Six months ago today, we left London to begin a new life phase in Tasmania.

Here are a few random facts that I have learned about our new home.

Hobart’s place in the world, latitude and longitude is …..
….. 42.88 degrees South and 147.33 degrees East.

I soon learned about the attitude. 42° south is a local winery.

The motel that we stayed in when we arrived in Hobart is 429 Sandy Bay Road but with an interesting sign that signifies the latitude.

I know that Greenwich, London latitude is 51.48 degrees North and 0.00 degrees, neither east or west, the home of the Greenwich Meridian.

I wondered what other countries had latitude of 42°.

In the northern hemisphere, the 42nd parallel passes through 23 countries :
Portugal, Spain, Italy (to the north of Rome), France (on the island of Corsica), Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyztan, China, Mongolia, North Korea, Japan, USA and Canada.

Only four places are crossed by 42nd parallel in the southern hemisphere :
~ Tasmania, Australia
~ South Island, New Zealand
~ Argentina
~ Chile

Here in the south there is so much ocean, so little land, which influences the weather and climate.

Tasmania has the cleanest air record in any populated place according to WHO monitors.

Hobart is the second driest capital city in Australia with annual average of 626 mm of rainfall whilst on Tasmania’s west coast, the rainforests have average of 2,500 mm.