Ken and Tony had cheeseburgers, boring! Clare and I shared Gundagai lamb rumb with babaganoush and baby carrots with a side of charred asparagus and broccolini with hazelnuts. It was a delicious main. We followed it up with dessert - pineapple sorbet, charred pineapple and a coconut semifredo for me and chocolate mousse, berries and chocolate crunch for Clare. So Good.
After lunch we admired the surfers for a while. It caters for all levels and there were lessons as well. It was interesting and a little mesmerising. But eventually, we had to head back to the madness of the airport, where we enjoyed a drink and waited for our plane.
A short hop and we were in Hobart, where it was noticeably colder. We found a taxi and squished all our bags in. There was not much to see at 11.30 at night, but the big Tasman Bridge looked impressive and pretty all lit up.
We made it to the Ibis Hotel. A friendly man met us and checked us in. Off to bed in our tiny rooms, ready to explore the next day.

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2025-02-10

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