We had hired a 4WD car for our 10 day road trip around Tasmania, it was a shame that Anne had packed a bag the size of a house and we had to put the parcel shelf in the back with Denise and I - needless to say when we got to our hotel we had a rethink!
Anne's bag between me and Denise instead
of Denise's bag meant at least she could see!
We stayed for one night in Hobart in a beautiful apartment, the weather was cold and wet but we did see a beautiful rainbow in the harbour
The view from our apartment looking over
Mount Wellington
The next day we drove to Port Arthur, the site of a Penal Colony which has gained world heritage status because the bosses decided that the young children that had be sent over were not suitable for the logging which most convicts did, so they started a school and educated them which meant that when they left they could get jobs - something unheard of anywhere else. Port Arthur was a bustling harbour that, in its hayday, had many convicts who learned trades and made things, they were also self sufficient growing fruit and meat. Unfortunately they could not grow vegetables as the soil was too sandy. The prison also had a library on the top floor with 13,000 books and convicts were taught to read and write
The cells
They used severe corporal punishment to control the convicts at first but after that didn't work they decided to put difficult convicts in solitary confinement in these cells. It was completely silent, the wardens even wore cloth on their shoes so that they didn't make a sound. The convicts were allowed out for 1 hour every day but they had to were a cloth bag over their heads and were still completely alone and in silence. This had such a detrimental effect on the minds of the inmates they had to attach an asylum to the block for them when they left
Our next destination was St Helen's on the West coast. On the way we stopped at the Tasmanian Devil Unzoo which is a conservation centre for the Tasmanian Devil. Unfortunately this animal can onl be found in Tasmania and is slowly becoming extinct due to a terrible contagious cancer which leaves them with gross tumours on their faces. This 'unzoo' is home to all the old ones that are not infected and they have also cordoned off a large area of land where there are a number of healthy Devils. The fencing keeps the infected ones out and they are now starting to breed and hopefully the healthy population will increase and the others will die and there will be no more disease. This centre had other animals too - including some amazing wild birds but to give Mandy a break I will name them! (who'd have thought it)
Pademelon Wallaby
Pademelon Wallaby joey
Wattle
Cape Baron geese - 2nd rarest geese in the world!
Male fairy wren
Female fairy wren
Green Rosella
Pink galah
Little Corella Owl
Tawney frogmouth owl
They also had Forester kangaroos which we could feed
Queueing up for food
Spot the Joey!
We also stopped at Richmond to see the oldest bridge in Australia (1823)
We finally arrived at St Helen's at Pelican Cove Resort which was a beautiful cabin with panoramic views of the countryside and what a selection of birds which (sorry Mandy) I cannot name
That evening we went out for a meal and, because it was the new lunar moon (the year of the Rat) we were treated to a wonderful firework display in the harbour
The following day we went to the Bay of Fires, the name is due to red coloured moss which grows on the rocks
This gull is wearing lippy!
Today we were off again, this time to Launceston. On the way we stopped at a lavender farm where everything was lavender coloured - even the ice cream
