The Port Arthur Historical Site today with it's wide open spaces and beautiful grounds, surrounding bushland and water outlook belies the harsh existence of it's former convict inhabitants.

If you're planning to visit from Hobart and return in a day get an early start as there is much to see and do along the way and once you get there. We drove in a convoy of three cars and found that coordination by mobile phone was not reliable due to coverage limitations so a little forward planning before departure will ensure no one misses any of the sites enroute.

Our first stop after leaving Hobart was to check out the view from Pirates Bay Drive overlooking Eagle Hawke Neck and along the spectacular Tasman Pennisula coastline. Don't miss the turn-off just a few kilometers before Eagle Hawke Neck. Zoom in on the map on this page to find it.

We then looked in at Doo Town and the blow hole.

Once at Port Arthur we decided it was time for lunch in the cafe before we toured the site and went on the cruise boat to the Isle of the Dead. Although the food on offer is reasonable the prices are a little high. We felt our large group would have enjoyed our own picnic lunch on the peace of the magnificient lawns rather than wait in line in the busy cafeteria.

Then we soaked up the history of the site itself. My favourite part was testing the nerve of the kids in the punishment cell. It's pitch black in there, quiet and cold. You can imagine what it must have been like to have no one but the rats to keep one company. "Let me out!" they cried. "Only if you promise to do your chores." I quietly replied.

Craig Rose