March 11 - Port Aurthur

We were up early with the kids next door after a sleep that wasn't fantastic, but at least wasn't freezing! We loved the climate around the east coast. The bathrooms in the campground were kind of gross. Aside from a lack of shower fathey smelled like latrines. But the toilets flushed, and the flies weren't the worst I'd ever seen. The walk to the bathroom was short but there were great views of Hazards Beach and the mountainous points. The night before I had seen a small black quoll outside the bathrooms. It was about the size of a cat with a longer tail and a different face. So cute! It would be a nice campground at which to spend a couple of weeks, except for the lack of showers.

We had breakfast outside and then packed up for the drive. Before leaving Freycinet NP we headed to Cape Tourville to the lighthouse. There were great views of cliffs and Wineglass bay up a twisty road.

The road back to Sorrell took us through come beautiful wine country - there would be plenty of tasting options if one were so inclined. Along the coast the views were better than they had been because it was completely clear. The water was beautifully clear. We stopped in Swansea again for Paul's coffee, which was his third of the morning (sigh) and then found a nice beach at which to stop for some pictures. There were plenty of options. All the beaches were white sand, but no swimming because they were all too rocky.

Next stop, the town of Sorrell for pizza at a very cool cafe with a very nice proprietor. He was probably about 30, and took great pride in his salads and wood-baked pizza. Amazing food! Apparently he has been dabbling in the kitchen since he was about 10.

Next we headed into the Tasman peninsula. First stop - a rest stop because I really had to pee! When they say "rest stop" here, it isn't like a Big Stop on North American highways. It is a little roadside convenience store with a small, smelly block on the side in which there is one male and one female toilet that may or may not have TP, and may or may not have the ability to wash your hands. Ewww.

We went down the Eaglehawk Neck turnoff, which is part of the isthmus that connects the peninsula to the main island, then took the turnoff at Pirates' Bay road, and headed for the Tesselated pavement. I remember learning about Tesselation on Square 1 television (kids show) and was embarrassingly excited to see it. Tesselations came in pans and loaves, depending on how the salt sat on it or dug into the cracks. It was pretty amazing as natural phenomena go.

Next we headed to Port Arthur, which is one of the more popular tourist attractions on Tassie. The town was originally a penal colony modeled on a "new" (at the time) philosophy of criminal punishment and rehabilitation. Convicts were dailed in solitary, basically, for the first 4 to 12 months and were taught a trade, but were broken spiritually. Then they were set out to work in the town. The convicts built everything, and in a strange parallel universe the doctors and military officers, and an accountant, and visiting dignitaries, and chief prison wardens, etc lived lives of relative affluence amongst the prisoners.

Now, Port Arthur NP is a tourist trap, though quite pretty. Some buildings were restored, and some were in ruins. The houses left were beautiful, with the most amazing gardens. It was on a bay, so had great views.

We walked the grounds, did the tour of the visitor's center, enjoyed the evening sunlight, and fortunately missed the hundreds of school children that were pouring out as we were arriving. Unfortunately, I don't think that the park gave a true sense of how terrible life could have been - it was all too pretty.


Next we headed to our final campgound - the Port Arthur Caravan and camp ground. It was nice enough, with good, clean facilities. We were allowed to use bonfires, oddly enough. Instead we just cooked more pasta in the cookhouse. We met an interesting crowd - a Nova Scotian from Pugwash and some Bahai Kiwis who were finishing their fast for the day and felt that the only way to see New Zealand was on a bicycle. Finally, we headed back to the campervan to set up and finish the evening writing and reading.




The next morning I started the day with a walk while Paul slept. I headed down to the beach, took pictures of the beautiful red flowers on the trees, and stalked some birds. After getting the day started, we took off for the airport. On the way we stopped at two sites on our way to the airport. The first was the Tasman's arch, which was a cool arch carved out by wave action, and the second was the Devil's Kitchen, which was like a large gulch carved out by the waves. It started out as an arch, but caved in. We drove through Doo town which was good for a giggle. The houses all had name plates that all had Doo in their name - Just Doo It, Doo Me, Much Adoo, Doo F**K All, etc. It was cute. As was the sign on the way out telling people to watch for penguins crossing. I love this country!