Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
After my late arrival in Hobart last night, my day started very early again today....and unfortunately I woke up to more rain. I was hoping it would ease up....if even just a little bit but I'm afraid it rained most of the day. It only stopped me from totally enjoying a few things and at times Ihad to pull out the old camera to keep the new one from getting wet but I saw the sights and had a great day.
Coming in after dark also meant I really did not see a thing until the morning. I was excited to arrive in Tasmania as I have heard a lot of amazing things about the state (from pretty much everyone I have ever met who has been here). I decided I needed to see as much as possible in a short period of time so I booked a 7 day, 6 night tour that hit pretty much all the highlights. Bright and early I was picked up by Damien and joined a van full of people to check out some of the sights.
On this first day we stayed close to Hobart and hit one of Tasmania's most famous sites....Port Arthur. And what an amazing place it was. But the weather didn't totally cooperate and it was pretty miserable at the start of the day.
Our first stop along the way was in Richmond.....one of Tasmania's many small quaint little towns. They have just enough buildings so that we could get some food and a latte. This is the Richmond Bridge. It is said to be the oldest bridge in Australia. The water was really high and running pretty fast. They've had a lot of rain.
Once we left Richmond we continued along our way to Port Arthur. There were a few Port Arthur related stops along the way.
Not very pleasant looking. If a prisoner wanted to escape from Port Arthur they would have to make all the way to the end of this not so friendly looking harbour.
At the end of the above pictured harbour, you would have found a few of these not so friendly looking dogs....just floating around looking to take a bite out of someone.
Eventually we made it to Port Arthur. While we arrived by land, most prisoners would have arrived by boat.
This is the view prisoners would have had on their arrival. I probably have not mentioned (although I am sure you have figured it out) that Port Arthur is an old prison. Really it was said to be hell on earth, not just for the criminals who were sent here, but also for the soldiers (who acted as prison guards) and their families (a few who would have accompanied the soldiers).
I instantly knew that our visit today was not going to be long enough or me to see all i wanted but don't dispair, I've already made plans to return in a week or so but I tried to enjoy as much as a could see. But I know there is plenty more to see and learn on another day.Port Arthur penal settlement opened back in 1830 as a timber camp. Starting in 1833, Port Arthur became a favourite spot to send repeat offenders. Eventually it became a full blown industrial penal settlement with ship building and smithing and brick making and others. Of course like most penal settlements, this one was convict built. But just like other prisons in Australia, once transportation of prisoners to Australia stopped, the financial ability to support places like Port Arthur disappeared. The last prisoners was shipped out of Port Arthur in 1877.
Upon arrival at Port Arthur we took a 45 minute guided tour. Unfortunately it rained non-stop during the tour so it was hard to hear what the guide was saying, I couldn't take notes and I really couldn't take any pictures.
The group with many an umbrella heading out to see the sights. We didn't get to see much. In the picture you can see the remains of what was a flour mill and eventually the main dormitory for prisoners.
What's left of some of the old buildings at the site. Of course not all of them have survived over the years but you can still get a very good idea of how grand it must have looked. The main dormitory is the building farthest away. The building in front was used by the soldiers.
Standing in part of the Military hospital. It is actually a really pretty spot but with the weather the way it was today you could easily see how horrible life would have been for all who lived here.
Inside the separate prison which was built in 1853. The separate prison evolved out of a new idea of criminal "rehabilitation". Similar to what I saw on Penn State Prison (way back in 2007), the idea was about solitude, and quiet. Prisoners were referred to only as a number. There weren't spoken to and weren't permitted to speak to others. When removed from their cells they wore a hood so they could not be identified. They spent 23 hours a day in these cells, let out for one hour a day for exercise. Of course they were only allowed out one at a time so that prisoners could not interact with each other.
Inside the Chapel. From here the prisoners would be preached to. Trust me from up here, I looked down on everyone.
The remains of one of the exercise yards.
At 1300 (1pm) we hopped on the boat and took the short boat tour. It takes you out to the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer (The Boys Prison). The Isle of the Dead is where those who died at Port Arthur were buried. Of course most of those would have been prisoners and they would have been buried in unmarked graves.
Through the trees you can just make out a headstone. Soldiers and civilians who worked at Port Arthur would have also been buried out here. Not sure who this headstone belongs to but I will try to find out on my return visit.
Leaving the Isle of the Dead. You can take a tour of it but I didn't have time on this trip so it will have to wait until next time.
Coming back in towards Port Arthur. Here you can see the main prison buildings. As you come at it from this angle, the place really is beautiful. Such a contrast to the dark history of the place.
Once back on land I had time to check out a few more of the buildings and the grounds themselves. You can see a huge difference between the areas that would have housed the prisoners and soldiers and those inhabited by higher members of the Port Arthur society.
Some of gardens on site. I have mentioned before that it really is a beautiful spot, even with all the rain and water sitting around. I kind of expected to feel a little freaked out here (like I did when I visited Eastern State Penitentiary....which is totally haunted by the way) because they say there are a lot of ghosts around here. I didn't feel that at all though. While I could certainly see it's dark past, I mostly felt the beauty of the land and enjoyed the history.
This is what is left of the church. Like many buildings, it has been damaged by weather and bush fires and time.
The garden path leading from Government Cottage (Government House but on a Port Arthur scale.) This garden had been recreated to look as it would have in the past. I could see someone having wedding photos taken here. Does that seem odd?
An overall look at Port Arthur. When the penal colony was closed in 1877, the area of used as a town. At they time the called it Carnarvon and in the 1880's people took up residence here like it was any other little town. Many of the old buildings were destroyed by fire but some of them were adapted and used by the town's people for other things. At this time tourists also started to visit the area. Eventually the people of Carnarvon learnt that they could not out run the past and the stories associated with Port Arthur and they moved away from the site.
How much do you love cute little mushrooms? I feel like a smurf or something should be living under it.
Eventually we had to leave Port Arthur and as I said, I would have to return as it was just not enough time. I assure you on my return visit I will get more stories and history and stuff but you will have to wait until I post it.
Once we left Port Arthur we headed over to the Tasmanian Devil Park. Yes Tasmanian Devils do in fact exist, however you would be hard pressed to find one in the wild anymore. The thing about devils is, there are pretty much terrible at everything. They have poor eyesight, they are bad hunters (totally scavenge off dead animals) they are bad mothers (often will leave their young for hours looking for food or just eat the food they should provide their babies), they don't move well and they aren't very smart. The only thing going for them is that they have great stomachs.....as in they can eat meat that has been sitting around rotting for days, and have it not even hurt them. You actually see way more road kill around because in the past the devils would have eaten a lot of it.
Unfortunately with all this going on, they are going extinct because of a terrible illness that is affecting the wild population. They have developed a contagious cancer of the face that is passed from devil to devil, usually when they fight and kills them very quickly. No one knows where it came from or how to stop it but knows that in a very short time it will most likely eliminate the wild population. One good thing is that they have a huge captive population that seems totally unaffected by the disease so once the wild population has been wiped out, they hope to repopulate out of places like this.
Tell you the truth, this guy is actually pretty cute. Just a young little guy. Devils really aren't considered to be that cute but I think they are. In the wild these little guys probably only have a life expectancy of about 5 years but in wild life parks they can live very long and healthy lives.
That's mom looking over baby. Tasmanian devils are a marsupial (like kangaroos and koalas) but unlike other marsupials they are known to carry up to 4 babies at a time (most marsupials only carry one.....even twins is very rare). Most people think this is due to the fact that infant mortality is so high in Tasmanian Devils....partially due to their total lack of parenting skills (I find that a little ironic).
We actually got to the park just in time for the kangaroo feeding. The park is pretty small and mostly has a kangaroo feeding, a Tasmanian devil feeding and a bird show.......all done by the same wildlife guy by the way. The kangaroo feeding......so much fun, these little guys are always so cute, and way less lazy than the last kangaroos I tried to feed (the ones in Kuranda in Queensland.)
I just loved this little guy. So cute. But I was not able to hand feed him very well because the bigger ones always took his food away. The bigger ones also actually grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand down because I was holding the food too high.
Yes that stomach does have a head. That's a cute little joey. He doesn't get hand fed yet but his momma does. I don't think it will be much longer before he gets kicked out of the pouch for good.
After the kangaroo feeding we went to the Tasmanian devil feeding. Basically they go looking for road kill and save it to give to these guys.
These little guys are brothers. They fight over food all the time. It is really funny to watch them. Sometimes there is food just sitting there for them to eat and they will still just chase each other around. Typical teenagers.
Once we left the tasmanian devils we moved on to the birds of prey show. Here we got to meet a few birds and they got to show us their tricks. The birds in the show have arrived by different methods. Some were injured and came here for rehabilitation but will never be able to return to the wild due to permanant disalbilities, others were pets that couldn't be properly cared for so were brougth here where they could get attention and care and everything they needed. After the macaw incident in Queensland I was a little hesitant to check it out but I figured was long as I didn't volunteer I would be fine.
I can't remember this beautiful Hawks name but he was pretty cool. He was injured and brought here for rehab. He can't be released into the wild because he cannot hunt properly anymore. But he can put on a good show.
There he is heading towards the tunnel of the legs of volunteers.
He actually did make it all the way through. Apparenlty when well rested he can make it through up to 30 sets of legs.
Take a look at the video of this great fundraising technique. The bird's name is Talky. He was a pet but his owners were not at home enough to keep him entertained. That lead to him screaming for hours on end while they were away. Eventually the neightbours were not too happy so they donated him to the Park. Here he gest plently of attention and gets to put on a show. Don't worry, he also returns all the money as well. A pretty smart little bird.
After the bird show ended we made our way back to Hobart where we spent the night.
It did stop raining.......after all the activities of the day. Always love a good rainbow.
Our final stop on the way back to Hobart. Pretty spot. A good sign for what was to come.
Day one in Tasmania was great but there were a lot more good days to come.
Julie
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