Friday 30^th March, 2012

Sandra and I had a bad night. One of the ladies in our room snored like a chainsaw. We slept very bad and after midnight Sandra left the room armed with the duvet to go to the common room. But there were still some guest watching TV, so she came back. In the morning we immediately decided to get another room. First the receptionist told us they are fully booked, but our insistence to check if there is not other possibility was successful: there was a free double room. We immediately booked it as we did not want to spend another night in that room. After breakfast we went to the harbour. We reached it at last minute to get a place on the ferry. After 30 minutes we reached Rottnest Island. The island is 4 km wide and 11 km long. Here we chose to take the bus which drives across the island every hour. After the first tour we wanted to hike a bit. So we walked along the coast and enjoyed the rocks, the sand and the green landscape. At 1pm we joined a quokka tour and could see these cute animals for the first time. Quokkas are about 20 cm tall and are like kangaroos marsupials. After the tour we observed these small animals everywhere and until Dominik said that we have now certainly enough pictures. We continued with the bus and walked to the light house. To get to the harbour we took the last bus and had to wait for 2 hours for the last ferry. Back in Freo we first went to the hostel and after to the prison. We joined the night tour and could listen to some scary stories about this place. Unbelievable that this prison was in operation until 1991 and a few month later the first tourists came to visit it. It is anxious that only 20 years ago there were nearly unimaginable conditions.

Thursday 29^th March, 2012

After taking breakfast together we departed for Fremantle. The locals call Fremantle Freo. The train brought us in 30 minutes to the destination. We left the luggage in a backpacker which until lately has been a youth hostel. A short look made me clear that it is not the cleanest house. But it will be OK for two nights it. Freo has many old houses from the Victorian time. We walked through the town without destination and looked around. We went to the old prison and had a look at the exhibition. We did not want to make a tour today. In the late afternoon we went along the shore to the harbour. On the harbour entrance there is a light house on each side. We observed two tugboats leaving the harbour and Dominik thought that they would accompany a ship in to the harbour. We continued walking as this would probably not be that soon. Later we we could see how a war ship was tugged into the harbour. Freo has a big container harbour. It got fresher and fresher as the the sun slowly was about to set and we were glad about long clothes. At the shore promenade we enjoyed fish and chips and the evening atmosphere.

Friday 24^th February, 2012

Punctually at um 8:30am I entered the time machine which brought me to the year 1830. Tasmania was still called Van Diemen's Land and in Port Arthur logger camps were build where convicts had to work. Starting 1833 repeat offenders from all Australia were moved here. At 1840 more than 2000 convicts, soldiers and civil employees lived in Port Arthur. After the transport of convicts to Van Diemen's Land ended in 1853, mainly convicts with psychical or physical illnesses stayed here. 1877 the camp was closed and many building abolished or destroyed by bush fires. A few houses got sold and a small town named Carnarvon developed. The stories told about this place led to the first tourists coming at around 1920 to see the ruins. Hotels and shops opened in the area and the place got renamed again to Port Arthur. End of April 1996 another tragic chapter was added to this historical place. A spree killer shot 35 people and another 19 got hurt. Next to the ruin at the place of the massacre there is a water filled block. I examined the compound in detail and is it was imposing what all happened here. After the visiting all the buildings I drove towards Remarkable Cave. According to two maps there should be a gravel road, but it was paved until the end. What did I learn: do not always believe the map! I wend down to the caves and could see how a bit of water flushed back and forth. It was beautiful, even if it just was low tide. Then I continued to White Beach. Here I made a long walk along the beach and enjoyed the turquoise water. I visited the coal mines as I did not yet have enough Tasmanian history. Here the convicts had to mine coal and also here there were ruins to visit. On the way to the mines I saw an old friend: a black and yellow bird. As I later learned this is a cockatoo. Konrad and I saw already one in the Wilson Promontory National Park. My way led to Taranna. Here is the first animal park in Australia to give the visitors an understanding of the Tasmanian devil. As I reached the park the local birds got introduced. Soon the eastern quolls got fed. Eastern quolls look like cats, but are related to the Tasmanian devil. It was funny how fast they found their hidden food. There was still some time until the feeding of the Tasmanian devils which I was waiting for. The park also has kangaroos and wallabies, but those I did not visit as I like them more outside in the wild. The feeding was rough, they get the meat and fought about their food. That is the reason for their name.

Thursday 23^rd February, 2012

When I brought back the key of the caravan, the lady at the reception apologized for not entering my name to the booking table. Now my trip continues further southwards. In Richmond I stopped, there are a few things to see. I visited St. John, the oldest and still used catholic church in in Australia. Directly below the church is the oldest bridge in Australia. It was constructed between 1823 and 1825 by convicts. In Richmond there is also the oldest prison of Australia. I visited the buildings. In such a cell I would get claustrophobia. I continued after getting food for myself and petrol for the car in Sorell. At Dunalley I had to stop as the bridge was turned away to let a ship pass. Then I drove to Tessellated Pavement. Here the sea salt broke the rock and so created slabs. Further I visited the natural rock arch Tamar Arch. From here I hiked to Devil Kitchen, a formation of heavily fragmented rocks. When walking along the road I met a huge lizard. Back at the parking I drove to Port Arthur and visited the ruins of the prison. The compound is very big and there are 30 historical buildings to see. I started with a small boat ride to the Isle of the Dead. Still on the sea it started to rain and there was a strong wind. As it was already late afternoon, I decided to go to the accommodation. The entry is valid for two days and so I will come back tomorrow. In the evening I observed parrots breaking nuts. That looks quite funny. A short walk on the beach ended my programme for today.

Thursday 9^th February, 2012

I was quite tired when the ship cruise started. From Strahan we went to the Hells Gates. There is the entry from the sea to Macquarie Harbour. In that area I could see many light houses. Then the trip went along fish farms. In the open water the fishes are breed in cages. Then we went up Gordon River. This is the biggest river in Tasmania. We passed a very beautiful landscape and could see very old trees. Our first stop was at Heritage Landing. There was a board walk of 30 minutes. Interestingly there grow young trees out of fallen old ones. The trees seam to take as long to decompose as they need to grow. Our trip continues to Sarah Island. These island was cleared and a prison constructed on it. The ruins are still there. After 60 minutes the ship went back to Strahan. After a break I made a walk along the banks of Macquarie Harbour. On the way I saw a sign pointing to the Hogarth Fall. As it was raining last night the waterfall was wonderful.