Beautiful drife along the Wielangta Forest Drive on the Tasman Peninsula to the Port Arthur Historical Site. This was a penal colony in the 1800's and all that remains is ruins of the buildings. The grounds and the ruins are beautiful, and it's a pity that it's history is of a penitentiary.
A guide expkained a bit about the penal system that was in place at Port Arthur - only hardened criminals were sent thee - and expalined about the way of life for the prisoners and the guards and their families. The prisoners were given the opportunity to learn a trade to make something of themselves - some took advantage and went on to lead productive lives - some didn't. There is a narrow neck of land on the peninsula that was garded by dogs chained close enough together that a man couldn't pass through them - and of course anyone who tried to escape that was would cause the dogs to bark to alert the guards. There were very few successful escapes from Port Arthur wich is surrounded by water.
Everything at this lovely site was confict built - from making the bricks to quarrying the stone to doing the carpentry, building and farming. It was very self sufficenit.
Our hotel for the night overlooked the prison grounds. Some people took the ghost tour at night, but I think it would have been a very chilly tour. We chose to do some much needed laundry and dawdle over dinner in the dining rom. We had a great table fo people and we sat and talked until it was obviously that the staff wanted to close.
OUR ITINERARY **NEW, REVISED AND UP TO DATE**
- If we're going to be in your city and you want to get together for a cup of coffee, leave a message at our hotel, or send me an email ahead of time at shakos@sympatico.ca - we'll try to rendezvous with you. That would be great fun!
- Sat. Oct. 20 - Arrive in Christchurch, New Zealand and stay at the Copthorne Central Hotel, phone 03 379 5880.
- Mon. Oct. 22 - TranzAlpine Train ride to Franz Josef, staying at the Franz Josef Glacier Hotel, phone 03 752 0729.
- Tues. Oct. 23 - Queenstown, staying at the Novotel Gardens, phone 03 442 7750.
- Thurs. Oct. 25 - Te Anau, staying at the Village Inn, phone 03-249 7911.
- Fri. Oct. 26 - Dunedin, staying at the Dunedin City Hotel, phone 03 470 1470. Hope to meet Chris Davies for coffee while we're there.
- Sat. Oct. 27 - Mount Cook National Park, staying at The Hermitage Hotel, phone 03 435 1809.
- Sun. Oct. 28 - Back at the Copthorne Central Hotel in Christchurch, phone 03 379 5580 till Oct. 30th. We'll then take the ferry to the North Island and stay with Beulah from Oct. 30th, till November 5th.
- Mon. Nov. 5 - Pick up a car for a self-drive tour to Auckland. (Biting my nails as you guys drive on the wrong side of the road - giggle). Stay at the Lakeland Resort, Taupo, phone 07 378 3893 on the 5th, and at the Heritage Rotorua on the 6th and 7th, phone 07 348 1189.
- Thurs. Nov. 8 - Arrive in Auckland and stay with Lizzie and her husband John. I've promised to teach an ink and oil rouging design for Lizzie while I'm there.
- Mon. Nov. 12 - It's all over but the curtain calls. Fly from Auckland back to Los Angeles, where we will stay a week with my aunt. A good chance to shake off some of the jet lag.
- Sun. Nov. 18 - Back in Canada. All good things have to come to an end. The memories, however, will last a lifetime.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
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