SWORDFISH ON A STICK, TRIABUNNA, TASMANIAFly, my little swordfish, fly!

Tasmania is magnificent. No other word will do. Just spent a week there with my wife, visiting one of my oldest friends, Rob Walls, a superb photographer, raconteur, writer and cook. His wife Susie is also one of the most delightful people you're ever likely to meet, and in the shadow of Mount Wellington, just around the corner from the famous Cascade brewery, Susie tends a lush and lively vegetable garden. A serious one. She sells to people who sell vegetables at Hobart's Salamanca markets. That's how serious. What with the bucolic scenery, complete with hens and goats (all individually named, of course) fossicking around in the lower paddock by the boundary stream (am I making you sick with jealousy yet?) I didn't want to go anywhere else. And this was just the start - we hadn't glimpsed any more of Tassie than the Walls' house and garden and we were already more than happy with our Tasmanian visit!

TASMANIA_2014-313Rob Walls serves up a magnificently cooked fresh Tasmanian trout. Let that be a lesson to you.

But of course there's more. There's MONA for a start - https://www.mona.net.au - Tasmania's already world-famous art gallery. Words can't do it justice. Well not mine anyway. Built from the eclectically mad collection of Tasmanian uber-gambler David Walsh and housed in a masterpiece of subterranean architecture, a visit to MONA should be mandatory for anyone even vaguely interested in art. The experience starts right from getting on the MONA ferry for the 20 minute journey across Derwent Harbour to the gallery. Mad art, sheep sculptures to sit on on the upper deck, superb food and coffee from the onboard kitchen manned by MONA's own chefs, the witty brochure ("Tasmanians are admitted free of charge. You just need to supply identification - yes, yes, two heads and all that...") and the passing scenery all combine to make just getting there a blast. We had a very happy and stimulating day and will definitely return soon I hope.

TASMANIA_2014-424Grumpy passenger (is it the Queen?) sits on a sheep aboard the MONA ferry.

The next day we set off from the Walls' domain to discover the pleasures of the east coast. More on that next post....