A couple of nights of camping near gum trees has given me some differing experiences. The night before last I stopped at a fairly crowded parking area. The only flat spot was under some very tall trees, lovely shade when I arrived. As the evening wore on the wind picked up. I was lying in bed with my moon roof open looking at the trees blowing madly in the wind. I was trying to tell myself that the tree had been there for two hundred years and was unlikely to drop on me in the next twelve hours. I was mentally writing my blog, that if the branch that fell was small, I wouldn't care. If it was large, I wouldn't know! When a fairly large limb dropped near my car in the middle of the night, I realised that my safety was more important than word games on a blog and moved the van down near the beach, more sheltered than I had been and hidden behind low growing shrubs that couldn't fall.
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| Tucked Away Among the Gum Trees |
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The following night I was at the Fortesque Bay camp ground. Once again I parked under tall trees but I was very careful where I parked. The ground was wet and slippery and I had come in on a dirt road, so the car is absolutely filthy. With the ground so muddy, the inside is also pretty grubby. But it was right on the beach and a beautiful peaceful spot to park. I still have potatoes that Nikki's dad gave me and a couple of eggs so I cooked up a feast. If I had waited I could have had paella with some fellow campers.
They say that a day where you learn nothing is wasted. My neighbors introduced me to wwoofing. Cathy and Mark with their girls Paige and Jordan are Willing Workers On Organic Farms. After registering for that scheme, families or individuals go anywhere they are needed - not necessarily organic farms. They have been doing maintenance style work, laying pavers, mending fences etc and are about to go to look after horses. They stay for a week or two and then move on. While they are working, they have meals and accommodation provided and get a chance to try out different lifestyles.
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| Entry to Static Display |
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The past two days I have been at Port Arthur. It is hard to believe that a place of so much beauty could have been such an inhumane hell hole. Many of the original buildings have survived the years, others have been restored and others are partially destroyed as a result of large bush fires. Almost all buildings were convict designed and built. The information centre is extremely well done with static displays giving huge amounts of information. There are tours and cruises, all led by very knowledgeable guides. Port Arthur is only about 50 km as the crow flies from Hobart and until about 1905, the only way in was by sea. I think only three prisoners ever escaped as most couldn't swim and the seas are very rough. Overland wasn't generally possible as the only way out was through Eaglehawk Neck which was guarded by the military with dogs.
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| Women in Port Arthur |
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| A Soldier's Life |
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The settlement reflected the values of the times, where kids as young as seven were transported. The juvenile centre at Port Arthur was the first in the world to provide for youngsters and separate them from adult criminals. They were educated and given a chance to make a life after their seven years of incarceration were over. Adults here were generally reoffenders and conditions were harsh. Various types of punishment were trialled, from harsh floggings to sensory deprivation in total dark and silence.
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| Timber getting |
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It was no wonder that, when the penal colony closed, authorities tried to obliterate this part of our history. Many of the buildings were demolished and removed before public opinion demanded that history and Port Arthur should be maintained.
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| Church walls are all that remain |
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| Memorial to victims of 1995 massacre |
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| Port Arthur |
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Leaving Port Arthur, I detoured through Eaglehawk Neck and recorded some of the beauty there while the sun shone. The blow hole was quite spectacular as there was quite a swell. In the photo you can see the small passageway where the sea rushes through. In the same area are the fossil cliffs with crashing waves at the base. The rocks are eroded into such interesting shapes. The tessellated pavement effect in the same area gives just another view of the patterns of nature.
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| Fossil Cliffs |
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| Tesselated Pavement |
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| The Blow Hole |
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Tonight I am staying at the Dunalley pub which provides free parking, on the assumption I suppose that travellers will support the pub's bar and/ or dining room. There are dozens of vans here.
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