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Shaking The Tree 2005
Tasmanitastic
This place is awesome, and lives up to all the promise the flight in showed.
I have seen such spectacular views, wonderful wildlife and met such friendly people I don't know where to start.
After leaving Hobart in my enormous Magna, I headed out down the Tasman Penninsula with the ultimate destination of Port Arthur. Originally a timber logging station, it was converted to a penal colony as convict labour was cheap and abundant in the 1800's. All that is left now are some ruins and stone cottages that once made up Port Arthur. BUt it has been beautifully restored and is a great place to spend a day. I was lucky with the weather clear blue skies and 18 degrees. There is so much to see here that your day pass also allows you to wander for 2 days! I cruised out to the Isle of the Dead and took a guided walking tour to find out how hard life was for a convict. Some as young as 9 years old. Port Arthur was a "forward" thinking jail. It had no walls, the bush being considered to harsh for any convict to survive. Civilians lived within the colony, and their life in many ways was as harsh the convicts. Initially the punishment for disobediance was lashings, but then a new form of punishment was introduced, the Seperate Prison, where you were locked in your own cell for 23 hours a day. You were not allowed to speak and were allocated a number so that any instructions given to you would not include your name. For the hour you were allowed out of your cell you were hooded. Today this kind of silent solitary would be considered torture but back then it was considered much more effective than the lashings.
Funnily enough a lunatic assylum was built right next door to the Seperate Prison, and many inmates found their way in there.
But however beautiful Port Arthur is during the day, it takes on an eery presence at night, when you return for a Ghost Tour. Guided by Shannon dressed in a long black cape and lit only by lantern we explored the ruins at night with tales of the supernatural. Did I see a ghost - no - did I hear odd goings on - oh yeah ! Was I frightened - you bet ! Did I enjoy my self - absolutely. Was I scared in my little log cabin that night all alone - yep !
I have also today seen my favourite animal - the Platypus. These creatures have facinated me ever since I saw one and they hold special significance in Aboriginal culure too. They have the bill of a duck, they lay eggs like a bird, they have venom like a snake and they swim like a fish. The Tasmanian platypus is larger than the mainland one, as it is colder here and they need to store more fat, which they do in their tales. There bill is covered in tiny holes that allow the platypus to locate it's prey by detecting electrical impulses. It has to do this as it closes it's ees, ears and nose whilst under water. Their eggs, as they are an egg laying mammal, is only the size of a penny and the mother has no nipples so the babies snuggle in to her side and the milk expresses through the fur. The babies then lick it off.
I will send a platypus related gift home if you can answer the following 2 questions correctly.
What are baby platypuses called ?
What animal are the platypus related to?
My wildlife exploits continue and I am currently in a cafe in a town called Penguin. Yep - you guessed it this area of North Tassie is home to the Fairy Penguin, and I hope to go explore at dusk and find some coming up the beach to sleep for the night! This place is Peguintastic, even the litter bins are in the shape of Penguins.....
Anyway the smell of spicy carrot and lentil soup is too tempting so I am off.
Take Care
Lynne
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