After the hike to Wineglass Bay and lunch at the near by Honeymoon Bay, we headed further along the coast south staying as close as possible to it along minor roads through little places like Kellervie. Much prefer these little out of the way places than the main road and towns. We took 4wd tracks out to every bay we could find and found a little campsite to ourselves as a reward. Even down on the Tasman Peninsula there are 4wd tracks not far from all the touristy spots near by. We still dropped in to see things like the Tasman Arch, Remarkable Cave etc and to a lesser extent Fortescue Bay but prefer the lesser seen.
Honeymoon bay Freycinet NP. and the Tasman Arch.
It had been a while since I was last at Port Arthur and the convict settlement in 1990 when it was just my 2 year old daughter and myself in a CJ7 at the time. A lot had changed with much more restoration work done and less time is now spent on the misery of the place with information of those that did better in the place and gained their freedom. Well worth checking the place out and you will need a whole day to do it. There is also a nightly ghost tour which was a bit of fun when I did it!
Tasman Peninsula plus the convict settlement of Port Arthur.
Also make sure you drop in to the small animal park called Tasmanian Devil Park. It is worth learning about these little critters and if you plan it for one of their feeding times even better. The way they can chew up road kill brought in that morning bones and all is something to be seem and heard! The place has tame kangaroos and wallabies etc that you can pat if you are calm or slow when approaching them. The birds of prey show is worth a look too.
Maingon Bay and some tame Roo's to pat.
Now taking our first and then second only camps that we paid for the whole trip in Tasmania was in Hobart. That was so I could wash the car as well so I could get the permit to access tracks where they inspect your car to make sure it is not carrying any mud that could fall off and spread root disease from an infected area. The Wellington Range was where this was needed as you get an inspection and get asked some questions about looking after the place similar to the Tread Lightly Campaign in the USA. They also make sure that your 4x4 is up to the task of handling the very rocky and steep tracks before handing over the key to the tracks! You can get your permit and keys by ringing 6233 6560 and picking up the key at the Parks and Wildlife Service at St John's Park, Newtown. It cannot be picked up anymore from Hobart from their office there as some old information sheets still say.
Tasmanian Devil cubs. Having keys to a locked 4wd trail is great!