We had to leave an ideal spot only to find another one on this peninsula further South and closer to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. It is Sunday so lots of city folks are touring the coast line. This peninsula is famous for the Port Arthur penitentiary and convict coal mine site which we will visit tomorrow. For now we are settled in on a NP campsite under the trees next to 2 beaches. Jamaliah spotted sting rays off the coast during our evening walk. The evening wind is soft and not as cold as many other nights. The sky is light up by stars through the trees. We did stop on our way here to see the spike bridge and the “tessellated pavement”.

Down the sand road to the camping lies the Coal mines Historical site. From 1833 to 1848 coal was mined underground by several hundred convicts. These were mostly repeated offenders who were sent here from other prisons in Australia. Life was hard. The coal was pushed to the waiting barges over a long inclined rail line and shipped to Hobart some 50 km further south.

A much larger penitentiary was built at Port Arthur. There are large sandstone and brick buildings/ruins standing at this site situated on a beautiful bay. After closure of the prison in 1884 it attracted  many local tourists so the Commandant’s house was converted into a hotel for some years. We spent several hours wandering around the large historical site with its many remains of the old prison. Included in the entry ticket to this site is a 20 minutes boat cruise around the harbor. 
The night is spent at another small private campsite along the coast. Drizzle rainfall prevented us from enjoying the views outside.

It has been raining since last night. We were hoping to do the 4 hours (10km) walk to Cape Huay today. Unfortunately the rain finally stopped only after 12 noon. So change of plan. Instead we went first to the Remarkable cave (short 30 mins walk) and later back to the Port Arthur Convict site. We visited other sites that we missed yesterday. 
All night it was raining so we decided not to do the 4 hr. return walk to see the cliffs at Fortesque bay. It was still drizzling and wet. Instead, we stopped at Devils kitchen/Tasman Arch and some other cliff views on the road off the peninsula.