Tasmania part 2

Rather a lot has been happened since the last post including looking after one very sick 20 year old daughter.  Thankfully she is now on the mend but it has taken her a week to even look like she is returning to normal.

Our quick trip to Tassie seems like a million years ago now but I do have some more photos to share.  After our visit to Port Arthur we wanted to have a look at the coastline to see the Tessellated Pavement, the Blowhole, Tasman Arch and the Devil's Kitchen.

Tasman Arch

The white splash in the middle of the photo below was a whale playing in the water.  He/she wasn't very close so this was the best photo I could get with my camera.  It was a real treat to see and something we weren't expecting at all.  The photo was taken in the Tasman Arch area.

The Tessellated Tiles.  This view taken from the track above.

An explanation as to how the tiles have been formed.

We had to wait a while at the Blowhole until the swell was big enough to cause the whoosh and spray that comes from the water coming in through this gap in the rocks.  It was worth the wait.

There were more impressive splashes than this, unfortunately I didn't capture them on my camera.

The inlet to the Devil's Kitchen.

The Devil's Kitchen, it's a long way down there.

Rugged coastline.

The next day we decided to visit Mt Nelson which had lovely views of Hobart.

 

There was a lovely walking track which apparently went right down to the beach.  Maybe next visit we'll have a walking gear with us.

To get to the walking track we had to pass this Plover who had laid her eggs out in the open and on the ground as they do.  She protested loudly as we walked past.  Talking calmly and quietly to her did not seem to reassure her that I was going to leave her alone.

We were delighted to find there was a cafe at the top of Mt Nelson and so we indulged in scones, jam and cream with our morning coffee.

The view from the cafe.  It was beautiful sitting in the sun watching Superb Fairy-wrens flitting around on the grass.

Looking towards South Arm from Mt Nelson.

We spent time after our visit to Mt Nelson driving down the coast through beautiful farmland and lovely little coastal towns.  We finished our day by walking though some lovely parks.

St David's park.

Another beautiful garden not far from our hotel.

The next morning we were due to go home but had a few hours to fill in.  Hubby wanted to visit Mona so we did a lightening visit.  We didn't have time to view the artworks inside but of course had time for coffee and a wander around some of the grounds where this piece of artwork was on display.

This truck is totally made from wire and metal.

So that was our visit to Tassie.  A short but thoroughly enjoyable time with good weather, good food, beautiful views, scenery and interesting places to visit.

Anne  xx

Mini break in Tasmania

Hubby and I recently went to Tasmania for a mini break.  We stayed in Hobart as there were several things we wanted to do in the area so it seemed a good place to base ourselves.  We had a wonderful time, the weather was very kind to us and we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and views Tasmania has to offer.  

We hired a car so we could travel around and our first stop after getting off the plane was Richmond.   I visited Richmond in 1984, the bridge built by convicts is still beautiful, the gardens have improved and we took the opportunity to visit Richmond gaol, the oldest gaol in Australia that has been left in it's original state. Before that we had a yummy brunch at this lovely cafe.

Richmond gaol

This is a man trap and were set to capture escaped convicts.  It looks horrible.

 

The irons prisoners were often held in.

 Although this was quite a gruesome place to visit, I was interested in learning the history of how some early our Australians were treated.  Not very pleasantly it would seem.

Opposite our hotel in Hobart was this lovely display of Violas and

there was a fountain in the middle of these trees that was lit up at night.

The view from our hotel window.  I love the yellow green colour of the leaves on the trees.

On one of our days we visited Port Arthur, stopping for coffee on the way at a lovely cafe in Dunalley which overlooked the water.

 
We also wanted to stop at Dunalley to inject a little money into their local economy after the devastating bush fires in January this year.  We saw mile after mile of burnt bushland and many houses being rebuilt as we drove along the road.

I visited Port Arthur in 1984 and am very impressed at the amount of work that has been undertaken to improve this wonderful historic site including some beautiful gardens.  There is much information available, guided tours if you like, or as we did, wander around at our leisure immersing ourselves in the history of the buildings, enjoying a ferry ride which was included in our entry fee.  Here are a few photos from our visit.

A view from our ferry ride.

Beautiful old church ruins.

As you can see our weather was lovely.  After our visit to Port Arthur, we stopped to look at the Blowhole, Tessellated Pavement, Tasman's Arch and the Devil's Kitchen, which I'll share in another post.

Anne  xx