MONDAY 27 DECEMBER     HOBART

We had another quiet day. It was a public holiday in Hobart.

After lunch, we drove up to Tolosa Park, in the foothills behind Glenorchy. The park contains the lower Glenorchy Reservoir and we thought it would be a pleasant change to walk in parkland, rather than around the streets. There were picnicking groups and families there – far too many of them severely the worse for wear for alcohol. This public drinking in Tasmania is so awful, and seems so much the norm. I saw one man, sitting on the ground with a family group of men, women, children, clutching his can of beer, turn his head, vomit over his shoulder and down his back, then turn to the front again and take another drink! No-one in the group batted an eyelid! That seems typical. I find it hard to deal with.

We walked around park paths for about an hour, then drove back to camp.

The cricket in Melbourne was still getting spells of rain.

Tea was cold turkey and salads. That finished the turkey.