It’s a given that most people know a park or two in their local area, and might have a favourite they travel to to mix it up, but if your park game is feeling stale, check out our wrap up of some of the best parks in Hobart.

From 2-5 August, the Australian Antarctic Festival hits Princes Wharf, Castray Esplanade to celebrate all things Antarctic, from the ships and logistics of getting scientists there, to talking through fascinating insights into life on the frozen continent. You can book to take a tour of the Aurora Australis and RF Investigator ships at the wharf, or head out to the airport to inspect the RAAF Globemaster C-17A aircraft.

Two Hobart region wine producers attracted national attention when they won awards recently at the 2018 Young Gun of Wine (YGOW) awards, described as “one of the world’s most rigorous talent searches for young winemakers and new labels.”

Driving to the supermarket, through the usual dinner time torment, Darren pipes up, “You know the other night when I placed my hand on your shoulder in bed I was feeling like you know…”

Kirsha Kaechele is an American artist and curator living in Hobart, and the driving force behind 24 Carrot Gardens. She moved here to live with David Walsh, of Mona and started the program to teach kids the value of understanding where food comes from.

Before Salamanca became Hobart’s hotspot for a good meal, diverse artwork and bustling markets, it was a hub of a much different kind. Known as New Wharf throughout the 1800’s, Salamanca was one of the largest whaling ports in the world and has been evolving ever since.

When TacoTaco first appeared in Hobart in 2012, the line-up for casual Mexican fare was long and the need for a street food scene was clear.

Where has the year gone?!” A familiar comment that is made just before the ‘silly season’ commences. Like a meeting at the UN the tension is palpable as relatives from far and wide come together. Some may have grudges buried deep within for decades, released in no time by a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. Unfortunately, police and support services have to respond to a spike in family violence over the Christmas and New Year period.

Skipping the gym, staying up late and making unhealthy food choices? As the festive season approaches we often let our healthy routines slide, thinking we’ll get back on track in the New Year. But these five simple food and drink swaps will help you to stay well over the Christmas break – and into next year. Where to start? With breakfast.

After all this talk of voting in local elections, as well as by elections on the big island, did you know that one of Hobart’s own created the system that we use to vote in Tasmanian elections, way back in 1896? And now, the electoral area known as ‘Denison’ is set to change to ‘Clark’ for the next Federal election to honour Andrew Inglis Clark (1848-1907), one of the architects of the voting system we use in Tasmania.

Have you ever heard of the Great Pacific Gyre, aka the Great Pacific garbage patch? These days, chances are you have. You may have also watched YouTube videos of turtles with plastic straws up their noses, or albatross carcasses laden with plastic.

We are all guilty of over-indulging our screen time. The average person reportedly checks their mobile phone 150 times a day and 68% sleep with their devices next to their beds.

The Hobart Zoo was started by a passionate socialite described as a “human dynamo” and was famously home to the last living thylacine.

When you think about Antarctica, what things come to mind? Probably penguins and icebergs, perhaps even international collaboration and research stations, but I’m guessing corals wouldn’t even make the long list, let alone the short one.

When visitors stop to gaze at picturesque Richmond Bridge they might not imagine a history of whippings and murder.

As the days get shorter and darker, Tasmanians are being urged to top up their Vitamin D with sunlight – and supplements.

The fires that swept through remote (and not-so-remote) areas of the Tasmanian bush earlier this year were estimated to have burned close to 200,000 hectares, about twice as much area as was burned in the last major fires, in 2016.

Climate change are two words very familiar in our conversations and language now. Once occasional sound bites in the media decades ago, the 21st century has seen an ever increasing awareness and public opinion focused on the subject.

It’s time to slash your ‘to do’ list and switch off your screens. The state of ‘overwhelm’ is increasingly highlighted by wellness practitioners as the inability to think clearly and emotionally manage all the tasks we’ve set for ourselves.

Murray Street was named after Captain John Murray, commandant of Hobart Town from 1810 until 1812.

Tall stalks tower above you, rising over 30 metres from the ground. Light filters through the canopy, softly illuminating a diverse and complex understory. The leaves sway gently, providing cover for a huge variety of species. You sense movement from the corner of your eye, and suddenly come face to face with a giant cuttlefish!

“You always think you’re right and I always end up being the loser in these arguments!” “If you hadn’t spent all that money then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now!”

The tiny chick gives a violent heave and a stream of water, bile, and surprisingly large chunks of plastic comes spewing out of its gaping beak. I feel a twinge of revulsion mixed with deep concern…not too dissimilar from what I felt nursing my own child through bouts of gastro.

Does a fear of flying stop you from venturing off the island? Many Tasmanians battle with flight phobia – overwhelming anxiety experienced on take-off, during turbulence or simply at the thought of being up in the air.

Kunanyi / Mt Wellington or simply ‘the mountain’ to us locals, Hobart’s most significant landmark was formed during the Permian, Triassic and Jurassic ages.

You might remember last month, in response to all the talk of Harry and Meghan borrowing Elton John’s private jet a few too many times, we unpacked the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) established in Australia as a successor to the controversial carbon tax.

Ever heard the expression ‘Buckley’s chance’? One theory is that it refers to escapee convict William Buckley who came to live with an indigenous community near Port Phillip in Victoria from 1803 to 1835.

Fires, climate change, water shortages, wildlife apocalypse…I don’t know about you, but from where I sit, things are feeling pretty bleak right now.

There’s an outdated equation running through your head that’s stopping you from living your best life: The more in control I am = the happier I’ll be.

Early Hobart’s Wapping district was known for grisly murders, prostitution and poverty. It was also the economic centre of town in the first years of settlement and home to Australia’s oldest working theatre, the Theatre Royal.

Think of the most compassionate person you know. Bring to your mind their kindness, generosity, and caring nature. Picture their gentle, smiling face, willing to offer a helping hand at the drop of a hat.

On a site where only the outside walls remain, how do you help visitors contextualise what happened inside those walls? At the Cascades Female Factory site in South Hobart, actor Karissa Lane, together with director Craig Lane-Irons and writer Finegan Kruckemeyer have created The Proud & The Punished, a 45-minute monologue to share the horrifying, heart-warming and sad stories of the women and babies, who went through the site from 1828 until 1856. At any given time there were between 700 and 1200 prisoners.

Devastating bushfires on mainland Australia strikes vivid memories to those of us who lived through the 1967 bushfires in Southern Tasmania when 62 lives and 1293 homes were lost.

Staying up late knowing you’ve got an early start. Picking a petty argument with your partner. Having that third slice of pizza when you’re aiming to lose weight or deciding that watching YouTube tutorials on how to build an elevated garden bed is suddenly more important than finishing off tomorrow’s presentation.

My 5-year-old son Maxwell recently declared that his favourite animals are “the dangerous ones, because apex predators help keep the ecosystem healthy.” While his definition lacks nuance, fundamentally he is correct.