Blogs from Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania

We were up early again today as we had a three hour drive to Port Arthur and wanted to arrive early. Like yesterday, we went down for breakfast before checking out and getting on our way down south. It was proving to be a lovely drive with an interesting coast line and stunning beaches to admire on the way. There are some beautiful coastal towns to drive through and see. We stopped in a small town called Swansea for petrol and to post a letter at the post office, before we were on our way again. It was just past a town called Orford when things started to get a little rocky – literally. This whole trip we have been following our GPS, which has gotten us around quite nicely. And, as I write this from ... read more

Tuesday 10th March 2015 Port Arthur was our destination for today; we have made a reservation for the night at the Port Arthur Motor Inn. A reasonably early start was made and our first stop was at Eaglehawk Neck. This is where the highway narrows down to just a thin stretch of land with the ocean on both sides. It forms a natural gateway to the peninsula that was used in the 1830s, when a line of dogs was chained to posts across the neck to warn of any convicts attempting to escape Port Arthur. We took a short detour and visited the Tesselated Pavement, a piece of reef on the Pirates Bay side. This reef has evenly spaced cracks along it making it look as if it was built with squares and rectangles. From what ... read more

Geo: -43.141, 147.852This morning we dropped Richard and Kerrie off at Richmond, in the heart of the Coal Valley wine country. They had already been to Port Arthur so didn't join us today.We were interested to cross over the Denison Canal near Dunally (big bush fires recently). The canal allows boats to pass from one side of the Tasman Penninsula to the other, without having to go all the way around.At Port Arthur the tour and visitor information were very comprehensive and interesting. Included was a short cruise around the bay to see the cemetery island and also the island where the boy prisoners were kept and schooled. Apparently this enlightened treatment of child prisoners contributed greatly to the site's classification on the World Heritage List a few years ago.Later in the day we visited Hobart's ... read more

Saturday 8th March 2014. Tasman National Park, Port Arthur Historic Site & Dinner at Garagistes Restaurant, Tasmania, Australia We had a good night's sleep in our quiet luxury room in the YHA. We got up early as we wanted to get the most out of our NP pass which runs out just after lunch. We had a quick coffee/tea in the room and then set off for the Tasman NP. We were heading Fortescue Bay which is located in the park and is accessible by car as there is a camping ground there. We followed the main highway and crossed the 30m wide isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck Which is the only land that connects the Tasman Peninsula to the rest of Tasmania. It was quite a long drive along a gravel road from the Arthur Highway ... read more

Tasmanien „Traumhaft, viel Natur, nicht so heiß, gute Angelmöglichkeiten, wunderschöne Strände, Berge und Seen und das auf 68.400 qkm mit nur 502.000 Einwohnern, wovon über die Hälfte in Hobart leben“ so könnte man Tasmanien in nur einem Satz beschreiben ;) Das wäre für mich die schnellere Alternative, was ganz praktisch wäre, doch würde das den meisten von euch bestimmt nicht gefallen...Also bekommt ihr von uns selbstverständlich eine ausführlichere Version beginnend mit der Fährüberfahrt von Melbourne nach Devonport. Die Überfahrt und die erste Nacht Da Kaputzki morgens manchmal gerne länger schlafen möchte -soll heißen er springt nicht immer gleich an- war es uns zu heikel das Fährticket online zu kaufen. Dadurch mussten wir spätestens um sechs Uhr früh am Fährhafen sein, um es dort noch zu bekommen. Um fünf Uhr sind wir losgefahren und konnten somit der ... read more