Yesterday was busy as I rented a car and drove from Hobart down to the Tasman peninsula, home to two sights I really wanted to see: Port Arthur and the Tasmanian Devil Park. I was happy to get out of Hobart (capital of Tasmania). It's a small city, but it feels almost desolate compared to Sydney. If I'm going to be in a place with little energy and nothing to do, I'd much rather be out in nature! The Tasman peninsula, in the southeast, is spectacular. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and protected bays on the other, I loved driving and walking around. Even though it was cloudy most of the day, I got some great views and pix. Port Arthur is the most famous Australian Penal colony, used for British convict transport in the early 1800s (After North America couldn't be used for that purpose any longer once the bloody yanks declared independence. Did you know that Britain transported 80,000 convicts to North America in the 1700s? That's the same number it sent to Australia in the 1800s). The setting, overlooking a secluded bay, is beautiful, which must have made isolation behind bars even more cruel. When the colony opened, lashes with flailed whips was the most common type of prisoner punishment, opening up hundreds of lacerations on the back of the punishee. But Port Arthur also opened the "Separate Prison" to implement a different kind of "reform" being tried throughout the British Colonies at that time -- reform by silent isolation. Prisoners were not allowed to see or communicate with any other human beings except the priest or doctor. This forced isolation was thought to lead to a more tranquil disposition, but lunacy seemed to be just as common a result. My highlight for the day, though, was joining the "Devils in the Dark" tour at the Tasmanian Devil Park. Since the devils and many other marsupials are nocturnal, you need to see them at night if you want to see them active. With flashlights we took a guided tour through the park, which included observing the devils playing (kind of cute) and feeding (as far from cute as you can imagine). They earned their name for good reason -- the horrifying howling, screaming, and hissing they engage in as they fight each other for food. And they DON'T share -- not even with their own offspring or siblings. They are carrion feeders with massively strong jaws which they use to devour entire carcasses -- flesh, fur, and bone. They are the "clean-up crew" on Tasmania's road-kill laden streets and highways. DO NOT try to pet them! Watching them in action was really wild. But also during the tour we saw a variety of other wildlife up close. We even got to go inside the very large kangaroo and wallabee pen and feed and pet them (just don't pet their heads -- they interpret that as a desire to fight, and they will rear back on their strong tails and kick you with their hind feet). The one I picked to feed turned out to be a mother 'roo with a 6-month old joey dangling its head and one arm out of her pouch. Oh, I wish we could have taken pictures in there! But I won't soon forget these experiences.