To Prison and Back

On Tuesday the Dad and I took a day tour to Port Arthur. The first half of the tour was a speedboat ride around the peninsula to see the spectacular coastal cliffs around Port Arthur. They were exactly that, spectacular. The maneuverable little boat took us right into coastal caves and to the open ocean to view some feeding dolphins. We cruised along the coast sighting seals and enjoying the views. Apparently we had hit this on an absolutely perfect day; calm seas and completely sunny skies are somewhat of a rarity around there. Four hours later we were back in Port Arthur to tour around the Port Arthur Prison, an old penal colony built by the British hundreds of years ago. It was a great historical site in terms of beauty and substance alike. We toured around for a couple hours, checking out the crumbling buildings that once housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the British Empire.



Wednesday was spent drinking beer on a patio under the warm sun, a good end to my Dad's trip in Australia. And the next day he was off to Sydney bright and early, spending a day there before heading back to Canada. It was good to see him again, it had been so long since I've seen any of the family I miss dearly. Now I'm back on my own again, back to my own devices. I checked into a small hostel again, another cozy, friendly one, the type I prefer to the larger ones. The only drawback is that it is quiet here, and lots of people tend to keep to themselves. Maybe I'll just have to wander the halls singing to break the ice.

On Friday I headed out to the local Exhibition with a couple girls from the hostel. Much like Capital Ex back home (but on a small scale), it really showed how farm-oriented and redneck Tasmania really is. We watched a wood chopping competition, laughed our asses off at pig racing, and strolled through markets full of Affliction T-shirts and Southern American rebel trucking carpets, you know, the ones with the American Flag and Eagle and shit on them. It was a pretty good time though, and a good way to spend an afternoon in the sun.

The weekend wasn't too eventful, mainly just handing out resumes in an effort to plug the drain of funds from my bank account, and rugby. The New Zealand/France game was a hell of a game, with the All Blacks winning by one point! The game also put in perspective the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, and just how disrespectful they can be towards each other. The bar we were at was ignorant enough to have a live band playing during the World Cup final, and at the end, instead of showing New Zealand receiving the trophy, the program immediately changed to some shitty Vampire show. I find this absolutely fucking disgusting. Even though there's a huge rivalry between Canada and the USA, we still keep the channel on when they hoist the Stanley Cup in the air, for god sakes. GOOD ON YOU NEW ZEALAND!!!

Tomorrow I meet with the immigration lawyer to discuss my visa issues, hopefully so I can get that job at TasRail