Tassie Day 7 – Hobart and Falls Festival

After breakfast at the hostel, and after stocking up on supplies for imminent festival camping, we wandered around the harbour, taking in the sights and sounds of the end of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race. We'd seen the start of last year's race in Sydney, where hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes belch out of Sydney Harbour, jostling and tacking for position, before heading out to the high seas for the long trip South. This year, so we heard, the weather at sea had been unusually calm and there was talk of food and water rationing on many of the boats, as they'd had to spend a day longer at sea than expected – not fun! Mind you, all the returned crews looked pretty happy and relaxed as they washed and dried their gear in the sun, while knocking back a few beers!

We had another tasty lunch at the food festival before hitting the road for the hour or so drive to Marion Bay, our home for the next 2 nights, at the Falls Festival. Soon enough, we were there, the tent was set up and we were ready for some music – hurrah! As festival settings go, this one is hard to beat – the backdrop to the main stage is beautiful Marion Bay, with the ocean and hills framing the view, and on a day like today with the sun beating down and not a cloud in the sky, it was sheer relaxation to be sat on the grass with a beer and good music. Highlights of the evening were Rodriguo y Gabriela, a spanish guitar and singing duet, and Moby, who did a storming set over midnight, with his full band on display. Despite lack of prior arrangements or mobile phone reception, we managed to find our friend P, who'd originally recommended Falls to us. All in all, a great day and night.