Orford Getaway

I’ve just arrived back home from an awesome and fun five-girlfriend weekend away, staying at one of my girlfriends’ shack in Orford on the east coast of Tasmania.

 

A view from the shack. (I didn’t take the photo from the exact same spot that I did the quick sketch).

We walked along the track at the back of the shack which led to a stunning beach.

Along the way we somberly paused at sheer quarry walls that convicts, living on Maria Island, were brought across the water to quarry.  It must have been brutal work and lives lost at the site. The sandstone quarried here was used for buildings in Hobart and Melbourne, including the Melbourne General Post Office, Town Hall and Melbourne Law Courts. The quarry operated in the area from 1870 to 1890.  The remains of the tram lines used to transport stone from the quarry to be loaded onto ships are still visible at Shelly Beach.

a view from the walk

Along the track, information posted about the whales that visit the region.  More whale species for me to paint! 🙂

In the evening, we stayed up late, talking, reminiscing and laughing over dinner and a glass of wine.  In the morning, we walked The Old Convict Road.

We wandered through remnants of a harsh existence for the convicts building the Convict Road.

Sarah trying out the convict cell.  The doors of the row of convict cells alternated on opposite sides.

It was later decided that the other side of the Prosser River was the better side to have the road.  All of the brutal work and working conditions to no avail.

Beautiful lichen patterns on rocks along the Convict Road.

We had one final piece of Liz’s to-die-for flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake and then parted ways.

 

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