The Tessellated Pavement. Eaglehawk Neck, January 2011.Back at work again for the year, but I don’t want to talk about that. Yesterday we all went on a little road trip down to the in the general direction of the Tasman Peninsula. We didn’t venture too far into the Peninsula, sticking around the isthmus that connects it to mainland Tasmania,
Eaglehawk Neck.
Some nice water above the Tessellated Pavement, Eaglehawk Neck, January 2011.The isthmus itself is about 400 metres long and 30 metres wide at its narrowest point, and is the natural gateway to the peninsula. The British in the 1830s employed a line of starved and beaten (and consequently very angry) dogs were chained to posts across the neck to warn of any convicts attempting to escape the convict prison at Port Arthur (located further south). The area was also heavily patrolled by soldiers, and the guards' quarters is still there as a handy little museum.
For any convict foolhardy enough to attempt the swim, sharks patrol these waters. I am sure that filled their hearts with some joy. It certainly kept Henry a safe distance from the surf.
Pirates Bay, Eaglehawk Neck, January 2011.The area is a lovely spot, and features a beautiful and rugged terrain with a number of extraordinary geological formations. These include the Tessellated Pavement; an area of flat rock that looks to be a human construction (see the photos), but is in fact formed by erosion. Also nearby are Tasman's Arch, the Blowhole and the Devil's Kitchen, all striking natural formations that I’ll post pictures of in the next few days.
You know it’s a scenic spot when you upload your photos after getting back from a half-day trip and you’ve somehow managed to take 950 photographs!
Pirates Bay, as seen from the Tessellated Pavement! January 2011.
Comments
They are all in my computer or on disc if you wish to see them.
No rivets were used in the cutting of trees. Honest. Ask your mum. She was there. Had her own chainsaw too.
But a sad story of the dogs, sharks, convicts.
Dina, yes it is. It is a rare erosional feature formed in flat sedimentary rock formations lying on some ocean shores. The rock fractures into polygonal blocks that resemble tiles. The cracks are formed when the rock fractures through the action of stress on the Earth's crust and subsequently modified by sand and wave action.
Simple really!