The Land of "Ests"

Australia is the smallest continent. And the second-driest (Antarctica is the first).

And in Port Arthur, we've seen some of the tallest and biggest things in the world.

Well, we're guessing this is the biggest bumble bee in the world ... it sure seemed like it when he buzzed us.

And on a boat tour of the Tasman Peninsula (where we encountered the windiest weather in our lives), we came to Point Pillar, the tallest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere (at the  most southeastern point (southeasternest?) in Australia):

Port Arthur was a penal colony in the 1800s that fell into disrepair and now is being preserved. It's a huge compound that we strolled after the crowds had departed in the late afternoon. Its serenity today is in sharp contrast to the sadness it harbored many years ago. After dinner of mussels and fish and chips, we returned for the ghost tour, an entertaining walk to the areas where the presence of long-dead convicts remains.

We didn't feel or see any spirits, but Karen jumped the highest when the guide spooked our group as it was huddled around the dissection table in the basement of the prison surgeon's home.

It's now breakfast time in Hobart, which means time to go out and explore ... more to come.

Can you tell we're having fun yet?