Tasmania- Yacht Race and Taste Festival

Hobart around New Years is a happening place. First, there is the yearly Sydney to Hobart yacht race which departs Sydney on Boxing Day (26 December). We still have no idea what Boxing Day is. The yachts arrive in Hobart anywhere from 30 to 31 December. More on that later. Now, the yacht race we knew about- what we had no idea about was the Taste Festival which is from 28 December to 3 January right on the waterfront. Lucky us! 

The Taste Festival is dedicated to showcasing the local restaurants and wines of Tasmania. Essentially, you show up and just eat and drink to your heart's content. It's like they designed it just for us! An appetizer of oysters was quickly followed by a mussel and chorizo pialla, roasted quail, and thai chicken curry puffs. Mmmmmmm, delicious. The festival has gotten huger every year, and the first day pulled in over 33,000 people. We went on day 2, which as you can see below couldn't have had many fewer. Note the lines of food stands on either side.

The Sydney to Hobart yacht race was just the beginning. There are 3 other smaller races happening all at the same time. There were 2 seperate Melbourne to Hobart races, one going along the east coast of Tasmania and one going along the west coast. Lastly, a race from Launceston (a Tasmanian city on the northern side of the island) to Hobart. Below is one of the yachts from Launceston pulling into the harbor. I think they were the third place finisher. Good job guys!

Another ship coming in.  We just loved the beautiful landscape beyond.  Our photography skills can't truely capture just how beautiful this island is.

What better way to celebrate a few days sailing than beer? We figure this is one of the primary reasons these guys do this race. Motivation 1: Sailing. Motivation 2: Finish line beer is the best tasting beer of all.