Monday - March 14th....Evandale to Cradle Mountain....Lemonthyme Lodge!!

The highlights from today will come from where I stayed....now this is not in any way to diminish the visit to the historic town of Evandale....where I found a great cool antique store...and where Georgian homes were in abundance....but the overnight accommodations at Lemonthyme Lodge was awesome!!

Here we have the map with my key to the "All Nations" cabin...sort of a unique way of directing you to your room!!

And....this was my room....

Here is the outside of my "All Nations" cabin.....yummy...

And believe me when I say that at dark this is one precarious walk to your room....nothing like walking down the hall of the "W"....but....once you get there...your own fireplace...unbelievable view....and dinner at the lodge with a nightly show!!  Opps...forgot to tell you no internet...television...or telephone...yeah you heard me.

The Lodge is the largest log cabin in the Southern Hemisphere......

After dinner...we are treated for a nightly show.....not a stand-up comedy act....or band singer...but an animal act....wild (well sort of....)  Wallaby and Possum...First the Wallaby - they are the ones like kangaroo but much smaller....

...then the possum....check out that beautiful tail....

Quite the show....well then it is back to the cabin for the night with a fire to keep me warm for the night....all this in Moina Tasmania, Australia

Bay of Fires - Cataract Gorge and more...all in Tasmania

The day began with this great sunrise....almost like one from the Serengeti...but really it is in St. Helens, Tasmania.....

The journey today takes us to the Bay of Fires and beautiful rock formations....

And of course sandy beaches....aaaaahhhh

The journey today also featured travel thru tropical rain forests...

I do not often mention stops made during the day for "tea time" or "ice cream"...but today is an exception...this is a road house 45 minutes in each direction from any major town.  A young couple manage the business owned by the father of the male partner.  It is so quaint...a pub...a cafe...an old fashioned jute box...a pool table...and fantastic tea and date bread!!  Here it is...it is called the Welborough...on the Tasman Highway, NE in Tasmania...worth stopping for sure if you come this way....take a look...

Next is really an amazing sight in another small town in Tasmania....The trees in the town square were carved to commemorate men who served their country and lost their lives in World War 1....this particular tree was for Robert Jenkins

Look at the tree that was carved....with a chain saw....to honor this soldier....amazing...

This was a real tree...as were all the other 8 in the town square!!

Okay...guess where we stopped for about an hour in the afternoon...

You got it...a winery....the Rosevears Vineyards...for a wine tasting....ummmm so so good...we sampled about 5 different wines...this is Bob afterward...

Finally, the day concludes at the Cataract Gorge in Launceston, Tasmania.  It has a chair lift with the larges single central span of any chairlift in the WORLD!!

So up I go....and here is what I see from my chair...

And here are some of the couples who are touring with me...as seen from my chair lift...first is Gloria & Brian...

Then we have Michael and Jean.......

And....Ute and Desmond......

That's it for today.....tomorrow we head up to Lemonthyme and a lodge that I will probably not be able to access my computer....so you will have to wait a couple days till I come out of the wilderness!!

On the Road again....to St. Helens Tasmania

As I leave Hobart this morning I get a better view of Mt. Wellington...this time not hidden by clouds...

Now on to Ross a quaint little town...there are several as you can imagine....and they all seem to have a picturesque bridge and church....take a look...

These little towns also for some reason have a bakery and is a good time for a "tea" break.

The day's highlight was the Freycinet National Park.  It was formed in 1916....and has great views across  brilliant blue waters and huge granite mountains...

The orange color comes from liken (sp).

The light house is a standard for most heights such as this...and of course this is no exception...

For some odd reason this picture from inside the Park today interested me....not really a flower as we see color or beauty of bloom....but a simple bud on a plant on the way to the light house

Then....at days end arrival in St. Helens...a little fishing village on the East Coast of Tasmania...

And check in to my room overlooking the harbour....

Tasmania - Port Arthur

Port Arthur was a penal station established in 1830 as a timber-gettin camp, using convict labour to produce sawn logs for government projects.  It was used as a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian Colonies.  The site contained more than 30 historic buildings, extensive ruins and beautiful grounds an gardens.  The site also has an isle of the dead cemetery (prisoners were buried there) as well as a site for a boys prison.  The boys prison was for those aged between 14 and 17 with the youngest being 9.  It was renowned for stern discipline and harsh punishment...but did provide the boys and education.....

Take a look at the grounds....

The Church represented an important role of religion in convict reform and at Port Arthur up to 1100 people attended compulsory services here each Sunday.  Much of the decorative stonework and joinery in the church was crafted by boys from the Point Puer Boys' Prison.  This is what remains of the Church today...

Here is the Point Puer Boys Prison...but what remains today is merely the island itself separated from the Port Arthur grounds...

But from the island...the view of Port Arthur is awesome....

The penitentiary had two lower floors containing 136 cells for prisoners of bad character.  The top floor provided space for 480 better behaved convicts to sleep in bunks.

The Commandant was the senior officer at Port Arthur and his residence has been restored to reflect the times of the 1840's....

Okay...one last picture from Port Arthur..

On the way back to Hobart that afternoon we see Devil's kitchen and natural formations of Tasman's Arch...

A full day....and tomorrow I leave Hobart to travel to St. Helens on the East Coast of Tasmania.  A visit to the Freycinet National Park is on the docket...