Tuesday 7th April 2009

We have spent two days on the Tasman Peninsular; which for most of the 19th century was a penal colony. This peninsula, all but an island apart from a thin spit of land, with the military fort of Port Arthur was where you ended up if you offended the authorities on the mainland (where you had been transported from Blighty after commiting a crime serious enough to warrant it; like stealing a loaf of bread). Virtually escape-proof; the spit of land was patrolled by savage dogs to deter the prisoners and a regiment of soldiers was stationed at port Arthur, the ruins of the fort that remain look suitably forbidding to give an impression of how hard life could be here, for prisoners (including boys as young as 9) and their guards alike. We also visited the remains of the coal mine, worked by prisoners who were then locked up in windowless cells at night. The magnificent coastline - sea-cliff stacks, sea caves excavated by the action of the waves, rocky inlets and pounding surf all add to the stark atmosphere of the place. We had a good walk along the coast, to the summit of Mt. Brown on the tip of the peninsular (next stop Antartica - with squally showers every so often, it looked and felt like it too); stopping at Crescent Bay, where ours were the only footprints (where's man Friday?) and the only company was gulls, lapwings and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Our accommodation was fab; we stayed in Norfolk Bay Convict Station. It started life in the 1830s as a supply station for the peninsular, complete with Tasmanias first railway and has survived as variously a hotel, Post Office, general store. It is now a lovely B&B; our room had a view of the jetty, breakfast includes home-made bread and preserves & ther was complementary port & sherry in the lounge, lit by a wood fire and a restaurant 400m away serving amazing seafood. Definitely one of the best stays of the trip. We also took the opportunity to make the aquaintance of Tasmanias teenage delinquent - the Tasmanian Devil. Hard to see in the wild (they are close to extinction), we visited a sanctuary to see them. Strange creatures - they look just like their loony-tunes counterparts (look at the photo-see if you agree), they move with a stiff legged gait, a bit like clockwork animals and they are vicious! They got their name when early settlers heard them squealing in the bush & thought they were the devil & we can see why!