After the excitement of my outdoor experience I took the bus to Strahan, a nice little town at the western coast of Tasmania. Fortunately the bus driver took me up to the hostal, where I had to ring out the park keeper to get me a room. By the way, all of the busdrivers I had were very nice people bringing you up to the door if you wish to, the Madrid bus driver should learn from them, they even close the door in front of your nose if you arrive a bit late. Strahan is right at the edge of the rainforest, that is why it rains about 300 of the 365 days a year.
Good that I am already used to getting wet. The first day I spend with washing my stinky disgusting shoes, trousers and so on. The next day I went on a river cruise along the Gordon river, which is also part of a protected area. We landed at Sarah island, which was the first of the prisoner's settlements. Only view of the buildings were still recognizable but thanks to the detailed descriptions of our nice (just for girls: very yummy ranger guide) I could quite imagine how life was for those poor Victorian devils that were shipped for steeling some bread to Australia. On board I met a very nice family from Adelaide who invited me for dinner the same night. I really had a wonderful evening, getting more information about where to go nex, reading bed time stories to 3 year old Sarah, and especially eating a nice lamb burger. The next morning, while the weather was still nice, I went for a walk around the harbour. In the evening it was time to enjoy some culture, the play "the ship that never was" told the story about the prisoners who stole a ship in order to escape. They made it up to Chile but unfortunately later on 4 of the ten were again captured. The great thing about the play was, that although it was only starred by 2 actors (one was the nice tour guide) they included the audience. Even I had a part, I played the Scottish shipbuilder Mr. Hoyt who surrendered when the ship was taken by the prisoners.
Good that I am already used to getting wet. The first day I spend with washing my stinky disgusting shoes, trousers and so on. The next day I went on a river cruise along the Gordon river, which is also part of a protected area. We landed at Sarah island, which was the first of the prisoner's settlements. Only view of the buildings were still recognizable but thanks to the detailed descriptions of our nice (just for girls: very yummy ranger guide) I could quite imagine how life was for those poor Victorian devils that were shipped for steeling some bread to Australia. On board I met a very nice family from Adelaide who invited me for dinner the same night. I really had a wonderful evening, getting more information about where to go nex, reading bed time stories to 3 year old Sarah, and especially eating a nice lamb burger. The next morning, while the weather was still nice, I went for a walk around the harbour. In the evening it was time to enjoy some culture, the play "the ship that never was" told the story about the prisoners who stole a ship in order to escape. They made it up to Chile but unfortunately later on 4 of the ten were again captured. The great thing about the play was, that although it was only starred by 2 actors (one was the nice tour guide) they included the audience. Even I had a part, I played the Scottish shipbuilder Mr. Hoyt who surrendered when the ship was taken by the prisoners. Port Arthur:
The next day was travelling day, heading back to Hobart. Having already seen the first prisoner's settlement in Australia, I had to see of course as well the next and most important one, Tasmanias number 1 tourism site Port Arthur. I went on a day trip with a bus and mostly elderly people, well I am older now as well, so I really can't say anyting. The penitentiary site of Port Arthur is romantically set on a peninsula and has a nice natural, and as I've been told, one of the deepest, natural harbours. Now it has easy access roads but in 1833 the only way to get there was by boat. Although the tale of Port Arthur is sad and full of torture and misery nowadays it looks a bit like being in the English country side. I will not bore you with details about it, just as much as the model for Port Arthur was discipline and punishment, religous and moral instruction, classification and separation, training and education. By 1840 over 2000 convicts, soldiers and civil staff, lived at the site producing ships, furniture, clothing and so on. It closed down as a prison in 1877 as the last convict shipment arrived in 1853.
Hobart:
This evening I will be flying back to Melbourne. This morning I walked to the "Royal Botanical Garden" had a nice fish and chips lunch and will now pack up and leave. More to come soon.
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