Tassie Adventure Day Six

Day six of our intrepid adventure around Tasmania dawned with a misty-mountained journey down the south eastern peninsula to Port Arthur, around 90 minutes from Hobart.

Port Arthur is a penal colony constructed in the 1830s to house convicts who happened to make the perilous journey from England alive. The site is a beautiful yet eerie journey into the past to view the remains of one of Australia's earliest settlements.

When you arrive at Port Arthur, you are given a card which you then match to a convict in order to learn all about their (true life) story. There's even a full size model of the convict to model against and the kids loved this.

They also loved trying on the shackles and testing out the blacksmith's quarters.

The grounds of Port Arthur are covered in lime green grass, reminiscent of Ireland, and the actual penal buildings are either long gone or in disrepair. Many of the cottages and living quarters, however, are still standing and you can wander through in awe.

The actual prison can be accessed today, via wooden walkways...

The boys, in particular, enjoyed exploring the prison - and here is Riley trying to escape out a side door! (above right)

The colony also featured a beautiful church and manicured gardens, which are beautifully maintained even today.

On the way back to Hobart, after our step back in time, we stopped off at Taranna to see the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. This is where we watched Tasmania's only free-flight raptor show - by a gorgeous falcon named 'Baz' who entertained us all by soaring through outstretched legs in search of a faux mouse.

Even Ella had a go!

The park also houses a collection of amazing native animals including the tawny frogmouth (which looks like a branch!).

And of course, the irrepressible Tassie Devils, who do not stop pacing and running (but no whirling).

The park also features quolls, potoroos, kangaroos and many birds including hawks and eagles. In the huge kangaroo enclosure, where you can walk free and touch the animals, we found this goose on her fresh batch of creamy eggs...

And encountered many beautiful, curious and very tame kangaroos and wallabies...

The kids absolutely adored mingling with these beautiful animals and it took a long time to drag them away.

Ella. The Kangaroo Whisperer...

At the end of a long day in the great outdoors, we headed back into Hobart for a coffee with my wonderful Auntie Ros, but not before revisiting the house I grew up in, my old school and the Cat & Fiddle Arcade in the city, where I used to stand, entranced, whilst watching the cow jump over the moon.