The Old Penal Settlement
I walked into the Green Frog which just happened to be the place I couldn’t remember the name of, how could I forget that? After a yarn to the young fella in reception, I ended up with a six bed dorm but with no one but me in it. What a nice bloke, no one else turned up the whole time I was there. There was a place round the back for the triumph and he directed me to a couple of pubs where I might see some live music… “Always find a local”… after a beer in a couple of pubs I was settled in Hobart. My intention was to do a few day trips out of Hobart, so I would be here for a while. I walked around town the following day to get my bearings, a bit easier not having the one way system to contend with and ended up in Salamanca, an area on the harbour to eat drink and be merry, lots of boats and touristy stuff. A city is a city to me no matter where it is, I don’t wear suits or work in an office, I don’t buy clothes much and I don’t move quickly. A cup of coffee or a beer, I can get anywhere, Hobart was a nice enough place to do both. Hobart had a nice feel to it and I enjoyed my time there but a city is a city where ever you go.
My first trip was down to Port Arthur, it was the countryside, the roads, the people, that grabbed my attention in Tassie. The weather, I just had to put up with, it was October and that’s what nature throws at you in October, in this part of the world. It was raining again but I was here to ride and as I have said the roads were made for riding. Port Arthur has a history and not only for the lunatic who wandered around killing people. There was a huge convict population housed here in the days of pain and suffering. This is where they sent the repeat offenders in the early 1800’s, they probably stole 2 loaves of bread and a bag of lollies.
I am….THE LONESOME TRAVELLER….travelling east….BE HAPPY!