Tasman Peninsula

As expected, I had a very eventful weekend. To start off with I attended a BBQ at Seven Mile Beach on Friday night and then headed to the Tasman Peninsula with Port Arthur destination in mind for Saturday.

I only have one class on Friday, so after attending it in the morning, I bought a day pass bus ticket and rode into town. I didn't actually have anything in mind to buy, so I just wandered through Target and checked out the Reject Shop and Chicken Feed (probably the closest thing to a high end Dollar Store). On the television I had noticed an advertisement for large size jams requiring you to buy 2, but since there is another Chicken Feed closer to me, I decided to forgo that purchase. I then headed to the bus section where I made a silly error.

I know where the location of Blackman's Bay is, and I know that there is a bus that runs through the Sandy Bay shopping precinct on its way there. However there is also a bus that takes the highway out of town and through some inland small towns on its way there. I of course hopped on this bus thinking it would be the first. Too late, as I was on my way to the highway and out of town with no more bus stops in site. We entered the small town of Kingston which actually had a couple of stores that Hobart didn't, as well as the usual Coles and a Chickenfeed.

Noticing a bus schedule tacked to a bus stop on the other side of the road, I decided to hop off and see when the next bus would be coming in the opposite direction. Unfortunately the schedule didn't tell what stop I was at, so I backtracked a couple blocks down to another stop with a posting. I was pretty lucky I had chosen to make a mistake on a weekday, as the buses are much more frequent. Also luckily a student day pass allows you to cross any number of zones...and I had definitely crossed a lot! So I got back to Hobart safely on the next bus and then made sure that this time I was taking a bus to Sandy Bay.

My arrived destination circled in red, and the way I thought I was going but ended up going, as well as Seven Mile Beach circled in purple

Later in the day I headed back to the bus section in town to wait to catch the bus heading to Seven Mile Beach. In our invitation to the BBQ being hosted as a house warming party to one of the international American students, they had suggested catching this bus to get you there in time. Only one other bus was running that evening and none were running back to town.

I met Nya moments before the bus was to leave and we got on, assuming that some of the others would also be catching that bus. But no one else was there. We hadn't expected that...and being unsure of where abouts Seven Mile beach was, which stop to get off at and even the address of the house, we were a little anxious. But through sending out some texts to get an address and rough travel time, we asked the bus driver and the one other passenger on the bus was able to give us some help. Turns out we were to ride the bus to the last stop and the house was a short walk away.

After getting a quick tour of the beach we met up with one other party-goer who had come earlier to get in a walk along the shore. Then the others eventually showed up either having taken the late bus, or many from the University accommodation had carpooled in. For a change, there was buns to go with the hamburgers and sausages instead of the usual bread. There was also a giant crayfish, chicken and a couple salads to chose from. It made for a very delicious and filling meal. While I didn't drink much, and actually was given a cup of tea by a sweet older lady, there were many overly enjoying the alcohol they had brought. Thus Nya and I, knowing we were going to be up early the next day, wanted to head back. The plan had been to rent a large taxi for those who had bused in, and to split the expensive fare (around $60 back to town). But of course not everyone wanted to leave. However the kind older lady, who seemed a little out of place in all this, offered to drive us home as she was thinking of leaving too. We filled her car with two others and she refused to accept any payment to drive us back! Instead, she requested that we treat others travelling abroad in our home countries with kindness as she had been a grateful recipient herself when she was travelling abroad.

The day didn't end quite as smoothly as hoped. Right before leaving a former tenant became a bit rowdy and had to be asked to leave. Of course this angered him and he took his rage out in his car. We were very lucky we weren't hit by his car, but we made it out of there safely and back to home. Our kind driver dropped us each off at our doorstep, dropping me last and making sure I had her number in my phone. It's a blessing to have met someone so thoughtful, and who wanted to ensure that if ever I needed to contact someone she'd be available.

Saturday morning my travelling companions and I met up early and left towards the Tasman Peninsula. The drive is really not that long and soon we were making a stop at Eaglehawk Neck. This is considered the last defense against escaping prisoners. Taking a look at a map, you'll notice that the land narrows greatly here. If an escaped convict had made it this far...they would run into a chain of hungry dogs blocking the way. These dogs stretched from one side of the coast to another and were chained down so that they'd be able to eat from the same food bowl but wouldn't be able to attack one another. In the water you risked the chance of meeting a great white shark. This area also had some guards and a house still stands that would have served as the honeymoon spot for soldiers who worked at the jail.

A statue depicting a hungry dog that would have stood guard at Eaglehawk Neck years before

The beach along one coast of the bottle neck section at Eaglehawk Neck

A short drive away leads you to Doo Town. A lookout over the coast is one point of interest, but most people come to check out the Tasman Blowhole. The ocean water has eroded away at the steep cliff forming a tunnel to a piece of inshore land. With the motion of the tide, the water surges in splashing up against the rocks. You can actually hear the air whipping around. Since the conditions were rather calm, it was a rather tame sight but still fairly interesting.

A lookout near Doo Town

The Tasman Blowhole looking rather calm

Moving on, nearby we got out of the car to see the Tasman Arch. This was also formed from water tunneling inland and then a large chunk of land falling down leaving an arch of land. Walking a bit past this led us to another lookout and then the Devils Kitchen. This is an interesting formation due to sea water far below, eroding into the sheer rock.

Standing strong is the Tasman Arch

The barren wall of the Devil's Kitchen with just a trace of water far below

After enjoying the sights we drove on for awhile, entering the Tasman National Park and stopping at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. For the steep price of $30, we were allowed to check out the animals being cared for. Of course, Tasmanian Devils were the first stop just outside reception. They were relatively young ones and moving all over the place. We broke for lunch near the bird fountain filled with Green Rosella.

A Devil checks out his surroundings

Enjoying the water, a local flock of Green Rosella entertain us during lunch

 

Nearby were some other caged animals, and then we head into the bird section.

The cute, but also meat eating relation to the Tasmanian Devil, the Eastern Quoll nibbles away at something in its cage

The massive Wedge Tailed Eagle shows off its wings. Not too surprisingly these large birds are capable of swooping down and grabbing a wallaby.

 It was more a rehabilitation centre than a conservation centre as most cages only held one bird. They do have  flight bird presentations, but we had just missed the latest one and wanted to be on the road again before the next.

The bird section led us to the Kangaroos. They seemed quite lazy all lounging around in a herd.

This guy is a bit more alert than some of the others

The lazy Forester Kangaroos, the only type of kangaroo found in Tasmania

This was also the way to the Wallabies, but as I've already encountered wild ones we decided to make our way to the Devil's feeding instead.

These devils were a bit bigger and one was already waiting for its food. We were told that they actually aren't very smart animals, being near blind most of the time and fighting all the time.

Rawrg!! Don't get in the way during feeding time for Tasmanian Devils.

The chasing ensues...lap after lap after lap and only a slight decrease in speed is noticed

We watched them start to fight when they thought one had the food, and then they chased one another round and round the enclosure after one finally did snatch the piece of meat. Eventually the other one realized there was another piece of meat and took that chunk running off assuming the other Devil would chase it. Finally they both sat down to eat their meal. You could hear the crunch of the bone as they devoured the meat. Apparently one time a lady dropped her glasses in and a Devil ate them, only to have the glasses come right through its system a couple days later.

After having enough of a look at the Devils we headed through the Pademelon enclosure on our way back to the car.

A couple of Pademelons hiding in their enclosure. I've actually spotted one of these briefly hopping through my backyard

Next stop was Port Arthur. We arrived around 2:30 and this time they had student discount tickets (concession) for $25 each. This minimum level ticket gave a tour of the site, access to any of the buildings and a short boat cruise around the islands.

As the tour had just started, we hurried to where the group was listening to the guide. Oh but his voice!! He had clearly memorized his lines but even with an accent, a dreary monotone voice is hard to listen to! A fit of giggles took over our group as we all stared in opposite directions to avoid bursting into full fledged laughter. After his spiel finished we made the unanimous decision to explore the site ourselves instead of continue with the tour.

Half of the Penitentiary is shown in the foreground with the Hospital siting on the hill behind

The buildings are just a skeleton of what they once where. Bushfires have all but destroyed them. Even after the fires, tourist would sometimes snag a brick as a momento. In the archaeological museum a letter written by an anonymous tourist speaks of the horrible streak of bad luck they had after swiping a brick, hence they chose to send the brick back to the site in the hopes their luck would change.

There were many placks to examine and we didn't get to all the buildings, but it was time for the cruise. A lady explained very briefly some of the nearby landmarks. We headed towards the island that held the young boys who had committed crimes, and sailed around the Isle of the Dead. For a price, one could take a tour of the individual islands as well.

The Isle of the Dead, the final resting place for the bodies of roughly 1100 convicts, soldiers and even an archbishop

What remains of Point Puer Boy's Prison on an adjacent island.

We headed back into the the dockyard, remarking on just how beautiful Port Albert looked.

The lush green landscape of Port Arthur seen from the coast

Choosing a last couple buildings to admire, we walked to the almost hidden Church. Even as a shell it looked very majestic between the trees. Nearby was the Governor's Cottage, located at the top of the Governor's Garden. Who would have thought the convicts would have a beautiful garden next to them. The small brazen birds zipped overhead all the way down the garden path.

A church peaks out of the trees surrounding it

In the centre of the Governor's Garden

We then headed to our final stop, a memorial at the site of the old restaurant- Broad Arrow Cafe. On April 28, 1996, a gunman shot and killed many people in the Cafe, injuring many more. Although caught, his name was never released so that the shooting could not be glorified by releasing his name. The outer shell is all that remains of the Cafe now too.

Inside the reception building we matched a card given when we had arrived to a criminal. You could then find out what your person had done to come to Port Arthur, and how they ended serving their crime.

After checking out the pricey gift shop, we loaded back into the car for one last stop. The Remarkable Cave, located a short distance away provided us with another amazing view at the work of nature.

Leading down to the Remarkable Cave

The water flushes into the Remarkable Cave's mouth

Then we rode home quite content with our day. We also gave our driver $10 each, which was quite a bargain compared to the $23 one way fare that would have meant no stopping along the way.