A big day out at Port Arthur…..
Us and our travelling companions drove down to Port Arthur in time to catch the tour ferry and do a short cruise around the waterways and the Isle of the dead. So many were buried on the Isle, both convicts and early settlers in the 1800S.
Once back on shore we had a wander around the foreshore , before going to explore the old settlement and buildings. Some restored and some just how they were left.
The buildings would have been magnificent in their day, again, all built by convicts, shipped out from England.
We caught up with a couple of the tour guides, who showed us through some of the renovated homes of the well off .
We met up with our friends for a picnic lunch, and a bit of a rest before heading out to see more.
The restoration and upkeep of the gardens and memorials, make for a pleasant day out, especially on the warm sunny day like we had.
By the end of the day, we were pretty well exhausted and managed to catch a groundsman in his buggy, who gave us a ride back to the entry point.
On our way back to camp, Chris and I called into a lookout and walk down into the remarkable cave. The sea breeze down there was freezing, but worth the treck down
That night the 6 of us went to the historical Dunalley Pub for dinner, well, another dozen Oysters kilpatric for me!
The next day was not so full on, we just went for a riverside walk .
We walked out to the mouth of the river, watching the boats coming and going from the lovely bay.
As we got back to the bridge we were fortunate enough to arrive just as it was swinging open to allow a boat go through .
Easter Saturday we were up early and drove down to Triabunna to catch the cruise boat over to Maria Island. It took about 40 minutes.
There is lots of friendly wildlife, that greeted us as we got of the boat. The Island has the remains of another 1800S settlement. No cars , no shops, just lots of walking to do. The whole Island is very dry at the moment, as is most of Tasmania we’ve found.
Hopefully the photos will show what it was like, nice scenery, fossil rocks, wombats everywhere, and a very hot day.
We were lucky enough to come across a bench seat to have our picnic lunch at, would of been about 5 kilometres into our walk. Yes , we look a bit hot and bothered, haha.
One of the old cottages, that is being restored.
You can stay on the Island, in accommodation, which is very basic or bring a tent. We sat on the verandah and had a breather, before going on to see the painted cliffs?
Now this was easier said than done, it’s supposed to be a walk, but my legs were starting to get a bit tired and shaky, so I ended up bumming it or crawling, it was a long rocky drop if I fell.
OK so that is painted cliffs? And that’s as far as I’m going, time to get back on firmer footing and do the bush track back.
Don’t you just love the wombats.?As for this goose, it posed like this for about 10 minutes. strange!!
After 6 hrs and about 12 kilometres of walking/crawling, we arrived back at the jetty and caught the boat back. A bit rougher ride than the morning crossing.
Looking back on Maria Island from a lookout on the way home. My watch also told a story haha.
We arrived back at camp to find someone pulled up right next to us, apparently nowhere else on the 2 acher vacant block suited them. There’s always gotta be one!
One very happy old girl, after going back down to Triabunna warf the next day to meet the ferry and retrieve my purse, which I had left there the afternoon before. I won’t go into the rest of the saga, only to say it was a very stressful night.
After the retrieval, we drove on ,stopping to look at a few places, including the spiked bridge?
A couple of nice small beaches, before we made camp at a boat ramp for the night.
