We arrived at Port Arthur, Tasmania–a tender port–as the sun was rising. This is always a beautiful time of the day and we just can’t help ourselves: gotta take a photo or two!!!As the ship remained at anchor, the lifeboats were launched to tender us to shore.Our destination is the Port Arthur Penal Settlement Visitor Center at the UNESCO Historic Site, which was designated a World Heritage Site in 2010 and is officially Tasmania’s top tourist attraction!!!When America won its Independence, the British started sending convicts to Australia where they were forced into heavy labor: logging, iron work, farming, shipbuilding, brick making, and even mining.Port Arthur well exemplifies Britain’s use of penal-transportation to foster geo-political spheres of influence; to punish and reform criminals; and deter crime in Britain. Convict settlements were all over Australia but Port Arthur was known for its harshness.As we awaited our turn to tender ashore, the wind intensified!!!The sky darkened!!!The water churned and the rain came!!!We decided to stay on board and await our departure to Hobart. The weather cleared. We headed out to Cape Raoul and cruised along the amazing wind and surf-formed rock creations!!!And they are amazing!!!Yeah, we took a gazillion photos!!!And then, we arrived in Hobart.Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and is said to be one of the most beautiful capitals in the world.And it has a deep water port that is said to rival Sydney Harbor!!!We learned that we had arrived just in time for the Australian Wooden Boat Festival!!! Now how cool is that!!!Even the Australian Navy was in port to enjoy the festivities!!!After dinner, we watched fireworks from our balcony and looked forward to the festive events we would discover in the morning!!!And the next morning, we awoke to see the many wooden boats that had come to Hobart for the festival.Several of he boats were open for inspection!!!Others were on display!!!And then, we found the model boats on display!!! Beautiful!!!Eventually, it was time for lunch. We chose Irish Murphy’s Pub in the Salamanca Area because we had totally enjoyed lunch there in 2018!!!The view is good.The beer is even better!!!We selected Murphy’s Ale brewed in Tasmania.‘Twas good stuff!!!Of course, they are able to serve just about anything you want!!!So Sandy had her usual Sauvignon Blanc with the Bangers and Mash!!!Roger had the Meat Pie with his ale!!!And David & Shirley had Hamburger & Fries.Afterwards, we walked to the small shopping mall behind the restaurant row.It’s a cute little area with statuary,…..…..fountain and greenspace with inviting seating….…..a few more restaurants…..…..and shopping!!!And look what we found walking back to the ship….A PARADE!!!Well, actually a little Irish marching band; but it was lively and a lot of fun!!!We walked back to the ship.Enjoying the artwork along the way!!!We said good-bye to Hobart.And joined all the other boats going out to sea!!!
We are now on our way to Adelaide and the Barossa Valley.
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