Big day, we are flying into Bathurst Harbour, in the far south west of Tasmania, with Par Avion in a 6 seater, single engine Cessna. A slightly better option than the 7 day hike it would take to walk in.

There is no habitation for more than 50km, so the air we are breathing is some of the cleanest on the planet. Bathurst Harbour and Port Davy, it’s connection to the Southern Ocean, are 6 times larger than Sydney Harbour. The water is very dark, created by having a high level of natural tannins from the plants which grow there. There is a layer of fresh water on top of the salt water, but because the fresh water is so dark, the sun never reached the salt water, even though it is <15m down. Apparently this creates deep sea conditions for fish, allowing divers to see these denizens of the deep at depths of less than 20m, think angler fish, and certain types of shark.

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On the flight back to Hobart we had to climb above the smoke from the bush fires, >6,500 ft, because we needed to fly over a range of mountains, The Arthur’s. We could see one fire raging through the forest beneath us. 5 days on, and these fires are continuing to burn, the paper today said that volunteer fireman had already clocked more than 70,000 hours of time fighting these fires, and trying to save their communities.

The following day we visited the Female Factory in Hobart, built to house female convicts. Not much remains of the original buildings other than than the high surrounding walls, but they have done their best to bring this place alive, with an excellent tour, and a 45 minute play, Her Story. The stories could go on and on, but to summarise, what was done to these women was beyond dreadful, particularly when you consider that many were transported for things like stealing food for their family, or a blanket to keep their baby alive. Transportation was a 6 month journey, children over 3 years were forcibly removed when they arrived, conditions were horrendous, with insufficient nutrition…. and so on… More than 25% of convicts transported to Tasmania were female, from a total of 75,000. We were very subdued after our 2 hours visit.

After Hobart we travelled to Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula, on our way we stopped at a Tasmanian Devil sanctuary to see these elusive creatures. About 7 – 9kg when adult, these are not the most friendly of animals. Their jaws are so strong they can bite straight through our femur, which they would be happy to do if they found you injured in the bush.

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Port Arthur was the primary location for male convicts, entering Van Diemans Land, as Tasmania was called then, through this port, some staying there, and others moving onto other penal locations. From our perspective these guys had it so much easier, particularly if they behaved themselves. They were taught trades, and could receive their “ticket to leave” after 2 years if they were good, assuming they stayed in Tasmania. Port Arthur was original set up to harvest timber to build ships in the early 1800’s, primarily Oak, Huon Pine and Blue Gum. It moved from this toward a penal settlement around 1820. Boys from the age of 9 were transported to Port Arthur, though until 18 they were kept separate from the men. These boys could choose a trade to learn, including book binding, shoe making, and stone masonry. So, they had much greater opportunity to live, and to learn, in Tasmania than at home in Britain.

A recent assessment indicates that 60% of current Tasmanians are related to these convicts, men and women.

Thank you for following us on the blog, and for the comments you have made, they are a pleasure to receive and read. We are taking a few days “break” at the Freycinet Lodge, before returning for our final days on Tassie with Clive and Ruth. There maybe one more blog from Tassie, before we head off to Sydney on Sunday.

Our very best wishes to you all