Tasman Peninsula

After leaving Hobart we went on to the Tasman peninsula, further east of Hobart. It is home to Port Arthur which used to be a high security prison for second offenders of British convicts being sent out to Australia. One of the main reasons why the Australian colonies started was to be able to send out convicts as the british prisons were full. Tasmania, being one of the first settlements, got the biggest share of convicts. For Port Arthur more importantly, whoever committed another crime while being in Australia was then sent to the worst one, in Port Arthur. It was a penal colony, all convicts were here to penalised for what they have done, by hard labour chopping trees and building ships as well as the hardest prison circumstances one can imagine. 

Port Arthur Prison

The Tasman peninsula was chosen as it was close to Hobart but nearly impossible to escape from. The prison was closed in 1877 already and many of the original buildings burnt down or the bricks were used by locals afterwards to 'support' their building projects (as you do). However, it is still a very impressive sight, this is also supported by being granted World Cultural Heritage status by the United Nations as part of a number of convict sites throughout Tasmania.

We did the classic walking tour and a little cruise to learn about the history of the place. Furthermore, we signed up for a "Ghost Tour" which was held in the darkness wandering around the sights and remaining houses or ruins. We didn't really know what would happen on a Ghost Tour, maybe they'd make up some lighting shows or holograms of ghosts but none of this happened. It was simple a story telling tour about the local ghosts roaming around the site. As soon as three people have seen the same ghost and have written that down the guide would then tell this story. For us this was a bit of humbug but well, you can't deny that many people do claim they can see ghosts and there is certainly an industry being created around clairvoyancy (is that how it's called?). Our guide for example had seen many ghosts and him telling all these stories and his experiences made it quite interesting. However, no one in our group saw a ghost during the tour. Marlene and I suspected it was because of us, why would any ghost show if two disbelievers show up..? Anyway, it was fun and well worth it I believe.

Afterwards we made our way to the North-East of Tasmania. Before leaving the Tasman peninsula we visited a Tasmanian Devils Centre (practically a zoo with mostly Tassie Devils). They are facing a hard time at the moment with more than half of the population in Tasmania (and therefore worldwide) having died of a strange facial cancer, Centres like this are built around Australia to protect the devils from extinction. The Tasman peninsula has an important role to play because being so remote and only connected to the rest of Tasmania by a small isthmus. In a few months the peninsula will be announced free of this cancer and then the devils have a great chance of inhabiting this part without the cancer spreading among them, hopefully it works.

Further north we visited some of the natural wonders of the peninsula, great coastal landscapes as they are abundant in Australia but again and again great to experience.