Day 6 & 7 Hobart and surrounds – a couple of quiet days

Saturday and Sunday we are in Hobart and are a couple of quiet days with very little planned. We have been here a number of times so the normal routine of Port Arthur etc is not on the menu. However Saturday is also Salamanca Market day in Hobart and the one word “market” guaranteed a visit. The morning was a little over cast but undeterred we ventured in. 

Wasn’t sure what I was going to do with Shirl but figured it would come to me as we progressed. I had thoughts of getting a wheel chair while we were in Hobart but that didn’t happen. Anyway we managed to get to the market and get a reasonable park pretty close. I sent Di off on her own and I snailed (don’t think that’s a word) it behind Shirl. She managed a bit, but not far, and I had just got her seated when Di passed heading for our appointed rendezvous for coffee so I collected my charge and off we went to revitalise.  Tactics were in order as the old girl wasn’t going too much further (although I doubt she would have said anything). We found a seat in the shade and parked her there with instruction to hold on to her bag and not talk to strangers. We then set off for the rest of the market and promptly ran into a work colleague from DPI. We chatted for about 10mins then said our goodbyes and finished the market scene.  We all walked back to the car and headed back to Eastlands for a bit of lunch and some slippers (Shirl didn’t pack any). I thought later that perhaps I could have spent a bit more time at the market but not to worry when we bring Abby across I will more than make up for it!! Last night Dave cooked a BBQ which was a change and all of us ended up watching Taggart until 11.30.

 Then we headed off to Sorrell to the fruit/berry farm where we had a lovely lunch and proceeded to pick our own strawberries.  The weather is beaut now and it is quite warm picking the berries. The staff there are pretty good and more than helpful. They also mentioned that there was a little country fair happening at Richmond. I had intended to return via there anyway but that sort of sealed the deal. We had to find somewhere to “park” Shirl which turned out to be a park bench near the historic bridge. 

We left here there with the now obligatory instruction “hold on to your hand bag and don’t talk to strangers” but we also left her with an umbrella for shade. It would have been nice to have a proper look but we didn’t want her out there on her own for too long. There were people wandering around in period dress as well which added to the atmosphere and would not have been too hard to take sitting on the grass near the bridge watching the world go by.  We headed back to the cabin for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow we head for St Helens which marks the homeward leg of our trip.