Sunday 10th March 2019 - Tasman Peninsula

This morning we met our guide and the rest of our group straight after breakfast. There are 8 of us, plus our guide, Ludger. The day started with a drive to Port Arthur about 90 minutes away, down the Tasman peninsula. This drive took us over bridges and causeways, along the coast and across country. If you look at a map you can see that this part of Tasmania does not have a straight coastline, but one that has many islands, bays and inlets meaning that there are some very circuitous routes to get to places that are not necessarily that far apart. It was a nice drive however. We had thought that Tasmania would look more British as it is a much more lush part of Australia. However, that theory was quickly squashed as we don’t have quite so many gum trees at home! Yes, there is rolling countryside with cows, sheep and all sorts of different agriculture, but British, no! It’s also the end of a hot, dry summer, so although there has been a bit of rain recently, everything other than where they are irrigating is very sare. We were told that with their HEP they currently produce 95% of their electricity with no need for fossil fuel. They are also more than self sufficient in food production and would welcome the UK as an export market again, just as it was before we joined the Common Market!!

On the way we stopped to see a geological feature known as a tessellated beach, formed by silt that is laid down in a depression in the sea over many years, plus debris from melting glaciers and remains of shellfish. It gets compacted, becomes siltstone which then cracks due to stresses in the earths crust. Salt penetrates the cracks and over time they grow, pushing the rocks apart and causing the effect that we could see. I think I’ve got that about right, but if not I apologise!

Port Arthur is a former penal colony established in 1833 to take prisoners transported from the UK. It has no walls or fences as it’s situation made it almost impossible to escape from. Despite being a prison, those here were well looked after with food, drink, medicine, an education and training. In it’s early years punishment rather than rehabilitation was the norm and we looked at the building that still stands and that housed repeat offenders. For some this meant solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and an hours exercise, also on your own. There was total silence and even the guards communicated via a type of sign language. For the really bad ones, it was a cell with no windows, behind 3 locked doors and total darkness. I thought it felt really spooky. It must have sent men insane, and the building felt like it had ghosts.

The site was really interesting and we were sorry not to have more time here. There were other more gentle buildings, and the telling of stories that showed prisoners actually had hope here, more than they had back in England in fact, and for many it was a new start and a positive experience. Even for those who had finished their sentence there were basic facilities for them to continue living at the colony.

After a very nice lunch we were taken to see the Tasmanian Devil! We are not really into seeing animals that are not in the wild, but we would never have seen this one if we had not been to the sanctuary. Like so many wild animals they are under threat. They have had problems before when dingos were introduced to mainland Australia which nearly wiped out the population, there was another one that I can’t remember and now a facial tumour that is contagious. These creatures are vicious. They have jaw power 4 times stronger than a pit bull and fangs. We watched one chew meat on a bone and it ate it with ease! They have very poor eyesight, can’t run very fast and live by scavenging, and have a very small brain. Most of their headspace is taken up by the dense skull bone and muscle that they need for their huge jaws! They are marsupials, give birth to up to 40 young but only have 4 teats which the young need to be permanently attached to so the 4 strongest have the best chance of survival. She eats the rest! At 8 months old she leaves them in the nest to get on with it! They are called Tasmanian Devils because when they fight their screaming is somewhat blood curdling and for the first settlers here, rather scary when they did not know what they were and couldn’t see them!

We drove back to Hobart along a piece of coast road that was quite dramatic with cliffs, arches and blowholes.

Having had a decent lunch we didn’t really need a big meal on our return so wandered back down to Salamanca Place during the evening to get a snack. We decided to share a pizza in what appeared to be a quiet bar, but had to sit at a large long table. We were waiting for the pizza when we were approached by 3 women, probably in their 30’s who asked if we would mind if some of the table was taken up by part of their group. There were about 15 of them, 2 of who had married in Hobart yesterday and they were still out celebrating. We said no, of course we didn’t mind and we would join in the celebration having just reached 40 years ourselves!

Yet again we found the Aussies to be very hospitable and we were soon chatting to some of them. Admittedly they had all been drinking and were fairly well oiled, but they were fun and friendly. There was a Croatian guy who supported Manchester United and was very excited by their transformation since changing manager! He was with a girl from El Salvador who was also quite a character. We got on and ate the pizza, only to find drinks had been bought for us. Not part of the plan! We then got talking to a girl who lives in New York but is from Adelaide and was giving us lots of tips about what to do when we reach there later this week. They then invited us to join them in the bar next door where they were going on to next! We declined and took our leave, with handshakes, hugs and kisses! Oh the joys of travel and meeting random people in random places and sharing time! It was a fun evening and all the better for being unexpected!