Day 2 in Hobart was a very mixed day of exciting highs and frustrating lows. We awoke to the sound of rain beating down on the roof so heavy that some of it stayed in the gutters and downpipes and the rest cascaded off the roofs everywhere. We new it was forecast so weren’t taken by surprise.

Breakfast is provided in the room here. A totally processed, prepackaged meal courtesy of Kelloggs (cornflakes), Devondale (long lifeless milk), Rivianna (cubed fruit salad), four slices super white toast, Western Star (yellow grease that may contain dairy), Kraft (icky spreads). At 5am (still on NZ time) it all tasted dam fine.

We booked to go to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) and used their fast catamaran from downturn for the half hour trip up the harbour. The ferry had two classes, the Posh Pit up front with leather couches, the best views and waiter service, and Standard (us) down the back with the engine noise. Actually the standard for everyone was very good and the refreshments were as good as any upmarket cafe. There was lots of art everywhere, a full size white cow, sheep seats, crazy graffitied walls, doors and toilets.

I noticed that my camera was not playing back and not recognising the memory card but otherwise seemed to be okay.

In Seattle last year Dale Chihuly’s Glass Museum and Garden and Frank Gehry’s EMP were mind blowing experiences and MONA is also. The museum has entry, Cafe, gift shop etc at ground level and three subterranean levels of galleries. From the pier there are 99 steps to climb through a sandstone gorge to the entry level. Then a spiral staircase down through a rock shaft to the bottom gallery (basement 3). There you get your headphones and “O”.

There are no labels on any walls or art, everything is on your little touch screen pad – the “O”. This is brilliant, a huge amount of information, maps, directions, tells you what you have missed, where you are and you can email your tour home. From here you wind your way back up through a maze of amazing spaces. Some high and cathedral like, some tiny and claustrophobic,  some nearly black and some strobe lit, some soft and some harsh and glarey.

Art all the time from 100BC Egyptian mummies in the Death Gallery to a crazy weird frankensteinian glass stomach thing that feeds, farts and poos.

All pretty puzzling and provoking and lots of fun.  A wonderful bar carved out of the rock. Think velvet, sandstone and making eyes at the chick with the black nail polish while you slurp your post modern Martini.

And all the time it was persisting down with rain so we didn’t get to see anything of the outside sculptures or garden. I took heaps of photos but was a bit worried about the camera and sure enough went to a camera shop on the way back and the photos do not exist. Some electronic problem with the camera not recognising my or any memory card, otherwise was acting okay.

After lots of fluffing around bought a little Nikon Coolpix S3700 which I will use for the rest of the time here. The Nikon has wifi and I downloaded  the app for my tablet but can’t get any photos transferred yet. So maybe no more photos – sob!

Brian has arrived and late in the afternoon met up with the precise and thrifty Manfred from Green Island Tours who set up the bikes, panniers,  gave us maps etc and we each got an interesting bottle of Langmeil Resurrection 2010 Mataro wine. To drown our sorrows with?