HOBART, TASMANIA
Today we explored the Tasman Peninsula, much of which is included within Tasman National Park. Like much of the region, it has some striking coastal scenery and beaches, but it’s best known as the location of Port Arthur, an infamous penal station used to house repeat-offender convicts during the 1800s. Most of the buildings of the prison settlement are in ruins now, but enough remains for it to be one of Tasmania’s best-known historical attractions. (It was also the location of a horrific massacre of 35 tourists and staff by a lone gunman in 1996, but no one likes to talk about that.)
We took a 45-minute guided tour of the grounds, which include several prison buildings, an asylum, guard towers, official residences, gardens, and even a church. Also included in the admission price was a boat cruise around the “Isle of the Dead,” where both inmates and prison staff were buried. It was pretty interesting to see how they attempted to “grind rogues honest” in those days, and despite its rather barbaric history, today it's a rather picturesque and peaceful place to wander around.
After leaving Port Arthur, we drove north along the peninsula and stopped at some other points of interest: Tasman’s Arch, The Devil’s Kitchen, The Blowhole, and the Tesselated Pavement, which as you can probably guess are some scenic geological features of the rocky coast.
It was only after clambering around on the jagged rocks at The Blowhole and marveling at the huge waves crashing right next to us that we noticed a sign we had passed that said “DANGER – FREAK WAVES! PERSONS PROCEEDING BEYOND THIS POINT RISK DEATH BY DROWNING!” Apparently there's a history of people being swept out to sea here. Whoops.
Perhaps the most unique sight was the Tesselated Pavement, a rock formation naturally crosshatched to look like rectangular paving stones or tiles—irrefutable evidence of the lost city of Atlantis, I'm sure some folks would argue. Anyway, it was cool.
Back in Hobart, Eric and I found some nightlife at a club called Metz, where drunken Tasmanians kept trying to strike up in-depth conversations with me in the men’s room. They're a friendly lot, these Tassies, but kind of strange....
NP: U2, "Van Diemen's Land"
Today we explored the Tasman Peninsula, much of which is included within Tasman National Park. Like much of the region, it has some striking coastal scenery and beaches, but it’s best known as the location of Port Arthur, an infamous penal station used to house repeat-offender convicts during the 1800s. Most of the buildings of the prison settlement are in ruins now, but enough remains for it to be one of Tasmania’s best-known historical attractions. (It was also the location of a horrific massacre of 35 tourists and staff by a lone gunman in 1996, but no one likes to talk about that.)
We took a 45-minute guided tour of the grounds, which include several prison buildings, an asylum, guard towers, official residences, gardens, and even a church. Also included in the admission price was a boat cruise around the “Isle of the Dead,” where both inmates and prison staff were buried. It was pretty interesting to see how they attempted to “grind rogues honest” in those days, and despite its rather barbaric history, today it's a rather picturesque and peaceful place to wander around.
After leaving Port Arthur, we drove north along the peninsula and stopped at some other points of interest: Tasman’s Arch, The Devil’s Kitchen, The Blowhole, and the Tesselated Pavement, which as you can probably guess are some scenic geological features of the rocky coast.
It was only after clambering around on the jagged rocks at The Blowhole and marveling at the huge waves crashing right next to us that we noticed a sign we had passed that said “DANGER – FREAK WAVES! PERSONS PROCEEDING BEYOND THIS POINT RISK DEATH BY DROWNING!” Apparently there's a history of people being swept out to sea here. Whoops.
Perhaps the most unique sight was the Tesselated Pavement, a rock formation naturally crosshatched to look like rectangular paving stones or tiles—irrefutable evidence of the lost city of Atlantis, I'm sure some folks would argue. Anyway, it was cool.
Back in Hobart, Eric and I found some nightlife at a club called Metz, where drunken Tasmanians kept trying to strike up in-depth conversations with me in the men’s room. They're a friendly lot, these Tassies, but kind of strange....
NP: U2, "Van Diemen's Land"
posted by John Kuge at 11:42 PM
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