Wednesday 14th March - Friday 16th March 2012 Tasman National Park

We woke up early and whilst I stayed warm in bed Ed went down to the little jetty and caught a squid. The kids then joined him and caught some more. Yummy! After a leisurely morning including some school work we set off to explore the Port Arthur Convict Ruins. It is bigger than I realised and a very beautiful place with a tragic old and recent history. The staff quarters (Commandant's house, Parsonage, Medical Officers house are all beautifully restored/intact) There are still large remains of the Penitentiary, the hospital and a number of other facilities. We had a tour which gave us some interesting facts before we went off and explored on our own. The kids had activity books to fill in which is a great addition to their journals. The tour also included a boat tour around the bay to see the island of the dead (burial grounds for 1100 convicts and staff) and the boys convict facility (boys as young of 7 years old were transported out here).

Olivia in leg irons in Port Arthur

Charlotte on the chain gang. Why is she smiling!

The Penitentiary at Port Arthur

The Church Ruins

The sad recent history of the 35 people killed and the 19 people injured was very much on my mind. They have created a memory garden and pool alongside the ruins of the cafe where many people died. It was important for the kids to understand the significance of both the old and new history of Port Arthur.

The 35 leaves in the memory pool to remember those who died in 1996.

We also saw the Tessellated Rocks which were pretty amazing. These rocks have very straight cuts in the rocks which are in perfect alignment. Quite spectacular!

We also went the blow hole, The Arch and Devils Kitchen. The rock formations are beautiful with lovely colours and huge vertical cliffs. They were all within an easy distance of each other.

The Blow Hole

The Arch

Devil's Kitchen

What a surprise it was wet again that night.
The next day Ed and the kids went fishing and caught some more squid. We then went on the Canoe walk for around 2 hours and the kids had fun finding the Little Penguin rookeries along the way. Unfortunately we didn't find any chicks in any of them. I strained my foot on the way back (old plantar fascists injury) so I rested up for the afternoon. Ed took charge and cooked dinner and even helped some female backpackers to cook dinner as it was raining again!
The next morning Ed had an offer to go out on a boat and he caught some tuna. The kids and I relaxed and watched a movie. After he returned we went for a drive around the peninsula. Whilst we were gone a tree feel on our camper. Luckily we were out as it could have been a disaster with the kids running around.

Our close call

We had a fire overnight and no rain and Ed and I enjoyed a lovely meal of fresh Tuna and chips.