Bonjourno,
Today has potentially been one of the best (so far) in Tasmania. I spent a small fortune to go on a boat trip around Tasman Island, in the South-East of Tasmania. As per usual, this meant a ridiculously early start - up at 6 in fact! Our first stop of the morning was at Eagle Neck, where I enjoyed morning tea (I even had a cup of tea with a not so pleasant brownie), over pleasant conversation with an Austrian lady I befriended. Following the brief refreshment break, I went on a quick walk to the tessellated pavement a short distance away - this is a natural feature caused by the salt in the water, which leads to a criss-cross pattern of cracks in the rocks - pretty cool for a geoggers geek like me!
Following another quick bus ride, we reached the boats, ready to cruise around Tasman Island and enjoy its wonders. I was a little bit worried after the sea sickness I experienced during the whale watching trip when Mike was in Sydney, but luckily the crew loaded us all with sea sickness tablets in preparation. We were pretty much bombarded with the awesomeness of the Tasman Island coast from the onset; we sailed (not sure if that's the right word as it was a zodiac boat, not a sail boat but never mind) into caves, got up close and personal with stacks and arches, and generally just some amazing coastal geography. In addition to the amazing geomorphological features, we were also treated to some pretty cool marine wildlife. A particular highlight was when dolphins started swimming and jumping right next to the boat, including a little baby. It was truly amazing, but unfortunately it was rather difficult to capture this on camera on a moving boat, with moving subjects, never mind. Both New Zealand and Australian fur seals also call this coastline home (and what a good home it is) so I got to see a few of these bickering with one another whilst enjoying the delightful and very poignant seal smell; saying this, it wasn't half as bad as the walrus' in Svalbard). It's very hard to describe how rugged and beautiful the coast is, but I will post pictures soon so you can all see what I mean, although even those will probably not do it justice.
With the "wilderness trip" over, the rest of the days adventure continued. For me, this meant visiting the historic site of Port Arthur, one of the most infamous penal settlements in Australia, established in the 1830s, for transportation of all the naughty British boys and girls. Over 2000 people called this place home at its peak, and I have to say, it seems like a nice home to me....I don't really mean that; I just mean that now it is actually a really aesthetic place with lots of greenery and ruins. Way back when, I'm sure this place was horrible, with children as young as 9 working the quarries as punishment, and "old" people left to waste away in the "Paupers Depot". Again, I can't really describe the feel of this place; on the one hand on such a sunny day as it was, the site seemed really scenic, whereas on the other, I know it was such a horrible place for so many people that it's really striking.
With the quick trip of Port Arthur over, it was time to head back to Hobart. I actually found out that one of my polar science friends was in Hobart after flying back from Antarctica, so I met up with her and my current host, for a drink and some fish and chips. I met this girl about two years ago at a workshop in Cambridge and since then, we randomly catch up in exotic places like Svalbard and now Tasmania, simply by chance. It's pretty crazy but was great to catch up with her again.
Well that's the end of day nine. Twas an action packed and very tiring day, but it was amazing! I know this is a bit of a crappy blog but I am tired and my brain isn't working...
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