Luckily the rain cleared out and the final races were held in fine weather.  Race 4 was a park/street sprint around Battery Point and Salamanca Place – that’s more like it! Back on familiar turf.  The biggest challenge was finding a parking spot in the CBD.  We discovered we had no change for the parking meter.  Ian was bemoaning the situation, but I took charge, smiled sweetly at a well dressed business couple passing by, and simply asked them to change a note. Job done!  If we were ever on The Amazing Race, Ian would be in charge of the death defying challenges, and I would be in charge of the begging.  What a team.  Mind you, it would all fall apart over the driving.

The map was easy to read and a lot of fun – through the narrow streets and hillside parks of Battery Point, then downhill and into the alleyways, courtyards and outdoor eateries of Salamanca before a circuit around the wharf and a climb back to the finish.  There were a few remnant puddles and for a few minutes I could almost pretend I was back in Venice.  Ian produced a dramatic finish by falling over on his bum, right at the finish control. I had my back to it and missed the whole thing.

We spent the remainder of the morning wandering around the wharf, looking at the variety of boats.  I had a look at the Mawson Replica museum – a true to life replica of Mawsons Hut, preserved at Cape Denison in Antarctica.  The fact that it still stands 100 years later is testament to the craftsmanship of the builders. It was amazing to see how 18 men lived through two winters while waiting for rescue.

Race 5 was on the east side of the Derwent, at Risdon Brook, a hilly park surrounding a dam, and a popular picnic spot.  There were plenty of tracks, fences, and steep slopes.  It looked straightforward enough, but I totally messed up the first control and hard to start again, wasting tons of time.  I perservered around the course but was dispirited at the end.  I decided that I would pull out of the last race.

In the end, I changed to the Short course.  The final race was billed as the toughest, with 100 m of climb just to get to the start, then another 130 m on the course!  The Short course was only 30 m of climbing, and I enjoyed an easy jog around the tracks and a sub-30 min finish time.  The views en route to the start over Hobart were spectacular, so much so that we drove up there afterwards for a proper look.

After ascertaining that we weren’t up for a prize, we pointed the car north and set off for Devonport.  We had plenty of time so we made some stops along the way, first at historic Ross, which has a beautiful church, bridge, and many historic buildings – and an excellent bakery from which I purchased a succulent salmon and brie pie.  We pulled up in Campbelltown, Evandale, and Deloraine, before making our way to the ferry terminal.  The day had been very windy so we were ready for another rough crossing.  By 8am Saturday morning we were back home unpacking, our Tassie Travels over.