Tales from Tasmania volume 3

G'day

Final volume of my Tassie trip.

As you may recall, I'd suffered serious injury on the treacherous hike up Cradle Mountain (or to put it less dramatically I'd twisted my side and banged my elbow and knee) but bravely battled on through everything else Tasmania had to throw at me. Good on ya (or on me) as the Aussies would say.

Bay of Fires on the East Coast, so called because the first Europeans to see it noted that the locals lit fires along the shoreline

Is that? Is it Daniel Craig as James Bond? Er, no, it's Cliff smiling despite the fact that the water was bloody cold.

Bay of Fires again

This is Wineglass Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula. I was in two minds about climbing Mount Amos (from where this photo is taken) because my side was hurting and the climb was tough (slippy granite boulders) but despite being seriously scared at some points it was worth it. At least that's what I said when I was safely back down.

This is my first attempt at uploading a video. Not sure its going to work but if it does then it's the view of Wineglass Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula again from the top of Mount Amos.

So we arrived at Port Arthur on the southeast coast of Tassie. This was a settlement built around a prison in the early 1800s. A few of our group decided to do the ghost tour and when the guide asked for volunteers to carry the lanterns I nominated myself. When she asked if I believed in ghosts I said 'No' which is when she decided to give me the special task of going into each of the building's on the tour first. On my own. To check if there were any ghosts. Obviously there weren't and that smile is not a nervous grin.

The last building on the tour was the Separate Prison. This was where the really bad criminals were sent and locked up in solitary for upto 18 months - you can see the cell doorways in the photo. Many of them went insane and this part of Port Arthur is supposed to be the most haunted. It's so bad that the guide said she never sends the lantern holder in on their own - which sounded like a challenge to me! I had to open one door and close it behind me; walk along a dark corridor; open another door and enter into the central hall of the block, with the rows of cells leading off on either side.It wasn't really any scarier than the other buildings I'd gone into on my own (the worst thing that happened in any of them was when I walked into a huge spider's web) but after all the stories she'd told I was a litte bit on edge - and the fact that she left me in there alone for a good few minutes didn't help (I did consider hiding in one of the cells to freak the guide out).

Having survived the ghost tour the next day we explored the coastline near Port Arthur where there are some spectacular caves. This one is so spectacular it's actually called Spectacular Cave and the best bit is that the shape of Tasmania is outlined at the end of it from certain angles. Can you tell what it is yet? as Rolf might say.

We then took a boat trip out along the coast where the water was the cleanest and clearest I've ever seen.

Along the way we saw these cliffs - the highest in the southern hemisphere (allegedly)

And Tasman Island - there's a lighthouse at the top there. Honestly.

And a massive seal colony. All males. Quite smelly. We also saw dolphins but they're a bit too quick for photos.

And then back on dry land we visited the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Centre. These things are cute but endangered because of an incurable disease that causes facial tumours so bad that they stop being able to eat and die.

What's that Skippy? A ginger pom's trying to take your photo, you say?

And so back in Hobart where the Wooden Boats Festival was taking place. I'm not normally interested in boats but this was rather interesting and there was a great atmosphere too. I love Hobart!

Just north of Hobart is MONA - the Museum of Old and New Art. It was created by an eccentric millionaire and only opened in January 2011. The best way to get there is by luxury ferry and this shot is just before we docked.

The mix of old and new art inside means you get some, er, unusual displays. There might be an Eygptian mummy in one room followed by an Aztec vase. The display above is called Cloaca. If you know your Latin you might be able to guess what it's all about. For those with limited Latin I'll explain (in the nicest possible way) that the above is the human digestive system as art. Food enters the left hand side and then works its way through the different sections, being 'digested' until the whole thing 'goes to the toilet' once a day on the right hand side. I didn't spend very long in there as it smelt worse than the seals.

And that's it for now. Off to Sydney the first weekend in March so check back after then for the latest installment - unless something exciting happens in the meantime!

G'bye.

Cliff