Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.

Who put that rock there? Tasman Peninsula, January 2011.

That's Hippolyte Rock there. Apparently, it's a small granite island and part of the Tasman Island Group, close to the south-eastern coast of Tasmania around the Tasman Peninsula. I snapped this shot from around Eaglehawk Neck (to the north). The island has a flat top and is surrounded by steep cliffs up to 65 metres high. It belongs to the Tasman National Park and houses a whole bunch of breeding seabird species, including Little Fairy Penguins, Short-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Fairy Prion, Common Diving-Petrel, Silver Gull and Black-faced Cormorant. Australian Fur Seals also knock about the island, which makes it an attractive proposition for Great White Sharks...


The view south from the east side of Tasman Peninsula. January 2011.

The presence of the seals probably does enough to justify the tag "shark-infested". No sign of dorsal fins in this photo though.


The Devil's Kitchen, as viewed from Tasman Arch. The Tasman Peninsula. January 2011.

One thing about Eaglehawk Neck is that it's a hard place to stop taking photos. Even if the weather is rubbish, there's plenty of impressive sights to see. At some point soon we'll get back there...


The view north, from the Blowhole. Tasman Peninsula. January 2011.