Port Arthur
The Tasman
Dominated by the ruins of Port Arthur and tenuously tied to the Tasmanian mainland by a narrow strip of land, the Tasman Peninsula's brutal past is matched only by its spectacular land and seascapes. Skirted by a loop road linking rainforests, blowholes, surfing beaches and ocean cliffs, the entire peninsula is registered on the National Estate. Allow more than a day to do it justice.
Feel the power of the sea and the passage of time. One hundred metres wide and the only escape route for convicts from notorious Port Arthur, the isthmus of Eaglehawk Neck was once guarded by tethered mastiff dogs. Discover the history of the dog line in the restored Officers' Quarters, the oldest remaining wooden military building in Australia, opposite the beach. Walk along the unique Tessellated Pavements, watch the explosion of water through the Blowhole, and the magnificent Tasman Arch and Devils Kitchen. Take a dive tour from Pirates Bay to explore beneath the surface to sea caves, kelp forests and the wreck of the S.S. Nord off Tasman Island. Take advantage of some of the State's best game fishing and charter a boat in search of the bluefin tuna.
Walk along the cliff tops
Spend a few hours or a few days walking along and above some of the most breathtaking coastline in Tasmania. From the Devils Kitchen at Pirates Bay to spectacular Cape Hauy, the Tasman Trail offers fantastic year- round walking.
Take your boat
and tent and fish and swim in beautiful Fortescue Bay, one
of the peninsula's most popular attractions.
Ride Australia's steepest railway at the recreated pioneer
bush mill and learn about Tasmania's early timber industry
or visit
the devil park.
Festivals and felonies
Journey through Tasmania's convict past at Port Arthur, Australia's most famous penal settlement. Join in the seasonal festivals or just spend the day wandering around the ruins of this once solitary out-station of human deprivation, from 1830 to 1877.
Take a guided tour to the Isle of the Dead -- the final resting place of nearly 2,000 detainees buried in communal graves, and a cruise around the harbour. Hold a hurricane lamp by night and wander through the ruins with the spirits of the dead, on a ghost tour. Watch the historic 1926 silent version of the film 'For The Term of His Natural Life'. Stand in the asylum and model prison to sense the deprivation; visit the Commandant's House and smaller cottages occupied by officials and the ruins of the penitentiary and church, Port Arthur's most famous landmarks. Drive on to Nubeena and swim or surf at the superb White and Roaring Beaches.
Explore beyond the boundaries to other historic sites -- the eerie, solitary cells of convict salt-pans, the Safety Cove Boys' Establishment and the Coal Mines Historic Site at Saltwater River.