Hobart Christmas Day, Santa Surprises and a Feast at Wrest Point Casino

Christmas Day in Hobart felt like a proper holiday at last. Simon turned up dressed as a surprisingly trim Santa and handed out presents courtesy of Fun Over Fifty, upmarket perfumes and aftershaves courtesy of Fun Over Fifty’s owners – a lovely gesture. There were games for anyone keen to get competitive, which Pete and I sensibly avoided because we’re professional party poopers.

Lunch was at Wrest Point Casino, which earns a special mention because it’s Australia’s first legal casino. It opened in 1973 and changed the face of Hobart’s waterfront, rising like a space-age tower above Sandy Bay. The weather finally behaved itself, bright sun, a bit of cloud, hardly any wind, so of course we were locked inside eating.

The buffet was heroic. Seafood, salads, roast vegetables, several roast meats, and a dessert spread that should’ve come with a warning label. By the time we rolled back to the Grand Chancellor we were in urgent need of a lie-down and a rethink of our life choices. But we’re heroes. We went for a walk around constitution dock instead.

That night the hotel delivered what it optimistically called a light dinner, platters of cold cuts, seafood, salads and bread. Light, my foot. It was another full meal when most of us were still digesting lunch. It was our last night in Hobart, and tomorrow we’d be heading for the hills, hopefully with room in our suitcases and our stomachs.

If you’d like to follow the whole trip, go here.