TASMAN PENINSULA

2^nd February, 2014

It’s time to leave our quiet little caravan park at New Norfolk and meet up with Wayne again.  We skirt around the Derwent River past Hobart and turn east towards the Tasman Peninsula.  By lunchtime we are pulling up in front of the Dunalley Hotel which offers free camping in a large paddock beside the hotel for self contained RV’s.

Dunalley Hotel

A couple of hours later we are joined by Wayne and set up camp.

Our rig and Wayne's rig

We are going to use this site as our base to explore the Tasman Peninsula and after dinner take a walk down to the Denison Canal which is a man-made waterway constructed in the early 1900’s.  The canal connects the east and western sides of the Forestier and Tasman peninsulas, ensuring safe passage for sea vessels – a maritime ‘short cut’ to Hobart.

A view of the bridge over Denison Canal from the dam at the hotel

In the morning we all hop into Mitzi and set out to do some exploring.  Our first stop is at the Tasman Seacliff Coast Lookout.

Tasman Seacliff Coast Lookout

From the lookout we follow Pirates Bay Drive to Eaglehawk Neck and stop to take a look at the historic Officers Quarters; believed to be the oldest wooden military structure in the country.

Officers Quarters at Eaglehawk Neck

It was surprising to find that the building had no-one in attendance and admission was free.  Inside each room were information boards detailing the history of the building and its occupants right up to its present day use as a heritage building. An excellent historical gem.  The Officers Quarters was part of a military station set up at Eaglehawk Neck in 1831 to keep a watch for convicts trying to escape from Port Arthur.  Eaglehawk Neck is a narrow isthmus and not long after establishing the military camp a line of dogs was set up.  Dogs were also placed on platforms out in the water to prevent escapes by sea. This was the infamous ‘dogline’ where each dog was said to have been capable of taking first prize at any show for ugliness and ferocity.

The Dogline memorial at Eaglehawk Neck

Our next stop was at the eastern end of Pirates Bay where the ocean is doing its level best to try and cut through the dolerite rocks.

Channel cut through the rocks at eastern end of Pirates Bay

A plaque on the rocks is a sobering reminder of the unseen danger of rogue waves and the sad loss suffered by two families in 1956.

About a hundred metres further on is the blowhole – deceptively quiet on the day that we visited.

The Blowhole

We continue along the coast to the Tasman Arch

Tasman Arch

where the highest sea-cliffs in the Southern hemisphere rise from the churning ocean.  On our way back to the main road we pass through Doo Town where many of the shacks and houses have name plates.

The name says it all ...

There were other titles such as ‘Gunnadoo’, ‘Make Doo’, ‘Xana-Doo’, ‘Doo Little’, ‘Doo Me’, etc.. etc.. etc…  There were many imaginative ‘Doo’ names.

We have packed a picnic lunch today as we are going to visit one of the lesser known convict historic sites on the Tasman Peninsula – the Coal Mines Historic Site.


The Coal Mines opened three years after Port Arthur.  By the late 1830’s they produced most of the coal used in Van Diemen’s Land.  It was extensively used in government offices but householders did not like it because it emitted showers of sparks when first lighted setting fire to carpets and any other material that was close by.  The Coal mines served as a punishment station for men who had committed a serious offence in the colony or who continually committed relatively minor offences.  By 1843 there were 579 prisoners here, with 27 soldier guards, 35 civilian supervisors and administrators, 14 of their wives and 90 children.  Only convicts who were skilled miners worked at the coal face.  They dug an average of 3 tons per day.  Most convicts were employed in quarrying, lime or charcoal burning, building, gardenings, splitting timber or labouring above and below ground.  Skilled convicts such as carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors and tanners also worked at their trades.  The Coal Mines ran at a loss and discipline was a problem so the Mines were leased to private operators in 1848.  The new owners managed to make a small profit until 1877 and the Mines were finally abandoned in 1901.  We wander through the ruins of the many buildings.  As is the case at many of the convict sites, settlers were encouraged to come and take whatever they could use from the buildings once the sites were abandoned.  The following photos are some of the many that we took at this large site which has walking trails of 2 hours and 1.5 hours.

Settlement Square

Buildings in the square

Solitary Punishment Cells

Wayne really liked the finishes on the stone chimneys

Another chimney for Wayne to admire ...

After strolling around the site for a couple of hours we had our picnic lunch near the main shaft

The main shaft

before continuing our drive around the peninsula to Remarkable Cave.  The walk down the steps to the cave was a wee bit challenging after our trek around the Mines.

Some of the steps down to the cave

At the bottom of the steps we could see through the jagged tunnel gouged out by the ocean.

Remarkable Cave

And the reason why this cave is called ‘Remarkable’ is because at the very end of the tunnel the opening forms a rough silhouette of Tasmania.

Yep - a rough outline of Tasmania

We’ve had a full day and our little old legs are just about dropping off.  Getting back up all those steps is really taking some time and Wayne is the ‘hare’ and we are the ‘tortoises’.  We eventually catch up to him taking a ‘time out’ on the railings.

Wayne - catching some 'rays'

Ahh well!  His time will come ….