Port Arthur

Friday, March 13, 2015
Swansea, Tasmania, Australia
Another beautiful sunny blue day today and we had to leave the Freycinet peninsula behind as we carried on south to White beach.
As we were about to walk out the front door I noticed a tiny inch long scorpion that had made its way onto the mat inside the door . We'd never seen one before and I didn't even realise that they came in such a compact size. I carefully carried him on the mat and put him in the garden as he threatened with his tiny stinging tail. I'm not sure how much damage they can do at that size but I didn't want to find out.

We made our way along the coastal road pausing to admire some of the rugged coastline. It was quite spectacular in some spots and the cliffs had been eroded by years of pounding waves. There were quite a few places to stop and take photos and we stopped at a little seaside town which had an extremely popular fish and chip van for a lunch of calamari and scallops. Up the road from there were two spectacular landmarks called Tasmans arch and Devils kitchen, both similar to Albanys Gap, and with huge sea caves.

After dropping our luggage at our beach house at White beach, which is absolutely gorgeous and has huge windows overlooking the sea with views that reach all the way to Mt Wellington, we drove across the peninsula to the historical Penal settlement of Port Arthur.
Closed in 1877 it was largely sold off in lots before the local people declared that it be preserved as a historical site and since then a lot of the buildings have been restored. It is on a spectacular piece of land overlooking the port and there are cruise boats that go from there and motor around Bruny island.
We spent a couple of hours strolling around the ground and looking at the many buildings, a lot of which were only partially rebuilt, and soaked up a bit of the history of the convicts that were imprisoned there.

On the way back from Port Arthur we stopped off at the 'Remarkable cave' which was a massive cave that had been carved through a sea cliff. There was a walkway leading down to it which looked through the middle of the cave. It was very impressive.

We returned to our beach house and upon walking around the rocks below it Ross discovered an enormous Seal. He was resting on the rocks and looked as though he had been around for a few years and had been in a few fights, as he was covered in scars. By the entries in the visitors book here it seems as though he is a frequent visitor.

This is our last day in this beautiful area. Tomorrow it is back to Hobart for a day and then the long and arduous journey home.
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