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Published: February 12th 2012
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We awoke to a beautiful sunny day and decided to have breakfast on White Beach. Lovely! When we left, we noticed that an extraordinary amount of houses and land were for sale in the town of White Beach. The image of lazing on a balcony overlooking the beautiful bay was very tempting, but I doubt it would be much fun in winter!
We then drove to Port Arthur, where convicts who had committed further crimes in the colony were imprisoned. 12,500 convicts did brutal prison time here between the years of 1830 and 1877. Port Arthur is also the site of 1996 massacre, where Martin Bryant murdered 35 people (and injured 37 people). He is in prison, having received 35 life sentences. Shocking and very sad.
On the way back, we popped in to the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. And we saw the devils! Although they’re mostly scavengers (as they have terrible eye sight, can’t run fast or sneak up quietly on prey) they’re actually quite ferocious little critters. We witnessed feeding time and they snarled, hissed and bit each other. They are actually marsupials but I thought they looked and behaved a bit like wild pigs… and smelt
like dogs. It’s a sad fact that they are facing extinction due to a type of contagious cancer, which spreads when they fight and bite each other. Even when healthy, they only live for around five years. We also saw falcons (a young brown falcon swooped under my legs with amazing accuracy and speed!), quolls (the devils’ closest cousin), kangaroos, wallabies and cape barren geese (which have cool green beaks).
We then explored some of the treasures of the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania’s South East corner, starting at Doo Town. This is a cute place in which almost every home and business owner has incorporated the word “Doo” into their name. We bought a yummy snack at Doo-licious, chuckled at the Dr Doo-little B&B and drove past Just-Doo-it and Doo-fu*k-all! At Pirate’s Bay, we saw the blowhole as well as Tasman’s Arch and Devil’s Kitchen, a deep boomerang-shaped crevice, or gulch, in the rock.
The Tasman Peninsula really is beautiful. The cliffs and rock formations are very reminiscent of the gorgeous Great Ocean Road. We’re really appreciating spending time with each other, outdoors in this lovely place on earth.
And we’ve decided to name our van-slash-home “Alabama”. That
allows some affection, without the risk of getting too attached, haha. Also, Dean has requested a post-script part in this blog, which he will call “The Truth”. So here’s your first installment – enjoy.
THE TRUTH (by Dean Glasgow)
There are many stories about how the Tasmanian Devil arrived on the island. However, a little known fact has come to light, pertaining to an area known as Eagleneck, which the “Devil’s Kitchen” and the “Devil’s Blowhole” are part of. Have you ever wondered where the Tasmanian Devil is created? The Devil’s Kitchen is where these little creatures are cooked up, before being vented out through the Devil’s Blowhole at a velocity that allows them to be distributed evenly throughout the Tasmanian countryside, and explains why the little critters have such a bad temperament. And at this point, the lesson of where the Tassie Devil comes from ends.
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