Tasmania One 20th to 25th February

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We returned our hire car to Melbourne airport and stayed overnight for our morning flight to Tasmania. We had chosen to fly rather than take the 14 hour ferry as we had been told that the crossing is not very good at any time of the year. The flight was delayed by three hours as all Virgin Blue’s computers were down across the whole of Australia and they could not load passengers on to the planes without them. In the end they decided to try a manual system and had to re-enter all the passengers into the system, print out a list and then load us one by one with a manual cross reference which took more time. There was a middle aged Ozzie couple who had never flown before and the wife was getting extremely nervous as the time went on. As compensation we received a voucher on the plane because of the delay to purchase a much needed drink. We did finally arrive in Hobart a little late but as it was only a 1¼ hour flight it did not matter too much. Separated from mainland Australia by the 150 miles stretch of Bass Strait, Tasmania is very different from any other Australian state. More than 40 per cent of the island is protected as a World Heritage Area, national parks and reserves. And because Tasmania is so compact it is easy to walk through an ancient alpine meadow in the morning and be on a pure white beach in the afternoon with the weather to match as we will experience during our stay. ……….. With a population of less than 500,000 it is never crowded, and its historic towns and seaside villages are dispersed across an area about the size of Ireland so it’s easy to get around. We collected a hire car at Hobart Airport but they would not negotiate as good a rate as we had received in Sydney - Avis will be loosing out as we will be hiring Hertz vehicles in future as they seem to be much cheaper. We made our way to Richmond where we were staying for four nights which was only 23k from the airport. The accommodation was in a converted stable block of a manor house called Hatchers Manor run by a very entertaining couple in their 60s. We were greeted by Colin the owner and then his wife, Ginette arrived with boxes of apricots she had just picked in their orchard and Colin handed us some to eat – they were really tasty. They said we could walk through the orchards and pick some whenever we wanted to which we did. They were very ‘down to earth’ hosts and made us feel welcome, although it was hit and miss at breakfast and dinner as they really could do with some more staff to help. Asking Ginette what she would recommend for dinner she would said everything, but she was also doing the cooking!!! We did have lovely roast beef though which really was sliced beef with pepper sauce and no Yorkshire Pudding but good just the same!!! Most nights we seemed to dine on our own as there were not too many guests, the place apparently was busy with weddings at the weekend but not much business during the week. The manor house and converted stables were in the centre of farmland with huge apricot orchards all around down to the Coal River on the edge of the farm. We had a four poster bed with separate living room and kitchen area and huge bathroom and we looked out over the orchards and fields with horses chewing on the hedgerow just outside our window. Colin’s ancestors arrived in Tasmania in the late 1700s being on the ‘first fleet’ and he said that his ancestor was a convict from Hampshire! That afternoon we walked down through the orchard and sampled some more apricots before clambering over an old fence and arriving in the delightful town of Richmond. Richmond was once a military post and convict station on the road to Port Arthur. It had a lovely ‘English’ village feel and is known as Tasmania’s premier historic town. We visited St John’s Catholic Church, Australia oldest Catholic Church on a hill overlooking the village with the local primary school next to it before crossing over the lovely carved stone Richmond Bridge, again the oldest in Australia. It was constructed with convict labour in 1823 to provide a safe crossing of the Coal River. When we arrived at the centre of the village green we could hear pipers playing and noticed that a competition was going on with the St Andrews Society Highland Gathering to select the best piper. Locals had travelled from all around the area to attend the occasion and we stopped and watched. It was quite weird listening to the pipers and seeing all the ‘kilted’ visitors and locals in a small village in the middle of Tasmania. We shopped in the village supermarket but were disappointed as they did not sell beer or wine in the local stores – oh dear, luckily there are plenty of vineyards around…... At dusk we walked down through the apricot orchard to see if we could spot wallabies and were lucky enough to see several munching on the fallen apricots but they were quite timid so you had to keep very still. Our hosts, Colin and Ginette were trying to get planning permission for subdivision of their land (plots to sell) but the village had not had any ‘new builds’ for decades and it was going to be a long battle with red tape. They had prepared a good case history which they were putting to the local council that evening and at breakfast Ginette used us as guinea pigs to see what we thought – it was quite any interesting breakfast that day! Later we drove into Hobart the capital of Tasmania. The city centre and waterfront areas are very picturesque and all the places of interest are within easy walking distance, although it’s not an easy place to park the car, we ended up parking in the basement of one of the top hotels and ended up coming out through their reception! We visited the local information centre and followed their Historic Places Guide around the city and harbour side. We then walked up through Salamanca Place a picturesque row of four storey sandstone warehouses on Sullivans Cove, a good example of colonial architecture, before climbing up steep steps to Battery Point where we walked around the old colonial homes overlooking the waters. We were taking photos outside an old house (now an antique shop) which was closed but the owner arrived and said we could look around inside if we wanted to even though she was not opening today and had only come to collect some things. We chatted to her for a while and she gave us some good tips on places to visit during our stay. Back in the harbour a massive cruise ship had arrived, the Silver Spirit, this was on its maiden voyage with only 460 guests. The 17 day trip cost passengers between $10,000 to $67,000 dollars and each cabin had its own butler as it sailed between Auckland to Sydney. The next day we travelled out to the Tasman Peninsula which is almost an island with much of the area a National Park. Our first stop was at the site of the Tessellated Pavement where we walked down onto the beach. The rocks look just like paving slabs, hence its name. The pavement is a natural occurring inter-tidal rock platform formed by unusual geological conditions resulting in a rare, tiled rock formation (see photo). We continued on to Tasman Arch and the Blowhole and walked along to the Devils Kitchen, all amazing rock formation sites gouged out by the sea. The coast along this stretch is wild with steep sea cliffs and rocky sea-stack outlooks, which are renowned as being the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere. We spent sometime walking along this stretch of coastline and then stopped at a mobile café in a carpark for coffee where we met Noel and Margaret a brother and sister who offered to share their fish and chips and fruit berry ice cream brunch (did not think we had lost that much weight!!!). We stopped and chatted to them for a while and mentioned that we had been married for 44 years and Noel went off to his car and brought back an Australian penny, minted in 1944 and said to give it to our granddaughter, Maisie on our return to UK. They were a delightful couple and had been spending a holiday together, Noel lived at Port Arthur just down the road and Margaret had come over from Melbourne to stay with him. He had never been to England but said he would really have loved to visit and see all our castles, they truly were friendly people. We continued on and arrived at Port Arthur which was named after Van Diemen Land’s lieutenant governor, George Arthur. The settlement started as a timber station in 1830, but it is best known for being a penal colony. From 1833, until the 1850s, it was the destination for the hardest of convicted British and Irish criminals. This prison had some of the strictest security measures of the British penal system. The peninsula on which Port Arthur is located is a naturally secure site by being nearly surrounded by water. The 30m wide isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck was the only connection to the mainland and this was fenced and guarded by soldiers, man traps and half-starved dogs. Port Arthur was an inescapable prison, much like the later Alcatraz Island in the US. Some prisoners were not discouraged by this, and tried to escape. We walked along the isthmus and visited the historic Officers Quarters; believed to be the oldest wooden military structure in the country and this was really interesting and was free. There was an audio video presentation outlining the story of a group of prisons who had tried to swim to freedom and it was quite moving. One of the most infamous incidents, simply for its bizarreness, was the escape attempt of one George "Billy" Hunt. He disguised himself using a kangaroo hide and tried to flee across the Neck, but the half-starved guards on duty tried to shoot him to supplement their meager rations. When he noticed them sighting him up, Hunt threw off his disguise and surrendered, receiving 150 lashes. Port Arthur was also the destination for juvenile convicts, receiving many boys, some as young as nine arrested just for stealing toys. The boys were separated from the main convict population and kept on Point Puer, the British Empire’s first boys' prison. Like the adults, the boys were used in hard labour such as stone cutting and construction. One of the buildings constructed was one of Australia's first non-denominational churches and it was quite moving walking around this former church now just a shell. Despite its reputation as a pioneering institution for the new, enlightened view of imprisonment, Port Arthur was still in reality as harsh and brutal as other penal settlements but it was not until 1877 that the prison was abandoned. We took a guided tour of the ruins which are located in a truly lovely location right on the shoreline which makes the site even more poignant. Later we boarded a boat over to the Island of the Dead which was the final destination for all who died inside the prison as well as the guards and their families. Of the 1646 graves recorded to exist there, only 180, those of prison staff and military personnel, are marked. The guide who showed us around the small island detailed stories of some of the prisoners who are buried there and they are hoping to finally produce a full record of all those that are unknown but this will probably be a difficult task. It seems a little bizzare that such a brutal place is now a major tourist attraction. Before we left Port Arthur we wandered around the cottages of some of the staff that worked there as guards, doctors and ministers etc. The gardens of these homes were walled as the wives were not allowed outside without guards and could only go out into their own gardens. There was also a lovely landscapped governer’s garden displaying lots of old english flowers and it was here that we spotted several different species of birds including a Scarlet Robin. Today Port Arthur is home to many reputed cases of haunting and ghosts and in the evenings they run ghost tours but we did not stay for these as it was becoming quite late!!!!!!!!!!! We did however continue on around the coast to see the sea gouged Remarkable Cave, so named because of its eerie resemblance to the shape of Tasmania. Extremely steep steps led down to a viewing platform and as each wave came crashing through the cave the noise was deafening. I left Paul to take some photos and got quickly out of the way before being washed out to sea……………Paul did finally find his way back as well though……….. It was getting quite dark and late as we drove back through the National Park so we had to watch out for the wildlife which mainly comes out at dusk; this is the time that most get killed. The next day we travelled the short distance to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary where they care for animals most of which have been injured on the roads. We have noticed all over the island hundreds of dead animals on the sides of the road. The sanctuary was extremely well run and as you walked around the kangaroos and wallabies came out from under the fences right up to you hoping to be fed, one got very attached to Paul. We also saw a cute young wombat whose mother had been killed on the road. He was one of the lucky ones as he was rescued from her pouch and hand reared at the sanctuary where they were hoping to be able to release him when he was a little older. We also saw many animals that we had never seen before that were native to Tasmania, including the ‘fierce’ Tasmanian Devil which are not really fierce but do look it and make a loud screeching noise. The sanctuary was running a successful breeding program of these threatened animals, because of a facial tumour disease which has wiped out 90% of them in some areas of Tasmania. On our last day in the area we walked back into Richmond where we visited the old Gaol built in 1825, five years before the penitentiary at Port Arthur which was really well preserved. It was extremely daunting looking around the prison particularly the solitary confinement cells which I would not even go into, although Paul did. We later walked along the main street and met the owner of a local gift shop who was putting in an order for Russ Berrie toys and merchandise, the firm where our son-in-law, Geoff works in Southampton – small world. The next day we left Richmond and headed up the east coast towards Feycinet National Park. On the way we stopped at Triabunna and took some photographs of Maria Island which is close to the shore and another of Tasmania’s National Parks. We continued on and stopped for coffee at Kate Berry Farm which is an essential stop for most tourists. It sells homemade jams, wines, sauces and divine ice cream. The farm was located up a steep dirt track and our little car struggled to get up but we did finally arrive and left the smell of our burnt clutch to smell the divine scent of fresh strawberries. We sat on the verandah overlooking the ocean and had the best Devonshire cream tea since we left the UK. It’s a shame we could not carry anything around with us as we probably would have bought out the shop including homemade jams, sauces and home made chocolate. We were still struggling trying to get a signal for our mobile phone and were told that Vodafone did not have much coverage in Tasmania. It was lucky we had changed the provider for our mobile broadband otherwise we would have been without any form of communications and will now have to look into changing our mobile as well. We stopped at a place called Swansea which was nothing like the one in Wales although it was a seaside town; it had lovely views out over the Freycinet Peninsula our next stop. We continued around the huge bay and into the Freycinet National Park where the spectacular 485 metre high pinky orange granite outcrops known as the Hazards dominated the tiny town of Coles Bay. The park is one of Tasmania’s principal tourist destinations and it is so peaceful and beautiful with white sandy beaches, secluded coves, rocky cliffs and excellent bushwalks. We decided to look for accommodation early and the first place we tried was fully booked which was a shame because it looked lovely but then we found Coles Bay Campsite situated right on the beach. They only had a couple of cabins as the owner said that this weekend there was a triathlon event and they were fully booked. He did however have a basic cabin without an ensuite and a basic cabin with ensuite but both were quite old. Or he said we could stay in the new Youth Hostel that was also on the site but we would have to have separate rooms and share with other males/females!!! We said we would take the ‘ensuite’ cabin and he gave us the keys to take a look. Although ‘very’ old it was not too bad and he said tomorrow night he had a newer cabin available and we could move so this is what we did………… We later walked down to Oyster Bay where Paul met another Norwich City Supporter (he had also met one in the Blue Mountains near Sydney) he chatted to them for ages before we were able to sit down to eat. We tried the renowned local oysters and they were delicious. We then walked along the sea front before retiring back to our ‘basic cabin’. We checked our email as we had emailed our friends in Christchurch because of the dreadful earthquake that had hit the city. Natalie and Allan who we had visited when we were in Christchurch at Christmas had escaped this time from any further damage but Glenda & Rick the lovely couple who ran the B&B where we had stayed at Christmas had sadly lost their home although they were just so happy to be alive. They had this beautiful fish tank inset in the wall between the breakfast room and living room and the quake had blew this out completely. We cannot believe that this lovely city has suffered such devastation. Areas we had walked a few months ago had completely gone it was so hard to believe. In the night we were awoken by a loud noise on the roof which we assumed was a very big possum from the noise it was making and we thought he probably lived in the roof somewhere…………but we could not find him!! The next day we packed up and the owners kept some of our supplies in their fridge for when we returned later in the day when the other cabin would be ready. We decided to go into Freycinet National Park just down the road and look at the walks in the park. We selected the famous Wineglass Bay Lookout walk and then continue via the Hazards Beach circuit walk which was a 5 hour walk in total which was about 11k. We drove a little way into the National Park to the carpark and luckily the road was not too bad. We parked the car and took a narrow gravel track which climbed steadily over the saddle between Mount Amos and Mount Mayson, with a side track up quite a few steps leading to the lookout that gave one of Tasmania’s most well known views over the bay. It was a shame that the sun had decided to go in and it was quite cloudy so we did not get good views but it was a tremendous view nevertheless. We met a few people who were also travelling around Tasmania and we swapped stories and places we had been as they were heading in the direction we had come from. We then continued downhill which was quite challenging balancing between the boulders before finally arriving at the long white sandy beach of Wineglass Bay. We walked along the beach and saw lots of huge starfish and some small pink jellyfish on the edge of the water. We then took the Isthmus Track inland which crossed the isthmus to Hazards Beach on the other side. On entering the bush we noticed a mother and baby wallaby on the side of the track and after about half an hour of flat walking we arrived at the beach with magnificent views of the Hazards. The beach was covered in shells, mainly oysters and hundreds were strewn across the shoreline but also embedded in the sand dunes all along the edge of the beach. We walked along the beach which was about a 20 minute walk to its southern end where we sat and had lunch on the rocks before joining another track that followed the coastline around the base of Mount Mayson over the undulating cliffs back to the car park. Later that evening we walked down to the seafront and had oysters at the local bar before packing for our onward journey – see you there.

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