Port Arthur

We set off for our next stage of the great circumnavigation of Tassie, which was the Port Arthur Caravan Park. Turns out that about 3 houses, a small shop, the caravan park and the famous, or infamous maybe, ruins are all that is here.
We arrived before the Hardy's and had set up, had lunch and were about to sneak off, when they arrived. We said our hello's and goodbye's in the same sentence and set off to explore some of the famous landmarks we had heard and read about. The first stop was at the Blowhole, followed by Tasman Arch and Devil's Kitchen. The Blowhole was a bit of a let down with the gentle seas rolling in and barely wetting the rocks so we headed up to the Arch and Kitchen.
What an amazing formation cut out in the rocks by the relentless power of the ocean and battering winds over hundreds of years. The only disappointment was that it was a bit hard to see into the bottom of the towering cliffs due to the fences that were quite clearly built to stop tourists seeing it properly..... and slipping down 200 metres of sheer rock face and killing themselves as they splatted on the rocks below. I think i got some good photos though, and despite the kids not showing a great amount of interest i am telling myself that they enjoyed seeing it. There were some amazing views across the ocean and neighbouring cliff faces too, that can never be accurately reflected in photos. Hopefully the kids will remember it for years to come.
Q little bit further up was the memorial statue of the Dog Fence. I can only hope that the statue of the dog wasn't life-size, as this thing was frightening to look at even though we knew it was made from steel. apparently these dogs were chained up in one big line across the small neck of land separating the island from the mainland, close enough to share a bowl of food, but not close enough to rip each others throats out.... which they absolutely look like they would have if they could. They also used to have these dogs on floating pontoons on the water to stop any would-be convicts from thinking a quick bath while escaping would be an easy option.
There was also an old original Commanders quarters that we looked through, all in very original condition except for the roof which was renewed to stop the weather destroying all the old history housed within. Turned out to be a very interesting afternoon, but the kids were getting ratty at this stage, so we headed off for an ice cream before returning to camp for beer o'clock.