Thursday 11^th February 2016

Having seen all we had planned to at Port Arthur for today, we set off to explore some of the Tasman Peninsula’s natural phenomena.

Tasmans Arch – what’s left of a large sea cave or tunnel created by wave action over thousands of years.

Cliffs along the shoreline.

Devil’s Kitchen – older than Tasmans Arch, the arch has collapsed here leaving a gulch.

Not a natural phenomenon, but an amusing town’s name.

Pirate’s Bay beach has a very interesting pattern of rock erosion – a tessellated pavement.

Looking down on the tessellated pavement from the cliff above.

There are two types of tessellations, depending on the position of the rock in relation to the tide.  The two types are referred to as ‘pans’ (left picture above) and ‘loaves’ (right picture above).  In the pictures below, Steve and I are standing on ‘loaves’.   They erode along the joints leaving a rounded top that makes the blocks look like loaves of bread.

It’s amazing to see how the action of the water has eroded the rocks in this particular way.

Below are ‘pans’.  They are found further from the seashore and are dry for longer periods of time.  This allows salt to dry on their surfaces which then erode faster than the joints which in turn begin to stand proud of the surface and form the edges of the ‘pans’.

Isn’t nature wonderful?