Devil’s Island

Golden Princess

Seven of us are off on a short cruise next week to Tasmania, a place that neither Maureen or I have visited. The cruise is just a week, and for us it is a taste of the Apple Isle, which might convince us to return later for a driving holiday.

Tasmania’s coat of arms, and the meaning of the moto being, Fertility and Faithfulness.

You must have heard of the Tasmanian Devil according to Bugs Bunny’s Devil

And now for a real Devil.

The first European to visit the island was Abel Tasman in 1642. The French arrived in 1772, and the first Englishman to set foot on the island was Tobias Furneaux in 1773. Captain Cook arrived in 1777. It was a popular place.

In 1803 a small detachment was sent from Sydney to the island, because French explorers were investigating the southern coast of Australia, during the time when Great Britain was at war with Napoleon. The British, in Sydney, wanted to make sure that the French did not lay claim to the island. At that time the island was considered as part of New South Wales.

In 1642 the island was been named Van Diemen’s Land by Abel Tasman. This naming was in honour of Anthony Van Diemen who was the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, who had sent Tasman on his voyage of discovery. The island did not become Tasmania until 1856, after petitioning Queen Victoria for the name to be changed.

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Golden Princess was built in Italy and was launched in 2001, she is 108,865 gt and has accommodation for 2,600 passengers. She is registered in London, UK.
Her last refurbishment was in May 2015, so the smell of paint should no longer be around.
I have read that it is planned for the Golden Princess to be transferred to P & O Australia in 2020. One has the feeling that it is my fault that ships, in which Maureen & I sail, don’t stay long after our cruise before Princess Cruises move them over to P & O.
Dawn Princess, in which we sailed last February is now Pacific Explorer under the P & O Australia house flag, and now I read that Golden Princess will follow.

We sail from Sydney and return to Sydney exactly a week later. Our first port of call will be Melbourne, and as we have all either lived in Melbourne or visited the city, I doubt that we will do anything more exciting than to visit Queen Victoria Market.

We sail at 4.00 pm from Melbourne for Wineglass Bay on the east coast of Tasmania, to cruise Wineglass Bay and Oyster Bay.

Wineglass Bay

followed by

Oyster Bay

With a bit of luck, we might be able to share Oyster Bay, New Zealand with Oyster Bay, Tasmania.

We then cruise to Port Arthur, which used to be a 19th century penal settlement. We will anchor off and go ashore by tender.

Port Arthur

Next stop is Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania. Originally called Hobart Town, or Hobarton, so named after Lord Hobart, who was the British secretary of state for war and the colonies.

We stay overnight and then sail for Sydney the following evening.

Arriving Sydney at 7.00 am on Wednesday 01 November.