“Is it a people disappears to know that there ?” Anonymous

After a well deserved rest and a breakfast with Canadians, we return to the National Park to Cape Tourville Lighthouse. No big march today, ten minutes are enough for us to enjoy the view of the Friendly Beaches in the North, Cape Forestier south and some history lessons on the panels : in 1642 Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer, Its mission is to discover the great southern continent Tasmania which he named Van Diemen's Land and to seek minerals and spices. Once filled its objectives, he sailed to New Zealand leaving the Aborigines of the island in peace.

Cape Forestier

Friendly Point

Abel Tasman map

Baudin expedition

That will also, hundred and sixty years later the French scientific explorer Nicolas Baudin - one lieutenant named Louis Freycinet - having exchanged with the Aborigines, collects plants and animals and then returned to France declaring not to want this land that is already occupied by native. The following year, the English are not so many ways and ignoring the presence of the Aborigines of the island they declare their being Tasmania, using the wood for their boats and the island itself as a natural prison for their off-the-law…

Sleepy Bay

Spiky Beach

After a stop at Sleepy Bay, we take the car and I drive us out of the national park. 😉 Nous traversons la ville de Swansea et nous arrêtons un instant à Spiky Beach, enjoying this little empty beach with views of the Freycinet Peninsula.

Marion Bay

Air Dunalley

A Orford we leave the national to engage the Wielangta Forest Drive, where we meet our first live snake - black, So probably the tiger snake, Tasmania with only three or four species of snake - before making a tea break with a view overlooking Marion Bay. The end of the day we just Dunalley, last town before the peninsulas Tasman and Forestier, where we sit near a hotel that welcomes travelers from 1866, of all types since it is on their property that we can squeeze, next to two young Belgian girls we discuss.

Tessellated Pavement

Tasman Blowhole

Friday 13 we cross the Forestier Peninsula, its southern tip we view Pirates Bay – sans les téléchargements… hum 😛 – and walk on Tessellated Pavement : flat rock surface divided into more or less regular rectangle that appears to have been made by man (tessellate: assemble mosaic) but nature created by following the movement of the Earth and wear water ; before a new crop of wild blackberries that seem to grow everywhere in Tasmania. We cross the city Doo where all the houses have names Doo syllable (Da Doo Ron Ron, Didgeri-Doo, Love Me Doo, etc.) and stop just after to Fossil Bay where we see again the slow work of nature in what they call a blowhole – blowhole, in connection with the opening has such whales to breathe – the ceiling of a cave by the ocean collapsed creating a kind of tunnel where water and wind rush.

Tasman Arch

Waterfall Bay

A little further on the Tasmanian Ark is a cousin of the blowhole but much larger. In the Kitchen Devils are flaws in the cliffs that are growing, future arches and blowhole ?

Welcome to Port Arthur !

With ... summons ? !

Arrived in the south of the peninsula, in the historic Port Arthur, we are frightened by the huge parking in front of the site. Penitentiary 1833 to 1850, he received the toughest prisoners, recidivists or heavy penalties, Tasman Peninsula is not connected to Tasmania by the Eaglehawk Neck isthmus thirty meters wide, control was easy. But we will visit the information center as the minimum price is thirty-five dollars ! For the entire site, this can rise to over sixty dollars per person, even the Tasmanians find these outrageous prices.

Back to North, I drive us out of the peninsula, then descend on the city of Sorell where we find civilization - we do the shopping IGA supermarkets in the past few days, it's just a little more reasonable price we are happy to see Coles and Woolworth !

Kitchen TS

The Walking Dead (TV series)

We just cross Hobart to look more area to the south to Gordon. The road is very pretty but the area appears to be paying off, windy - that's traveling almost old with just a book and paper maps rather than the application WikiCamps on the phone ! We hesitate but after reading the explanations we slip five dollars in the box as they promise that the money raised is used to improve the site - three new tables six hundred dollars each, an electric barbecue planned to nine thousand dollars ! If we are at the water's edge overlooking Bruny Island, wind forces us to cook in the car : challenge met !

The Saturday 14 February is dedicated to the research work and we go around apple orchards around Huonville without result. We cross Hobart unable to go on Mount Wellington which gives a nice view of the city as it's gray and very low clouds. It is at Meadowbank Lake on Bethune Park area we stop for the night. Despite the rain the lake view is pleasant and we spend the evening with two French who have just finished the season cherries and share their experience with us.

Demain direction le Mount Field National Park !