writer and photographer DON DEFENDERFER
Everyone knows that Tasmania is cold, wet and cloudy. An island crawling with leeches and buzzing with mosquitoes. A place for survivalists to try to live off the land and then give up after a few days. A dark, windy, untamed island; not a place for tourists or civilization to prosper.
But, as is often the case, everyone is mistaken.
Once in a while miracles do happen. And one can chance upon a calm, summer night with subtle colours lingering over remote wilderness landscapes as well as over historic urban architectural gems. This happened to me recently in wet old Hobart – a first – for I found myself walking through the city and around the docks on a calm warm evening whose beauty would inspire any visitor from anywhere in the world. At twilight I looked across the harbour to watch a salmon-pink sunset linger over the skyline and reflect in the bay, mingling in with the gulls and the shine of the city’s lights. As night came on, the reflections of the lights grew stronger and the 1903 Customs House glowed across the water like it was brand new and welcoming all and sunder.
So, don’t listen to the sceptics, don’t believe the weather forecasts. Come and visit town and country. Tasmania, even Hobart, can be warm and welcoming to everyone who goes out for a little walk.
[Editor’s note: As should be apparent, Don Defenderfer is a slightly blinkered Launcestonian.]
