Australia & Ashes 2017 - 2018 - Day 77 - 7th February

Day 77

Its match day today but as it was not due to start until 7.40 this evening I had plenty of time to do some more exploring.

As I walked down to the cove I could see a massive cruise liner towering over the buildings around the harbor. There are no high-rise buildings in Hobart, so it was pretty easy to spot.  As I walked across to it I saw another one, slightly smaller, berthed behind it. The larger boat was one of the Celebrity cruise ships from the USA and later the harbor front was to be full of tourists.

I walked around the docks area, an area I had not explored before and there were some interesting buildings around there.

I then did some more exploring around the town and visited the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. This was a fascinating place which gave me a greater incite into the indigenous people than I previously had.  The buildings housing the museum were some of the most significant heritage buildings in the whole of Australia. The museum collections embrace the diverse treasures of Art, History and Science.

From here I moved on to the oldest pub in Australia, the Hope and Anchor Tavern.

The Hope and Anchor Tavern is a truly Australian pub, built in 1807. It is without doubt the oldest Australian pub, having continually operated and held the necessary licences since opening in 1807. It is bursting with antiques and Australian memorabilia throughout.

I had lunch here before returning to the Hotel to get ready to go to the cricket. I got ready and made my way to Franklin square to join the bus queue for transport to the cricket over in Belarive. It was a long but orderly queue and we were soon on our way. I managed to get on the second bus out.

On arriving at the ground, I had time for a look around before taking my seat.  This, I think, is my favourite ground in Australia. Much smaller than the grounds in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth but still a great stadium with a terrific outlook.

The view from the stadium

The match was a cracker.  Won by Australia after many twists and turns but with a grandstand finish when Glen Maxwell won the match for Australia with a six which also brought up his personal century.

I tried to get a bus back after the game, but it was a trifle chaotic, so I took a taxi instead.  Turned out to be a good option as I was back in my hotel by midnight and it would have been much later on one of the buses.