port arthur
Time to step back in time to a 19th-century penal settlement to learn more about our convict history. Dust off your hopper-dockers and toddle along with us!
This part of our adventure is rather fast paced but there was no way we were missing Port Arthur as our eldest warrior is a history buff and loves learning about convicts. We left Bruny Island at sunrise, jumped back on the ferry and had an easy drive to Port Arthur, Premaydena / Teralina Country. We chose to stay at NRMA Port Arthur for one night. Check-in was 10am so we took the chance to drop off the van, catch up on some washing before visiting the Port Arthur Historic Site. The sites were tiered and mostly levelled to make great use of the views. Our warriors were in their element feeding the birdlife with the bird seed available at reception.
With a few loads of washing now complete, and a little rinse of the car and van, it was time to head to Port Arthur Historic Site. We totally underestimated the size of this place! Hot tip: Allow 2-3 hours to explore if you were doing a quick visit like us. Your ticket does give you access for 2 days and you will honestly need it if you stop to read all of the signs. This is an open-aired museum with over 30 historical sites to visit with some sections of the museum on slopey hills. Also be sure to book your complimentary 20min harbour cruise when booking online. We accidentally skipped that step but made up for it by doing the hour Escape from Port Arthur tour! It was well worth the money! Loads of interesting stories about how convicts escaped and how they were captured, or just surrendered themselves back as they weren’t surviving in the bush! Both of our warriors found this really interesting and so did we!
Boy did we fit a lot in before the museum closed at 5pm! Our eldest warrior spent the the rest of the evening reading more convict stories in his new book that he bought from the gift shop, while the rest of us kicked back ready for another one nighter at Wineglass Bay the next day.
Peace + love,
Peace + love,