hobart v1.3

the south. we spent the day exploring the tasman pennisula and port arthur (about 90 min east of hobart). on the way to port arthur we would stop to see the pennisula. one of the towns we passed through was called "dootown." all of the shack-like homes here are named with the word "doo" in it somehow. examples were "doo nix," "doo me," and "doo f*#k all." i'm sure you get the idea.

just before we reached eaglehawk neck we visited the tesselated pavement, a natural platform of sedimentary rock suffering from unequal erosion from the salt. the result is grooves criss-crossing the rocks giving the appearence of tiles or planned brickwork. as we entered the tasman pennisula we passed through eaglehawk neck - a severe narrow connecting the pennisula to the rest of the island. it was at eaglehawk neck that soldiers and guard dogs were stationed to foil convict escape attempts. note on escape attempts: one convict named billy hunt attempted to cross the narrows on may 17, 1832 by donning a kangaroo skin. his hopping managed to fool the soldiers, but, unfortunatley for him, the soldiers started to shoot at him as kangaroo meat was an important supplement to their rations. billy was forced to throw off his disguise and call for a ceasefire, only to be taken back to the prison.

past the neck we took in the tasman blowhole and arch and saw the devil's kitchen - beautiful lookouts upon eroded siltstone battered by the surf into twisted shapes. the main attraction of the pennisula was port arthur, the recognized cruelest and most inhumane of the convict colonies. 250,000 visitors see the site annually, and it is tassie's most popular attraction. the site is worth a visit even for those we do not like history - steep cliffs, rolling green lawns and gardens, and ruined standstone buildings around a deep natural harbour. in the middle of maingon bay you can see the isle of the dead where 1,100 prisoners were burried, and accross from port arthur is the remains of point puer boys prison. you can even visit the site at night for their famous ghost tour, but we declined. port arthur is also infamous for the events of april 28, 1996 when a gunman killed 35 people before being arrested by authorities. there is now a memorial to the victims around the foundation of the cafe where it happened.

back to the house for dinner, beers and table talk.