Hauntings, History and Hiking in Van Diemen's Land

The last Australian state on the list...

Land of Tasmanian Devils, yes (mom) they are real. And unfortunately suffering from one of two contagious cancers, facial tumour disease, which unfortunately they pass to one another while biting/fighting over dead meat. True story. Luckily there are several conservation efforts trying to save the devils - however they might do better to not release them into the wild during peak tourist season when 40 newly released devils turn into 12 road kill devils in less than 2 weeks.

Tasmania is a beautiful place. From the icons of the Bay of Fires...

...Wineglass Bay...

...and Cradle Mountain.

There are also lots of trees. BIG trees. Huon Pines that are thousands of years old and Swamp Gums, the tallest hardwoods in the world. It thus makes sense that forestry is one of Tasmania's biggest industries. And combined with the miles of coastline, it makes for some good bushwalking.

Tasmania is known for its local produce and seafood. Cherries, raspberries, gooseberries, and even young berries (cross between something and something) were all in season. Then there was the salmon. I don't like smoked salmon, but I liked this one. Oysters on the East Coast were suffering from an algael bloom that cleared by th time we left. But on the recommendation of the publican in St. Mary's, I stopped at the stand on the right on the way into the Freycinet Peninsula. Taste of the Sea. And the scallops. Scallops are one of my not favorite seafoods. Who knew you could put them in a pie? Three days of scallops in a row. Yum.

But perhaps the most interesting. is Tasmania's convict past. Tasmania or Van Dieman's land was where the bad guys went. Australia has a whole has a convict past, but it's most evident in Tasmania, where people were sent for crimes from stealing candles, to throwing vitriol, to bush ranging to murder, Those convicts that were really bad or committed further crimes after arriving in Australia were sent to Tasmania. 

And apparently the convicts built a lot of bridges. And buildings. And tunnels. We stayed in a room across from the ghost in Room #6 in the Bush Inn in New Norfolk (didn't sleep very well there!) But the most famous site is Port Arthur. A little cove on the southern tip of the Tasman Peninsula is one of Australia's most famous sites. And not for good reasons. After reading For the Term of His Natural Life, convicts endured some of the most heinous corporal punishment and hard labor on this natural prison peninsula. But Port Arthur also has a recent dark history as the site of the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre which caused Australian politicians to make drastic changes in Australia's gun laws to make Australia such a strong contrast to the current situation in the US.

Despite bein a major tourist attraction, there is no town built up. Just the site and a convenience store, a hotel, and resort cabins. It's eerily somber and somber. It's even more eerie on a ghost tour. There were enough harrowing taes of convicts and punishments to make someone run most of the way home...

Where strange things happen when you take pictures

And with another state ticked off the list there's just one territory left...