Port Arthur

Trip Start May 01, 2008

Trip End Jun 24, 2009

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Where I stayed

private house in Rosney Park

(Hobart hotels)

Flag of Australia Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I am writing this on Australia Day. I can't believe I have already been in Hobart almost a week. Sarah and the kids met me at Brisbane airport last Tuesday and we had an uneventful trip to Hobart with a stopover in Sydney. The kids were great and the air hostess even congratulated Sarah on how well behaved they were. H met us at Hobart airport and we all squeezed into the latest model Camry he had to drive around in, and drove to Rosny Park on the north side of Hobart. We were blown away by the fantastic view from the house. We look right across the harbour to Mt Wellington, and the scene is ever changing. Sunsets creep over the mountain and shine straight into the lounge room, and as the light from the sun fades, the myriad of twinkling lights on the Tasman Bridge, on boats moored in the marina at Bellerive, and lights in the city get brighter and brighter. Hobart is much hillier than I remembered, and while this may not be conducive to much cycling (for me- H loves it), it means that the majority of houses have wonderful views, because it snakes along the banks of the Derwent River

church at Port Arthur

.

After dropping our gear we headed straight up Mt Wellington where 8 year old Kit proved he must be related to mountain goats as he bounded across the chilly, mossy rocks, hoisting his shirt up to expose a bare tummy, while I could only look on in stunned amazement, as I was chilled to the bone. The view up there is stunning, but it is always cold! So we did not stay long but headed back down to Coronation Dock, where the Sydney Hobart yacht race finishes, and we had discovered last time that a number of kiosks serve wonderful seafood or just plain old fish and chips, which we ate on the docks with the seagulls eyeing our dinner hungrily and waiting impatiently, and in vain for a morsel. It takes a bit of getting used to the late evenings as the combination of daylight saving and a lower latitude means that it doesn't get dark until about 9.30pm!

The next day, Wednesday, we packed H off to work and set off for Port Arthur. It was about one and a half hours' drive, including a stop off by a roadside stall to buy some delicious Sylvan berries and cherries from a delightful old man who told us his wife was the best cherry picker in Tasmania as well as the best Angler. She had apparently won the angling championship many years in this area. Wouldn't it be nice if all men were so proud of their wives?

Port Arthur is situated on one of Tasmania's most beautiful areas on the tip of the Tasman peninsula and is Australia's foremost convict site

Mt Wellington

. However the beauty of the area belies the harshness of life for the convicts here. And the very sad monument to the 35 people killed by Martin Bryant in April 1996 reminds us that the world is still not such a good place to be if humans are allowed to unleash the aggression and madness they carry around with them.

The site is very children friendly with lots of interactive activities and acres of soft green grass to run or play on. We were lucky enough to catch one of the plays that are put on free during the summer months. Ours was about a young boy named (of all things) Baker, whose parents had died when he was 8 years old and he had been left to fend for himself. He was transported to Van Diemans Land at the age of 14, and regularly whipped for his "insubordination to his superiors" he escaped and became a bushranger. Some children as young as 6 were sent here as convicts for crimes as trivial as stealing an apple! We easily filled in the day there, and could have spent more time. The tickets are valid for two consecutive days. But our time was limited and we did not even have enough for the pick-your-own strawberries and cherries at the Sorell Fruit Farm on the way back. Instead we stopped at the side of the road stall again and bought more, as well as some very pungent home grown garlic which proceeded to smell out the whole car on the way home. It was worth it though when Sarah cooked delicious garlic potatoes to go with the fresh smoked salmon she had bought at Dunally Fish market on the way through.