A surprising end to my day

After Bonorong I went for a walk along the waterfront and then to a historic neighbourhood called Battery Point. I came across a circular street called Arthur Circus with a small green space in the middle and a ring of renovated seafarers cottages dating from the earliest days of Old Hobart Town. It was so pretty and unexpected.

Further down the street I saw a sign in front of St. George’s Anglican Church. I crossed the street to see what it said....”Shrove Tuesday Pancake and Soup Night”. It started at 5 and when I looked at my watch it was 5:03. I hesitated when a young dad with his child walked up behind me and encouraged me to join them as it was open to all. I was hungry and it was only $5. With food in hand I sat at a table and was given a brief history of the church from an older woman who was originally from Zimbabwe. She left and a young Japanese woman sat across from me. She was a nurse who worked in the ER so we had lots to talk about. Her name was Saya. Three other young people joined us...a web designer, a teacher in training, and a woman from Nepal. We had such good conversations! When it was time to go the ER nurse offered to take me up to Mount Wellington to see the sunset. Sounded good to me because I was planning to do that the next day but with a forecast of rain it may not happen. It would also save me $35 for the tour. It only took us 25 minutes to get to the top by a very narrow winding road with no lane markings, bordered by flimsy wood rails. It was darn chilly at the 4170 foot peak as we weren’t dressed for the occasion but the view was amazing. On the way down I saw an echidna at the edge of the road and pointed it out. In 8 years living in Tasmania this was only the 4th one Saya had seen. It was my 4th sighting in less than 2 weeks! My new friend dropped me off at my apartment and I let her know how grateful I was for her kindness.Read more