Had a really lovely day out today, even though didn't see any dolphins!!
Got picked up nice and early and had a nice cheerful and enthusiastic guide called Lynn. Stopped off in Eaglehawk Neck Creek for a bit of morning tea - nice home made scones, jam, and cream - mmmmmmmmm. The scones were freshly baked and still warm from the oven when we got there!!

Then we went up to Eaglehawk Creek Neck harbour so that we could board our boat for the cruise. We were given some fetching red waterproof and windproof suits to put on as the sea was a bit choppy and there was a good chance we'd get a bit of a soaking! I wasn't keen to put mine on as I thought it would swamp me completely (it did) but as everyone else put them on, I thought I might as well. I was grateful for it in the end too as it was freakin' freezing out on the sea!! I had also bought some nice gloves whilst I was in Melbourne, just on a whim, as they were actually two pairs in one as they had normal gloves, and also the fingerless mitten type things together. So, I thought they might come in useful - they sure did today! I think my fingers would have frozen off on the boat if I hadn't of had them! I also used them this morning whilst waiting for the bus as it was a bit chilly at 6:30am!! I also did miss my first bus - doh! My watch was obviously a little slow because as I walked down the road, I distinctly heard a bus moving off noise....and so I had to wait another half hour for the next bus. Oh well, I got to the Visitor Centre on time in any case, and then tour bus was late so I knew not to rush for the next time anyways!

The boat skipper was really funny, making jokes about all sorts of stuff, so everyone had a good laugh. He also had some nice herbal ginger sea sickness tablets, so I took one just in case. He said the sea was a little choppy today, so I thought I'd have one just in case - and they were ginger tablets rather than those other nasty things that places normally sell! So we bumped along on our little boat and I was really hoping to see dolphins and whales, but they had obviously taken the day off as there were none about!
Saw loads of seals though, and they were really quite smelly so I was actually glad that I didn't get to swim with them after all in New Zealand. Fishy breath or what! Plus they obviously don't brush their teeth or floss....peeeeeeuw!!
Saw lots of albatross, and some other birds that I really can't remember the name of - oops! They were quite pretty though, with white tums and black backs - perfect for camoflauge. We also saw a white breasted eagle right at the end of our trip - well I think that's what it was. Bit difficult to write this kind of stuff down when you're bouncing about on a boat and my memory is terrible for this kind of thing!
Also saw the candlestick and the totem pole which are rock climbing places. Our skipper said that he'd seen one guy free-climbing the candlestick, which is climbing without any ropes! Takes all day to climb both of them, though apparently you can shorten your climb by abseiling to the candlestick from the main rockface, and then start your climb instead of climbing all the way up one side of the 'stick, climb back the other side, and then over to the totem pole. I'll take his word for it!

Saw lots of rocks as we went around the various bays - jurassic dolomite, and all sorts of other rock types that I can't remember the names of either! There was some pretty pink rock too, that's right at the base of some other rock....I'm not explaining this very well, am I? In any case, the pink rock was very pretty, the jurassic dolomite not so nice to look at but extremely old rock. Also saw some pretty waterfalls, and some blow holes in action! Our skipper (wish I could remember his name - my memory was really bad this day) also said that the blow holes water can reach up to 30 feet in height, and any higher than that meant that crayfish would land on the boat roof!

After our morning cruise, we headed off to Port Arthur which is was an island prison for British convicts. It operated from around 1830 to 1870 even though the last convicts were sent there sometime in the 1850s. By the time it closed in the 1870s, it only held elderly prisoners, or prisoners who had gone insane and couldn't be moved off the island.
Now it's a historical site even though the main buildings are mostly in ruins. Some buildings were taken apart brick by brick and the bricks taken to Hobart when there was a brick shortage so they could put together their buildings. The church was burnt down in a fire, and then other fires and poor maintenance meant some buildings were mostly ruined.
The site was actually quite interesting and all the green parts of the land used to be vegetable patches for the prison officers. I didn't think I'd find it that interesting, but found that I could have used a bit more time there then we actually had as I only got to amble through a few of the buildings (even though there wasn't much to see in some of them seeing as they're only the shells). A short walking tour of the main buildings started a little while after my lunch (pumpkin soup, veggie pasty, and a really nice vanilla cupcake - if you want to know!), so I thought that going on that would teach me a bit more about the site rather than just shuffling about by myself. Apparently, the first convicts that arrived even had to build their own prison!

They thought that Port Arthur was the ideal place for a prison as escaping it wouldn't be easy. They told the prisoners that the water was shark infested, so that took care of one part. There was very dense bush on another part, and then there were starved dogs and armed guards on another part - so escaping would take some ingenuity!
Our walking guide also us about one prisoner who tried to escape as he happened to come across a dead kangaroo whilst on his way to the starved dogs and armed guards side of the island. Apparently he skinned the kangaroo, donned the suit, and started hopping across to where the guards were, hoping to hop past them. It was night time when this was happening, so the guards didn't think anything of seeing a kangaroo hopping around.
Unfortunately, the guards were starving too, and so they thought that a bit of kangaroo meat would be a great idea....imagine their surprise when they suddenly see a kangaroo waving its arms in the air and jumping up and down on the spot! So, the poor prisoner was spared being eaten but obviously did get a few more years added to his sentance for trying to escape!! Who knows if that story is actually true or not, but it still makes a great story :D

Another long day tomorrow, but I get half an hour extra in bed as my tour doesn't leave until 8am and so I can a bit later bus. I'm looking forward to some nice forest walk, so I hope the weather is good tomorrow! I have my pac-a-mac in case of rain....