Tuesday morning saw us up as soon as we heard the kids stir and after breakfast we were on our way to Cadbury’s Chocolate factory where we thought we were booked on the 8.30 tour only to find that the first tour didn’t start until 9.00 so we had a stroll around until the tour started. The tour was interesting but evidently it is not like the old days as you don’t get to sample any of the chocolates as you go around. We did get a small gift pack each at the finish of the tour and we did happen to buy a few chocolate samples plus a raincoat for dad before leaving, The samples kept us going for most of the ten days of travelling although we were having to ration them a little by takeoff time. (Should mention here that a piece of chocolate hidden snugly in one’s pocket sets off the machines at customs – alfoil!)
From Cadburys we headed north, crossed the Derwent at Granton and followed it along the east side of the river, stopping to shop for some supplies at Lindisfarme. We then headed south towards Port Arthur. Lunch was an interesting experience as we pulled up at a little place called Dunalley where there is a monument to Abel Tasman only to find that we didn’t have knives, plates or any other type of implement with which to cut our lunch. We ended up using a set of tweezers to cut up cheese and tomatoes for our sandwiches, but they still tasted fine.
After a visit to the monument it was back on the road as there was much to see before Port Arthur. First was the Tassellated Pavement –a very interesting flat rock formation which looks as if somebody had laid down paving stones. Some of the formations are called pans and have a raised edge and lower centre whilst others have a raised, rounded centre and are known as loaves. Next was Eaglehawk Neck a very narrow section of land between Norfolk Bay and the Tasman Sea which played a vital role as a checkpoint to stop absconding convicts in the days of the Port Arthur Penal Colony.
Our next stop was the Tasman Arch – a very impressive bridge of land spanning the ocean below but which one walks across on one’s way to visit other scenic sites in the area
The Devil’s Kitchen displayed the sea churning in at the bottom of a huge gorge . There were several lookouts with views to the south of the spectacular cliffs along the coastline.
On our way back to the highway and on our way to another area called “The Blowhole” we went through a small village called Doo Town. A most interesting place as every house we saw has a name incorporating the word Doo. Some examples being “Doo F#@k All” “Dr. Doo Little” “This Will Doo” and so on. Well worth a stop.
The Blow Hole is only a few hundred metres from Doo Town and was fairly tame when we were there as the tide was well out so that only the occasional wave would “blow” through the tunnel. If you look closely you will notice the small ray of light at the other end of the tunnel.
Next stop was the Tasmanian Devil Park. Mother was very reluctant to stop when it was already 3.30pm, entry was $25.00 per head and the Devil feeding wasn’t until 5.00. But we did stop and it only cost us $38.00 as they must have thought we looked like pensioners. The stop was well worth while as they also had a bird show where they not only exhibited some birds but had birds trained to do tricks such as taking coins from peoples hands and putting them in the trainers pocket. They also had lots of other animals in cages and running around the place. The Devil Feeding was very interesting with the food being disguised in various ways so that the Devils have to forage around to find the food and then to extract it from the container.
Finally we arrived at Port Arthur and a quick call to the administration area confirms that we were booked on the Ghost Tour at 9.30 pm that night, so we hightailed it to our accommodation, The Comfort Inn, where we had a quick snack and then a short nap before it is time to front up for the tour. The Ghost Tour is a lantern lit exploration of the settlement at night where they do their best to convince people as to the existence of Ghosts.
Dad being an unbeliever was assigned by the tour guide to be “Tail end Charlie” and bring up the rear of the group and make sure we didn’t lose anyone. It was quite a fun evening with visits to some of the old church ruins, renovated homes, which supposedly contain ghosts and where some of the group heard noises and noticed the curtains moving. We even went down into the dungeon under the doctor’s house, where the post mortems were carried out, and we visited the solitary confinement cells where the most notorious prisoners were domiciled. The tour finally finished about 11.45pm and so it was almost midnight by the time we got back to the motel.
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