What a start to the day, our first cooked breakfast in a very long time. After a proper Aussie classic of smashed avocado on sourdough toast with a couple of eggs and some bacon, we were both ready to face a busy one in Hobart.

Our first stop was a ferry to MONA (museum of old and new art). This was an experience we will not forgot, in part down to the scenery, architecture but mostly the themes which is best described by the owner of the museum as ‘subversive adult Disneyland’.

Even before we arrived at the museum, we had picked up on the unusual whilst on the ferry. On the boat going out there were ‘sheep’ seats, as shown by Andy below.

As we left the boat, we were amused by the quote at the bar, the guidance of which we propose to follow for the rest of our trip! You’ve just got to love the Aussie mentality to beer…even though the quote isn’t from one of their own.

Our arrival at the museum, was somewhat James Bond like, with the building hidden underground and accessed from an entrance at the top of a hill. All very mysterious.

Outside of the museum were a number of artefacts, notably a giant horn like structure large enough for Andy to hide inside.

The view from the entrance gave nothing away, with the main area outside taken up by a large tennis court (?!) and a giant trampoline with large bells connected to the base.

After entering the museum we took a spiral staircase down about 100ft below ground. Once leaving the staircase we entered into a large auditorium with huge pieces of art, the one below was at least 40ft from top to bottom.

One of the next rooms had a display of coloured cans sitting on pallets. Very eye catching and somewhat surreal.

Off to the heavens, and a room with mirrored cloud ceilings.

A giant head with small glass viewing ‘screens’ which showed into the sculptures brain. Again a bit of a talking point.

We then moved on to a giant snake mural created from hundreds of independent pictures and images.

Porsche car ballooned across the chassis, which somehow works and really catches the eye.

Moving on to a water shower sculpture which creates different words from ‘rain fall’. Michelle managed to catch it when the word was ‘team’.

A few more weird and wonderful sculptures….

The sexual references throughout the museum were everywhere, thought provoking and often amusing. The image below is one of the ‘lighter’ touches.

After a couple of hours of very eye catching viewing we made our way back to the ferry back to central Hobart. Again the boat had a few unusual features…monkeys and tigers on the main deck.

After the MONA visit, we decided to do a walking tour of the city. First stop was the marina and a selection of boats and ships.

We then moved on to Battery Point, the oldest part of Hobart with the original Victorian buildings in all shapes and sizes, many dating back to the 1840’s and the whaling trading period.

After all this walking, lunch came calling and we treated ourselves to pies. I can safely say these were the best we’ve had in Australia.

We then aimed for Salamanca Place where monuments to the trading history of Hobart and its original discovery by the Dutch.

Hobart is blessed with some beautiful and diverse buildings and we got to see a number as part of our walking tour.

After walking past the oldest pub, we got in the mood and headed to Salamanca Place for an alfresco drink in the late afternoon sunshine. It’s been a good day in Hobart and one we’ve enjoyed. Tomorrow we return to camper life when we pick up our van and head down to Port Arthur to see the old prison colony.