Port Arthur

OZ time ... Friday 3rd February... 5.30pm

Woke up to sun and blue sky, it stayed that way all day.

Today we decided to drive out to Port Arthur, the infamous Penal Colony site. The scenery was good and, once out of Hobart environs, there was little traffic so stops to see the views along the way were easy to do.

At Port Arthur, we took the 11am boat trip around the harbour. During the trip, there was an option to get off at a small island called the Isle of the Dead, which we did. It was basically the cemetery of the Colony, where all those who died there were buried (convicts, soldiers, civilians, wives and children) and there was a 40 minute walking guided tour before the boat returned to pick us up. A very poignant place, with a number of interesting tales from the guide.

Back on shore, we had brunch before taking the 12.30pm walking guided tour of the main Colony sites. After the tour, we then visited selected sites that were of more interest to us. In particular, the Separate Block where convicts were kept in solitary confinement and silence....Jan persuaded Mike to go into one of the cells ...he also went into the Punishment Cell (a bit like the naughty step, Owen?!) which was very small and was pitch black when Jan closed the door on him.

We also visited the Commandant's House, interesting and of course it was built high up with great views across the harbour an the rest of the Colony.

On the way back to Hobart, we stopped off at Eaglehawk Neck to see the Tessellated Pavement, it's a flat rock formation at the sea edge, uncannily resembling the design of modern pavements. A bit further along the coast, we stopped at a high point to view Pirates' Bay.

Before getting back to Hobart, we detoured to Richmond as we had been told that it was picturesque to see. It was ok, but neither of us thought that it was anything special.