Welcome to White Cane Connections.

My name is Sue Boman. Yes, that’s me in the picture posted here. I have called this blog White Cane Connections because I am one of the many people who use a white cane. I began this blog because I wanted to write about a project I undertook in 2012. The plan was to complete a series of walks using my white cane. Between March and September, I walked in 82 different locations across Canada. So, the blog begins by telling of my experiences and the many people I met along the way.

While this particular journey has now been completed, I find that I still have much to write about. I am continuing to make new white cane connections, and so for the time being I will continue to add regular posts to this blog. I am hoping that you will be a partner in the journey.

Sue


Saturday, 12 November 2022

November 12 - Walking in Hobart

Lyle and I are in Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, the southern most state of Australia. Although the flight from Sydney to Hobart is relatively short, it felt like a very long day.  Fatigue might have been one factor that contributed to the difficulty I experienced on walking around on first day here.


By the time we picked up our rental vehicle, found our hotel, bought a few groceries - well, I was pretty tired.  Also, the sidewalks, or should I say footpaths around are hotel area were too narrow to walk side by side.  Our hotel, although quite lovely, was built on the side of a hill and there were slopes in every direction.  Additionally, it was a sweltering hot day.

On day two, we packed a picnic lunch and drove to the summit of Mt. Wellington. This mountain is 1270 metres above sea level and looks out over the city and harbour.  In contrast to the day before, the wind was bitterly cold but the walking was far more to my liking - wide pathways, secure wooden board walks, and the steps leading to the lookouts had hand rails on both sides.  The rocky landscape made both of imagine that this is what the surface of the moon looks like.

We stopped for lunch halfway down the mountain - out of the wind and at a lovely spot with picnic tables, a coffee kiosk, and a rather rustic toilet.  We ambled along a well defined pathway along a former Heritage Gardens area.  I say former because several decades ago it was totally destroyed in a major bush fire.  On our walk, we could smell the eucalyptus and hear the birds singing in the trees.

We had a lovely day.  It was relaxing with easy walking and good scenery.  As Lyle said, “There’s nothing quite like the Australian bush.”

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