Wednesday morning and the chance for a sleep-in as breakfast at the motel didn’t start until 7.30 – it was a very lovely breakfast, thank you all, as it was part of the accommodation package. Afterwards we strolled through the gate from the motel into the Port Arthur site ready for our introductory tour – this was probably the least impressive part of the whole Port Arthur experience and probably the one part to give a miss if you are looking to cut something out. We then had a great morning exploring on our own until it was time to go on the Harbour cruise. The cruise provided a very interesting commentary about the settlement and how it worked and about the Isle of the Dead where all those who passed away, both convicts and free people, were buried.
The Gardens around the site are quite magnificent and have been restored to much as they were in the days of old. We were very impressed by the virtual freedom of the site – we could walk anywhere without signs saying don’t do this or that and once you are on the site pretty well everything is free, including the videos, looking up your convict ancestors on the computer system etc. By the way there were many Cooks(10+) on the convict list, 3 Bryants, 1 Webb and unbelievably - no Navins.
At lunch time we had the magnificent lunch hamper which the Motel had prepared – one basket each but there is no way in the world we could eat all of the food they provided. One highlight of the hampers was the apples – probably the most delicious apples we have ever tasted . We tried to buy apples in Tassie but they were awful - cold storage fruit - which we refused to buy. After a short siesta, it was back out to the site and by this time dad was having trouble convincing mother that the hills and paths really weren’t really that steep.
One thing we did notice was that there was no mention of the massacre that occurred there in April 1996. The only reminder being a memorial garden which consists of the lower walls of the café where most of the shootings occurred, a heavily planted garden, a memorial pond and a couple of brass plaques on a cross and a stone. There is no mention of the culprit so I guess they are all trying to forget Martin Bryant.
We spent some more time back at the interpretation centre where we watched some of the videos about the site and visited some of the interactive displays, it was then back to the motel where we had a lovely meal. The motel dining room looks out over the Port Arthur site and as it is still light until 9.00 pm it is a good spot to enjoy great food.
<click here for Day 3 pics>
No comments:
Post a Comment