After an early start this morning to get to the airport, I'm now in Hobart, It's only a 2.5 hour flight from Brisbane, so even thought Tasmania is on daylight saving time, I arrived just after noon and was checked in to my hotel by 1 pm.

The only hiccup was the 11 kg of excess baggage charges at $10 per kg (ouch). No doubt it will be the same on the way back, so I won't be buying many souvenirs. Unfortunately Virgin Blue has changed their sporting goods policy and it's no longer as liberal - on two previous trips with bikes there were no excess baggage charges.

Oh - and on arrival at Hobart the Airport Shuttle bus was nowhere to be seen. I waited for a while then approached a taxi driver to see if the bike bag could be loaded into the boot somehow. The driver was unusually obliging and with only a little effort we got it into the back seat.

The hotel is quite close to Salamanca Place, and today is market day, so after settling in to my room I wandered around the markets and had lunch from one of the stalls, followed by a capuccino at Cafe Retro.

The markets are a feature of any trip to Hobart...

Some on-and-off showery weather arrived with me, and will persist tomorrow, according to forecasts.

The rest of the afternoon was spent re-assembling my bike. It survived the journey only a few chafe marks, but it is now apparent that the Surly painters are very economical in applying the paint. I encountered some minor difficulties fitting the fenders (which I hadn't actually fitted before), but otherwise everything went together well and is all but finished. It just needs a few tweaks in the morning and then I can take it for a test ride.

For dinner I returned to Salamanca Place and then along Constitution Dock to a wonderful little waterfront restaurant called Fish Frenzy; fish 'n' chips and a greek salad, washed down with a Boags Premium lager...the perfect way to end the day.

My room is spacious - there's plenty of room to spread out and assemble my bike...

Beautiful St David's Park was Old Hobart Town's first burial ground.

Many of the original settler's headstones are preserved in this wall...

My serviced apartment is in a renovated former telephone exchange - note how tall the windows are...

Nearby Battery Point has a quaint village feel...

On my shakedown ride, just as I was passing this bakery there was a sudden shower, and I was forced to take shelter (and lunch) here...