We were both glad to leave our accommodation and get the airport bus back near the airport where we were picking up our camper-van at Apollo. After a brief intro to how it all works we headed off, stopping in Sorell (one of Oz's main supermarket chains is Woolworths which is more like Tesco than the "Woolies" we remember of old!) to fill up with supplies. Despite parking in a quiet part of the carpark we came back to find a dint in the passenger door. It was incredible windy but even so we were both frustrated but very glad we'd paid to reduce our liability from $5000 to $250. So being all loaded up for a few days we headed to Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula being blown and battered by the 50kmph gusty winds along the way. You could be forgiven for thinking you're back home with the rolling fields and forested hills. Port Arthur was the infamous and allegedly escape proof penal colony (it had a chain of dogs - known as the dog chain! - across the 100m wide isthmus called Eaglehawk neck) in the mid 19th century which housed over 12,500 convicts. Today it's one of Tasmania's busiest tourist attractions. Guided tours are included in the admission and we set off with our guide for what was a very informative 45 minutes learning about the history of the place and a few tales along the way. It also includes a 20 minute boat trip around the bay past Point Puer and the Isle of the Dead. You also get a glimpse out to the Tasmen Sea. From here we drove to Tasman National Park on the east of the peninsular where we'd booked to stay overnight at Fortescue Bay, 12km down a dirt track (the end of our white clean van!). The drive takes you through bush to eventually reach a stunning sweeping white sandy bay. The campsite is very basic (although they have toilets) and we soon realised that the microwave and electricity sockets didn't work unless you were plugged into power. A light was flashing on the dash and with no manual we went and asked a Swiss couple who also had a van from the same company if they knew what it was. It was also flashing on their van and had been for the last 7 weeks so we decided to ignore it for now! We had a short stroll along the beach and then headed back for our first night in our van.
 |
| Port Arthur |
 |
| Fortescue Bay |
No comments:
Post a Comment