We woke this morning to a warmer temperature than yesterday morning, but that was because today there is a cloudy sky. It is forecast to rain today but we are on the move so hopefully we will miss it.
After much thought and discussion we started toward Port Arthur via the Bonorong Wildlife Park. (Bon-a-rong is an aboriginal word meaning “Native Companion”) We really want to be sure to see a Tasmanian Devil and this park has several. We arrived at the park without any problem. The staffs here is excellent and we found that as we wondered around they were really willing to answer questions. Of course we were really interested in learning more about the Tasmanian Devil such as lifespan, diet, etc. One of the incredible facts is the strength of their jaws. They can put up to 1 ton of pressure on the back of their jaws. If they can get their mouth around it, they can crush it!
Unfortunately there is a disease going around the wild animals that is killing them. It is a cancer and there is an concerted effort to find a cure to save this animal.
We enjoyed walking around the park and seeing many Australian native animals and a few imports. The pictures below will give you a chance to see some of them but I have not attempted to remember all the names. The largest number of animals in the park is the free ranging kangaroos. They are friendly and we were able to walk amoung them and hand feed them. This is a fun activity, but when finished you do want to wash your hand.
From the park we headed onto Port Arthur to visit the Historic Site. Now I am getting the taste of driving on highways and narrow roads. So far Wes and I have managed to stay in the right lane and avoid hitting the ditch which is only inches away from the side of the pavement which is the width of the vehicle in the lane. The posted speed for the first while was 100 km but I did not feel comfortable at that speed so drove mostly 80. When we got to the stretch of road posted at 80 we were driving about 70. I have no idea how anyone would be able to drive the posted speeds with the narrow road and sharp corners – but maybe locals have better glue on their tires than I think I have and I am not ready to test the tires on the campervan.
The Port Arthur penal station was established in 1830 as a timber-getting camp. From this meagre beginning the penal station grew as a penal station with new methods used for treating inmates. By 1840 more than 2000 convicts, soldiers and civil staff lived in Port Arthur. The Penal settlement finally closed in 1877 but by that time had included full penitentiary facilities, a facility for mental patience, a church and a beautiful “Government Gardens”.
Restoration continues to this day but you will note from the pictures that many of the buildings have no roofs or windows left. It will take time but there seems to be interest in restoring or at least preserving the site since it represents a part of the history of Australia’s (Tasmania’s) development and heritage.
This settlement became very entrepreneurial to reduce costs of operation which included training the inmates’ trades and then having them use those trades for production of goods for resale. This included lumber and wood working projects, leather and shoe production, shipbuilding, rock quarry and brick production, etc.
Restoration continues to this day but you will note from the pictures that many of the buildings have no roofs or windows left. It will take time but there seems to be interest in restoring or at least preserving the site since it represents a part of the history of Australia’s (Tasmania’s) development and heritage.
This settlement became very entrepreneurial to reduce costs of operation which included training the inmates’ trades and then having them use those trades for production of goods for resale. This included lumber and wood working projects, leather and shoe production, shipbuilding, rock quarry and brick production, etc.
As were walking around Port Arthur the threatening rain clouds finally decided to sprinkle on us - so much for missing the rain by travelling down the road.
As we left Port Arthur we realize it is getting late so we should be finding a campsite. We have bought a book that shows all the campsites in Australia and it says there is none. I thought I had noticed one on the drive in but was not sure. Wes could not remember anything. So we checked a couple of other books we have and one said there was one in the area but did not say where to find it. Well Karen knew when we asked her for a campsite near where we were, so she saved the day by directing us to the place that turned out to be less than 10 minutes from the historic site. Good on ya Karen!!! As they would say here.
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