Tasmania Devils and Ghosts

Just got back from a long weekend of 900k of driving. We went to Tasmania and had a great time. Tasmania apparently causes sniggers for Aussies because its shaped like the bikini area and apparently you are not to ask for a map of the area!


We arrived Friday evening at Hobart Airport and got into our zippy (but with a slow puncture) manual Toyota Yaris and after having the initial problem of, ehrm how do you drive a manual car? we were away. We seem to have come to an agreement throughout this journey that as i get car sick reading, and Simon thinks i cant read a map that if we dont know where we are going i drive and when its in the dark or the return journey Simon drives. I also admit im a rubbish passenger, i want to shout BREAK all the time.


Anyway, Friday we booked into a really tacky Best Western that was half price so we got that for $80(£35) and went for food at the really happening place (thats what it said on the signs) Glenrochy. It was a dead town and the only real lights in the place was for the dominos pizza that Simon zoomed in on. In the end they took so long makin his food and ended up burning it, he got a free pizza.

We got woken up at 1 in the morning by the loudest alarm i have ever heard in my life. Simon was running round the room naked saying what shall i do, what shall i do. It switched of after a bit. We think it was a car's alarm that was parked directly outside our room. Simon normally sleeps through anything so it was funny to see him rattled by it.

Saturday morning was spent at Salamanca Market in the middle of Hobart. I got a little obsessed with the stalls selling wooden bowls and kept wanting to buy things. We ended up buying a wooden ashtray bowl thingy. Totally impractical and will probably hate it for $35 and a pink and black polka dot bowl that smells of something.

In the afternoon we made our way slowly over to the SE area of Tasmania to Port Arthur Pennisula and took in the amazing???? pavement lookalikey stones near the waters edge at EagleHawk. At this stage we started to think about where to stay for the evening and wanted to ring up Best Western to get the half price hotels(but no mobile phone signal) or reading the lonely planet guide when we realised that we were packed directly in front of the hotel that we wanted, coincidentally. We managed to book the Lufra Hotel for bargain price of $65 and it had a sea view which apparently is the best view in the world, but even better then that was that it had electric blankets.

For the rest of the afternoon we went to the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary, which really had nothing to shout about apart from Tasmanian Devils, which of course Simon being the soppy man that he is just loved them. They were very funny when they got feed as there are really cheeky little things pinching food of each other, but they are fierce as anything, i wouldnt like to come across one of them on a dark night.

In the evening we decided as we didnt have time to do Port Arthur during the day we would do a ghost tour instead around the prison town. Lydsey our guide took us around some of the buildings and of course told us how ghosts had been seen in different areas. What was so entertaining abut this, though was that Lyndsey decided that 3 of the women of the group had to be a lantern holder, and one of them was me and because we were at the front of the group me and Simon had to lead at times. At one instance Lyndsey had told us about a ghost in one of the buildings and then me and Simon had to walk up to the front door, open the door and walk inside. I made Simon go in first, lol. Lyndsey played a trick though on us and knocked on the door really loudly that made both of us jump.

What we didnt realise at the time was that Port Arthur was the source of a horrendous massacre in 1996 but there was no reference to this what so ever. I suspect our guide had been around at the time of this occuring but from a ghost story point of view they definatly dwell more on the ghosts from the 19th century which i gather from what ive read, understandably the guides find it difficult to talk about what happened in 1996. Our guide had even got married in the beautiful church thats in the town a couple of years ago.

Whilst I was driving to Port Arthur, Simon shouted STOP, very loudly and being the good driver that i am braked hard (he doesnt listen to me though when i say BREAK) only to see a Kangaroo jump across the road. How Simon saw it im really not sure. Further down the road we also had to stop for a little cute bandicoot.

Sunday was another get up early day and drive through Hobart and go SE, to go to the Tahune Airwalk park. We walked around the treetops and then Simon stood on the end bit that bounces up and down, i kind of did but got scared. The best bit though of the walk was walking across 2 swing bridges.

In the evening we stayed in Hobart (at another Best Western) and had a great mexican meal. I would say the food we have had in Tasmania is the best food we have had in Australia. Venison Sausages on Sat night, and massive mixed fahitas on Sunday and lots of rubbish throughout the days.