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The Tasman Peninsula(Tasman Peninsula) is in the extreme southeast of Tasmania, about 75 km from Hobart away. The name of the peninsula is derived from the first European to come here, the Dutch navigator and explorer Abel Tasman.
places
- Taranna
- Koonya
- Nubeena
- Port Arthur
Smaller towns are Premaydena, Highcroft, Stormlea, Whitebeach and Doo Town.
Other goals
There are two UNESCO World Heritage sites on the peninsula:
- The former convict colony Port Arthur is one of the most important historical sites in all of Australia.
- The "Coal Mines Historic Site", which is also operated by convicts, also provides an insight into the situation at that time.
The Eaglehawk Neck separates the peninsula from the Forestier Peninsula to the north. The extends over both peninsulas Tasman National Park.
The Tasman Sea lies around the peninsula.
background
climate
As in the rest of Tasmania, the climate is cool and temperate. It can be very windy right by the ocean, you are in the "Roaring Forties", the windy zone south of 40 ° S.
language
getting there
The beginning of the peninsula can be reached by car from Hobart in just over an hour, and Port Arthur takes at least 90 minutes.
mobility
Tourist Attractions
The ex Convict Colony Port Arthur is the main attraction of the island. It is one of the 11 "Australian Convict Sites" (historic prison camps) of the World Heritage of Australia. From 1833 to the 1850s, Great Britain sent the convicts with the highest sentences here, and the camp was known as "Hell on Earth". Museum, memorial, ruins and buildings remind of this time. Next to it is today's town of Port Arthur with around 500 inhabitants.
The independently operated Coal mine in the northeast of the peninsula also worked with prisoners from 1833 to 1848, a maximum of 570 convicts lived and worked there. The mine was operated privately from 1848 to 1877, after which the coal reserves were exhausted, and all mining activities were discontinued around 1900. In 1938 it was possible to secure the remaining ruins for a park, the area has been one of the since 2007 listed places of Australia and 2010 as Coal Mines Historic Site also to the 11 "Australian Convict Sites". Remains of the guards' stone houses (not the simple wooden houses of the prisoners that burned down), rails of the small coal railway to the harbor in Little Norfolk Bay to the north, the jetty in the harbor and some changes in the landscape can be viewed, there are information boards. The area is much less busy than Port Arthur and is free of charge. Address: Saltwater River, at the end of Cole Mine Road.
The Eaglehawk Neck is a narrow land connection in the north at the transition to the Forestier Peninsula. The soldiers ("Officer's Quarters") were there with guard dogs ("Dog Line") to guard the Port Arthur convict colony. A small museum provides information about the site.
There are several interesting points nearby:
- Pirates Bay Lookout north of the Bay (easily accessible from Arthur Highway via Pirates Bay Drive)
- Tessellated Pavement, rectangular washouts on the coast, at the north end of Pirates Bay
If you drive south from Arthur Highway along Pirates Bay (C338) there is
- at the southern end of the bay a jetty and a blowhole nearby (hence the street name Blowhole Road)
- and on the eastern side to the Tasman Sea: Tasman Arch (a large rock arch) and Devil's Kitchen (via Tasman Arch Road).
If you follow the Arthur Highway, about 2km after Eaglehawk Neck, turn left onto Pirates Road, after which you will come to Martin Cash's Lookout after long, winding roads.
activities
In a small zoo on the main street you can watch Tasmanian devils feed and pet kangaroos. The entire peninsula is a sanctuary for the Tasmanian devils.
kitchen
nightlife
security
trips
Back to Hobart or to the east coast Freycinet National Park with Wineglass Bay.
