Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 9

After going to bed at 11 last night we had to be up by 8 o'clock for breakfast. I'd ordered a continental breakfast for 8:20am but then I went to check on it, as we had to leave at 9am for a 9:15 tour, and it hadn't been made but was soon delivered. Had to cook the toast myself though (unlike yesterday's breakfast).

Arrived at Tasman Island Adventure Cruises on time and were issued with gore-tex suits to keep out the wet and cold. A coach picked us up and we were driven to the boats at Eaglehawk Bay. Our pilot, Mike, and deckhand, Damo (former pearl diver in the Kimberley), were hilarious and very knowledgable. Saw a great deal of the coastline and entered caves and passages. During the, at times, freezing and wet conditions, we spotted albatrosses, dusky dolphins (NZ), petrels and humpback whales. The tour was fantastic and turned around at Tasman Island which was adjacent to the 1,000 ft cliffs of the mainland. There were an enormous amount of shearwaters about and they looked like mosquitoes on the horizon.

Gosh, that whale was difficult to spot and once we decided to search for it on the way back and had taken off, and Damo commented that this would be the time that it would be spotted, we spotted it. In fact, it came up very close to the boat. Damo had smelt the whale beforehand, and told us so, and coupled with the oil on the surface, he knew where to look. On the way back we were swooped by three or four giant petrels which was very unusual.

The Boy sat in the forwardmost adventurer's seat for the whole trip. It was, apparently, the wettest tour day they'd had. And was he glad to get back to the hotel for a hot shower or what? We watched a bit of the Bathurst 1000 before heading to the cafe for hot chocolates and to give The Boy a chance to go on the (free) computer for a while. At 4pm we headed back to the Port Arthur Historic Site for another look including the audio tour. Had just missed the harbour cruise and so took the last walking tour of the day with tour guide Mark. It started raining fairly soon afterwards. Half an hour later we were left to our own devices and spent another 60 mins doing the audio tour. A fabulous and well recommende tour - you need to do all three - ghost tour, walking tour and audio tour.

Watched Shrek 2 that night.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 61-106.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 8

Both of us had had a comfortable nights sleep. Our room was very nice and I'd certainly recommend the accommodation. Eula, one of the proprietors, served a hot breakfast at about five past eight which we enjoyed very much, along with one of The Boy's socks, which had become lost whilst doing the washing. Chris, her partner, mentioned that the Blowhole was worth a look and Eula said the high tide was at 6:30 that morning.

Down at the Blowhole it started to rain every time I had the umbrella but stopped when The Boy took hold of it. And the Blowhole was on song. We enjoyed our time there.

Headed down the road to Triabunna, as we'd seen a sign for fresh fish, and popped into the info centre for a chat - about the pronunciation of the town's name, ghosts, fish and chips, etc. Ordered fish and chips from the van across the road and walked, in the rain, past Dead Isle, the first cemetery, whilst we waited. Ate lunch and while The Boy was finishing his I drove around town looking at Cusick Cottage, Cuff's Cottage, St Anne's Church and the cemetery. In the town's cemetery I noticed Davey Jones who was a boat builder.

Bought some food from IGA and even got them to wash the carrots. Looked at the Old Barracks and Triabunna House. Back on the road and we visited St John the Baptist Church in Buckland with its 14th century stained glass window. On to Port Arthur. Stopped at Pirate Bay (Tasman Lookout) and the Tessellated Pavement before going to Eaglehawk Bay and the Dog Line.

Into Port Arthur and we stopped at Tasman Island Adventure Cruises to discuss a Tasman Island cruise and all the other tourist activities in the area. Practically next door was the Port Arthur Historic Site and we visited for 45 minutes. So much to see and do. Bought Ghost Tour tickets for 9pm. Had a good look around in that time.

Found our hotel in Nubeena, 10 kms away, and Susan Ellis, the proprietor, upgraded our room as she said they weren't busy. The Boy watched a movie, Garfield, before we headed to The Tavern which Susan had booked for us for a roast pork dinner. Had half an hour to kill after the meal so we played darts which was good fun. It started to rain at 8:30. The ghost tour started at nine. Talk about creepy stories and buildings. We got quite wet but really enjoyed ourselves although The Boy wanted to sleep with me. Took a few photos but didn't capture anything out of the ordinary. Pity. Some scary moments though.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 1-60.