Carol in Oz - Richmond & Port Arthur

I woke early in the little farm cottage as the rising sun streamed in. I couldn't help myself.... I crept out of bed and pulled on my clothes to go for a walk. It was 5.45am. It felt like I had the farm to myself as the owners house is on the other side of the main road.  I walked down a track to the river and jetty, and snuck into one of their fields to take a photo looking back at the cottage we were in.  They don't have a fox problem in Tasmania so the ducks and chooks were already wandering around.

When I got back the resident turkeys were at our verandah with the male putting on his best show.  The farm cat was sitting on our window ledge waiting for attention. It was a lovely scene.

After a scrambled egg breakfast we headed off on our way.  First to Evandale where a family of chickens were happily pecking about in a little park.  We browsed one of the stores and found a couple of nice second hand books.

Next was Campbelltown on our way South.  It is always an interesting place to stop and read the rows of paving bricks embossed with details of transported convicts.  Each brick has the name, age when transported, crime and term of their sentence.  Some also have a line about what became of them.  It's sad to read of 14 year olds being transported for 7 years for stealing a pair of boots.

We had a wander around the shops in Ross and then lunch in Oatlands.  The cafe was a bit of a surprise with a massive collection of Errol Flynn and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia.

We had a short visit to the wharf area of Hobart and a walk to Salamanca Place.  Finally we reached Richmond, our base for the next couple of days.  I had booked us a lovely cottage walking distance from the shops. There is a great bakery in Richmond so we bought quiche for dinner and made some salad to have with it.

Today, Tuesday, we drove to Port Arthur which is an old convict settlement. That in itself makes it a sad place. It is also the tragic location of a crazed gunman's rampage almost 20 years ago, killing 35 innocent people. The cafe where the shootings took place was demolished and a memorial garden built in its place. It was glorious weather to visit and the ruins of the sandstone penitentiary buildings looked so picturesque against the blue sky and sea.  Carol did the guided tour and Mick and I went to revisit some of our favourite things to see and then climbed high up a grassy hill and sat overlooking the bay and buildings below.  We all went on the boat trip around the bay.  It was a lovely day although a little windy. Tonight I rustled up a frittata using the leftovers from last night and a few added veggies.

Carol is counting down the days now.  In 3 weeks she will be on the plane going home!