A captivating story.
Port Arthur in southern Tasmania is known for its past as a prison town. The English deported prisoners from England to Tasmania in a big way.
Here it was perfect because of the dense forest that you couldn't escape through and the water wasn't an option either because of sharks and steep cliffs.
At that time, there were also very few people who could swim. Even if you could actually swim - where would you swim?
On the top floor lived the good prisoners - those who could behave properly. The further down you went, the worse the behavior of the prisoners.
Even children went to prison here. The criminal minimum age at the time was 7 years and the youngest boy in prison was 9 years old. It wasn't even the really big crimes that were needed to end up here. The punishment was chains of various heavy weights and hard labor.
On an island nearby, a youth prison was later established. Unfortunately, the experience was that the children received a far-reaching criminal education - when they went together with the adult prisoners. It was easier to straighten them out without the influence of hardened criminals
Now the area has been turned into a museum and the nature is on the Unesco World Heritage list.
We spend the night in White Beach - not too far away is a beach with good surfing opportunities.
We go down and see if we can be lucky to find some surfers. Johnny strikes up a conversation with Hans, who thinks it's perfectly fine for us to take pictures of him and his friend.
Eaglehawk Neck – which is on the same peninsula as the prison – shows its good side in the good summer weather. We stop at blowhole creek and perhaps expect a little too much. It turns out to be a cave hole filled with water that stands and waves back and forth. The big breath is waiting for us, so we eat a round of fish & chips and enjoy the sun instead.
Further up the coast we come to Wineglass Bay. We don't quite know what we're getting ourselves into here. It's actually a bit of a mountain climb we have to go on to get to see the attraction.
It goes up and up and up. And lots of stairs. To get some air and hide the poor condition, we can always stop and use as an excuse that we need to take some pictures. We reach the top and can see the beach. Those in good shape can climb 1,000 steps down to the beach and the same way back – if you're into that sort of thing. However, we quickly agree that the view is probably the best at the top.
On a short cut (detour) through forest and mountain area, an Echidna lurks over the road. The car is thrown to the side and the photographer jumps out. Trying to reach it before it disappears into the tall grass, a few quick shots are fired. The echidna is quite undisturbed by the attention and continues happily into the tall bushes… Hmmnnn… what to do?
The fear of snakes must be put aside for an hour while we follow it closely and try to take some pictures in the knee-high grass.
Now our time here in Tasmania is unfortunately running out and we are once again heading home to Graham and Irene, who are so hospitable as to let us stay with them. We will stay there over the weekend and take the ferry from there on Monday morning. 12 hour sailing trip across the Bass Strait. We hope for calm weather.
Actually, we didn't think we were going to experience more in Tasmania, but Graham and Irene don't think we can leave here without seeing a Tasmanian Devil. All 4 of us go on a Sunday trip to Wing's Wildlife Park. Cozy little place and really good weather. The way home goes past Preston Fall and naturally ends with a cozy barbecue on the terrace.
Tasmania is amazing. After spending 3 weeks on the island, we have discovered that it holds many possibilities.
For those who are into more organized tourism, where the conditions are prepared with good hiking trails and stairs to the attractions. Infrastructure in the form of information centres, toilets, campsites at all levels and shopping opportunities. Then the general east side is where to look.
For those who want to make an extra effort to be able to cope with themselves to a greater extent - then the general western side is where you should look.
In the west and south/west there are completely wild landscapes. Where the dirt roads are long and uneven, the freedom is great and the experiences even greater - that's where the adventure lies. Sometimes the weather is good - other times it's hard - but the adventure follows the conditions.
Tasmania thanks for this time - see you again.
