The Blue Mountains is a wonderful place 1.5hr drive west of Sydney. We’ll spend the next few days here having a look around.
Govetts Leap, near Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, provides a spectacular point to view the Govetts and Grose gorges. The vertical cliffs drop 160 metres, with the floor of the gorge lying over 400 metres below the lookout. In 1846 Travel writer G.C. Mundy wrote of Govetts Leap:” It is Certainly one of the grandest freaks of nature I have seen in any country – quite beyond the power of pen or pencil to delineate”
This area doesn’t have high resolution maps, so they won’t be available in the posts for a couple of days. You can still see the overall maps by clicking the link below.
This is Macquarie St, the main thoroughfare through Hobart City. Travelling all the way down the street will see you arrive at the Cenotaph of the War Memorial we looked at last week, while turning down Murray St, will take you to Salamanca Markets and the waterfront where we’ve spent a lot of time at this destination.
St Davids Cathedral sits on opposite street corner. It was built between 1868 and 1936 taking 68yrs to complete the architects original vision. While across the road is the Tasmanian Treasury Building built in 1841, and used as a police station until 1858.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a small look at Hobart, it’s a wonderful city. There is far more to see in and around Hobart, and we’ll be checking out some local places like Port Arther & Russell Falls later. I’ve had a request to look at the Blue Mountains west of Sydney next, so that’s where we’ll start tomorrow. Following the Blue Mountains we’ll be checking out some of my home town… The Gold Coast.
Behind Salamanca Place is Salamanca Square, where you can sit by the cooling fountain with a cup of coffee and a muffin and listen to a guitar or a flute player.
The Hobart Gasworks, pictured here, was first turned on in 1857. It produced gas made from British coal that brought the town’s street lamps to life & replaced a handful of whale-oil lamps. The Gasworks was shut down in 1978. These days it’s a Rum distillery & Museum, restaurant & a couple of other shops.
The huge water tank like structure across the road, is actually an 1100 seat concert hall & convention centre belonging to the, attached, Grand Chancellor Hotel.
