Port Arthur convict church
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Got up at 7am again and had breakfast. Checked out and drove to Port Arthur again to see some of the things we missed yesterday and to get a couple of photos of buildings with the sunlight in a different position.
Port Arthur convict church |
We left Port Arthur just before 10:00 - but before we even got there we took a brief side trip to the Remarkable Cave - a sea cave much better than the Tasman Arch and Blowhole we saw yesterday.
We drove through to Louisville stopping only at Dunalley to buy some rolls for lunch and a pepper steak pie for me as a snack.
We arrived at Louisville at midday, but the next ferry to Maria Island didn't leave until 1pm, so we stopped in the cafe and ate our lunch in air conditioned comfort - it was quite warm and sunny outside.
Eventually we boarded the ferry for the half hour trip to Maria Island. The sea was a bit choppy and the smallish boat rocked a bit but was not unpleasant.
 Brick warehouse, Maria Island |
At Maria Island we stopped in at the Maria Island National Park visitor office to pick up a bunch of the stamps we'd missed at the other parks. Then we went on the Fossil Cliffs walk. We wanted to do the Painted Cliffs walk, but it was only really worth doing at low tide and we were there pretty much spot on high tide.
 Miller's cottage (1846), Maria Island |
The walk was mostly past old ruined buildings from the settlement there in the early 19th century, but we did see the fossil cliffs full of seashell fossils where they used to mine limestone to make cement.
This was followed by a long uphill walk to the highest point on the walk - very hot in the sun. Then a downhill section led back to the area of the main settlement - now all preserved and unused. There were lots of kangaroos and Cape Barren geese everywhere on the island where we walked.
 Cape Barren geese, Maria Island |
At 4pm we got the ferry back to the mainland (of Tasmania) and then drove flat out to get to Coles Bay before 6:30pm so we could get the key for our accommodation for the night. We made a pitstop in Swansea for petrol and were served from a building that looked 100 years old by a woman who looked like she helped build it.
At Coles Bay we checked in and then immediately dashed out for fish and chips for dinner. Two pieces of fish turned out to be six pieces. We filled our tummies in front of the TV, watching a special about Royal stuff-ups (as in the Royal family).
Then brushed teeth and to bed.
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