Robin Cartledge's Tasmanian Travel Guide

Launceston launceston forecasts   V ersicherungen Founded in 1806, Launceston is the Australia's third-oldest city, with a fascinating history traced in its beautiful old buildings and streetscapes dating from early Colonial and convict times to Georgian and Victorian eras. Its many well-preserved Victorian and Georgian buildings, together with its diverse collection of art-deco architecture, give the city an unusual period ambience. The architecture of the mid-to-late 20th century, that dominates most large modern cities and many smaller ones, is quite rare and a walk around the city leaves one with the feeling of being wrapped in a timeless cocoon of yesteryear. Greater Launceston has a population of 106,153 (2011 census) and the charm and pace of a regional centre, with the facilities of a much larger city.   Launceston offers a great variety of things to see and do and I have offered just a few here to get you started. The Cataract Gorge and...

Some Facts About the Tasman Peninsula There is much more to the Tasman Peninsula than just the Port Arthur Prison, so I headed off to document some of it for you. Pugsley and Albert join the Eaglehawk Neck Dog line In further posts I will be looking at some of the weird and wonderful points of interest including: Eaglehawk Neck dog-line, Convict Coal Mine, Australia's First (convict powered) Railway,  and Unzoo , along with the towns of Nubeena , the largest town on the Tasman Peninsula; Eaglehawk Neck and Tarawa - as well as details of the many available caravan parks, RV and tent campsites, so it would be well worth your time to bookmark this blog for future reference. Lying to the south and west of Eaglehawk Neck, the Tasman Peninsula has an area of 660 square kilometres and a population of around 2,200 permanent residents. Given that there is an overload of information around on Port Arthur, I will concentrate more, in this series of posts, on the rest of...

Convict Coal Mine ruins at Saltwater River The main Convict Precinct   Excavated in 1833, the coal mines were used to punish the worst convicts, who worked here in extremely poor conditions.   Developed to limit the colony’s dependence on costly imported coal from New South Wales, as well as serving as a place of punishment for the “worst class” of convicts from Port Arthur, the mine was operational for over 40 years. The main section of the site with the car-park upper left  Coal Mine Walks There are ten walks in the area - each with its own specific interests, including: 1. Convict Precinct - a 30-minute return walk of 800 metres which covers the main buildings and ruins in the convict precinct.   2. Tramway and Beach Walk - a one km, 40-minute walk to inspect the area where the tramway ran down to the beach and where the coal was loaded. : "Along the shore you can see small lumps of red and black material. The red material is coal ...

Taranna Taranna is a tiny hamlet on the Arthur Highway, on the way to Port Arthur, around 10km from Eaglehawk Neck, with an estimated population of 277 residents. It is believed that 'taranna' is the local Aboriginal word for 'kangaroo'. Taranna's main attractions are the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park, Unzoo , the Tasman Historical Museum & Coffee Shop , and The Norfolk Bay Convict Station . Its real claim to fame, however, is that it was the terminus for the infamous human 'railway' which ran between  the jetty at Little Norfolk Bay and Port Arthur and was powered by four convicts pushing the carriages along the crude 7 km of track. Norfolk Bay and Port Arthur Tramway ~~~~~~ NOTE: Clicking on 'coordinates' will take you to the appropriate Google map. The Norfolk Bay Convict Station   Norfolk Bay Convict Station, originally the Commissariat Store, was built in 1842. It is a red and white-roofed building on a s...

East Beach Tourist Park  I popped in yesterday to meet the owner of the East Beach Tourist Park, at Low Head, and discovered a delightful lady whose husband passed away around a year ago, leaving her to carve out a lifestyle with their developing caravan/tourist park. East Beach Tourist Park at Low Head has  a unique facade which attracts  tens  of thousands of visitors per year.    The striking Macrocarpa wood carvings are the work of Eddie Freeman and was commissioned by the late Kenneth Plumstead, the previous park owner, and is the largest privately owned collection of its type in Australia.  With these exquisite tree carvings at the front door and East Beach and the Bass Straight at the rear, this park is the ideal place to spend a day, or a month, exploring the region. East Beach, Low Head East Beach, looking to the east The Wester...