Touring the Tasman Peninsula

A beautiful day today and we headed off just after 8:30 to visit a few other sites on the peninsula.

First stop was Nubeena which is only 500m across the bay and about 2 minutes drive from where we are staying. The bay was flat calm and perfect for a photo op across to the Café we visited yesterday.


The information sign explained that Nubeena is the local indigenous people's word for Crayfish. How amazing that we live in Kaikoura which also means Crayfish. And, we are actually about 30nm south of Kaikoura in latitude!

Next stop was the Historic Coal Mine site where convicts (young and old) were forced to mine coal in extremely hazardous conditions. The site is pretty much overgrown and not much remains but it was a great walk through the bush being entertained by raucous birds and a couple of Wallabies.

Moving on we drove to Eaglehawk Neck which is a very narrow connection between the Forestier Peninsula and the Tasman Peninsula. By narrow I mean not much more than the width of the road and about 500 m long. Here we joined a throng of Chinese and other tourists looking at the Tessellated Pavement which is another strange geological feature.

Just down the road was the Tasman Blowhole, Arch and Devil's Kitchen. These are amazing coastal features which are definitely worth a look. Spoilt only by the busloads of Chinese tourists who seemed to be following us!!

By now we were feeling peckish and headed back towards Port Arthur to finish our two-day visit. We stopped at a Lavender Farm Café for lunch and Miriam had some Greek Lamb Wraps and I had a Tasmanian Scallop Pie. It was OK but not a great meal. For some reason the Aussies seem to make scallop pies in a curry sauce. I would much prefer to taste the scallops than curry and the pie pastry was way too thick.

Back at Port Arthur we finished off our visit by looking at the buildings we didn't get to yesterday. Life for the convicts was certainly very tough and it seems so unfair that they were treated so badly for what, in most cases, was simply minor crimes as a means to survive.

Tomorrow we pack up and head north to Bicheno (about 3-4 hours drive). We need a break from walking but Miriam's new built up shoe is working well for her. With her new smart watch she proudly announced when we got back this afternoon that she had walked 17,000 steps (that's 12km)! Quite an achievement but she is really enjoying her second gin at this point.

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