An early morning flight took me across the Bass Strait and Tasmania to Hobart, the capital of this Australian state and what seems like world capital for car repair shops. Upon landing, I evaluated car rental options but learned that it was better to ask in town. Unfortunately, the long lines caused me to miss the bus service that serviced the small airport, leaving me to realize that Tasmania lacks basic tourist infrastructure. Once outside, I rushed to a car that looked like it was dropping someone off and the driver, a marine biologist at the local university, willingly offered to drive me to town all the while telling me about the unique water ecosystems around Tasmania. I explored up and down the quiet hilly city, arranged for a car rental and counted the unusually high density of car repair shops. Coincidentally, I ran into some EMTs and asked them if there are unusually high accident rates in Hobart. I eventually realized the repairs are due to Kangaroo accidents (like Deer in America).

Tip:
Car rentals are usually more expensive at airports because of airport access taxes of some sort, but not always. It’s sometimes a function of supply/demand if you’re at a busy airport, it might be cheaper than in the city. In this case, I suspected that more people traveled from north to south, so I opted to fly to Hobart in the south then drive north, therefore getting a cheaper price on both airfare and car rental.

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia skyline

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE