Before we headed down there were had breakfast at a place called Dome that is down in the CDB of Hobart. It was good food and after eating we went on our way. It was a beautiful day out and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Port Arthur is about 45 min south of Hobart but on the way we decided to stop off at some scenic spots to take pictures and take in the amazing ocean and coastal views. Here are a few pictures but it doesn't do it justice. It is really breath taking in real life!
We made it to Port Arthur around 2:30 and bought our tickets for entrance and then the ghost tour at night. If you do not know what Port Arthur is, it is former convict settlement in Tasmania. Convicts were sent here from England. However it started off as a timber station and then started to form into a penal colony. The hardest convicts were sent here and the prison was in working order from 1833-1877. Port Arthur could be compared to Alcatraz. We took a 20 minute boat ride so here are a few pictures from the water.
We walked around a bit and kinda did our own photo shoot. Here are a few of Lindsay, Jordan, his mom Renee and me.
Now back to the buildings. We walked through the barracks and the church. The barracks were open due to the building being somewhat destroyed and the church was also and open church. The buildings were amazing looking and you really got the sense of the old colony that used to be there. One thing to know is that Port Arthur was also home to the prison guards and these guards had wives and children. It was an open area so most homes had locks on their doors because you never knew if a convict was going to try to escape. Here are some pictures of the barracks and the church.
Now to the good part. We took the ghost tour at around 7 that night. For those of you who don't know, my mom and I have a thing about ghosts and feel like we have somewhat of a connection with them. In our old house we had a ghost that lived there and he only seemed to connect with my mom and I. So needless to say, I was very excited about this tour! Port Arthur is the second most haunted place in Australia. We started off at the church and learned that there was a man that killed a few people in the church so he has been known to haunt the church. I didn't see him but I believe he was there.
We then moved onto the priests house. The priest died in his own house and is known to be haunted by him as well. Before we walked into the house I heard this dog barking and not thinking much of it. When we went into the house, our guide told us a story that involved a dog in that house. Now I'm not saying that I believe I heard a ghost dog barking, but I thought it was intriguing.
We moved onto some other houses and then finally to the hospital. We went down into the basement where it was believed that when convicts died they were sent here to be tested on or to be used for the study of science. There is a table that pulls apart to help with the draining of blood and body parts. Our guide told us that people have seen many ghosts down here as well. He even told us that a guy laid down on the table and had his wife take a picture. When they looked at the picture there was a part of his body missing as if a ghost was there. Here are a few pictures of the table and what the room looked like.
My favorite part of the tour came next and it was our last stop. This was where the prisoners were held and this jail cell was a silent jail cell, so there was no talking and they were kept in very small cells. We walked in to the middle of the building and on either side of us were the long corridors of the cells. I sat down on the stairs to listen to the guide but decided to turn around and take a picture of the corridor in the dark. I took a few pictures and when I went back to look, I found a difference between the 2 pictures that I had taken 5 seconds within each other. Can you tell the difference?
If you don't see it. The first one has heaps of orbs in it. Orbs are ghosts or some kind of paranormal activity coming through. I could not believe how many their were in the first one and then none in the second. It was well worth it for me and I felt that I got to see what I came for.
We left the prison and headed back to the main building. I learned that the last Saturday of each month they do a paranormal activity tour that goes from 10pm-2am. I would have loved to go on it but it just isn't going to work out for me. Maybe I will get a chance some other time but if anyone goes I would love to find out what it is like. I think my mom and I would be awesome on that tour!
On a last note, there was something significant that happened at Port Arthur in 1996. There was a huge massacre that happened here by a guy. He came to Port Arthur and ended up killing 35 people and wounding 21. They don't talk about it very much here so I don't know much about it, but it was very devastating to Tasmanians because he opened fire on adults and children. It is really a shame and with what has just happened in Aurora, we can only hope that things like this don't happen anymore and that no more lives are taken. For more on the massacre or Port Arthur, just google it and you can find out much more than what I have told you.
Port Arthur was really cool and the history is quite amazing. I would recommend this place to anyone traveling here and I would totally recommend the ghost tour as well!
