Trip to Port Arthur
Summary
Port Arthur is the most infamous of British penal colonies as it was the destination for the most hardened criminals, re-offenders after having been transported to Australia, and for the physiological techniques used to try and discipline prisoners. For these reasons, it was acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010 and many of the original buildings from the mid 1800s remain in good condition. In addition to its infamous reputation, Port Arthur is also synonymous with the 1996 Massacre when one man shot and killed 35 people in what is still Australia’s worst mass shooting
Although it’s quite far down the list of experiences in Tasmania, in particular the amazing natural wilderness options, it is a staple place to visit on a trip to Tasmania, is easily accessed with a 1.5hour drive from Hobart and has some lovely gardens
highlights
#1 Visiting the well-restored old buildings spread out across the site and being able to learn what it must have been like as a prisoner here
#2 Wandering through the beautifully-maintained gardens
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Beautiful Garden Spots around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone