HISTORICAL SITES AND HERITAGE LOCATIONS EAGLEHAWK NECK

Come face to face with real live Tasmanian devils and encounter our unique native animals on a day visit to Tasmania's leading wildlife centre.

You'll see devils feeding - up to four times a day - snarling and doing what they do best, crushing up bones and generally being, well, devilish.

See our raptors fly and watch the dive of the falcon in "Kings of the Wind" ™, our unique outdoor free-flight presentation. You'll also see friendly little parrots play some unusual tricks and discover how birds can recognize colours.

You can hand feed kangaroos, walk among friendly wallabies, take a wildlife walk to see eagles and rare hawks.

Federation Chocolate is a chocolate factory and museum at Taranna, on the Tasman Peninsula. Taranna is a 75 minutes' drive from Hobart (88 kilometres/55 miles) and 15 minutes before the Port Arthur Historic Site (10 kilometres/six miles). Federation Chocolate is a family-owned Tasmanian business producing fine handmade chocolates. In the Federation Chocolate Factory, opened in 2004, you can watch the fine art of chocolate making through purpose-built viewing windows. Taste samples from the tempting range, including unusual varieties like liquorice and apple, and choose a few blocks of your favourite to take home. You can also visit the Federation Heritage Museum, which celebrates the Tasman Peninsula's convict history, saw milling and blacksmithing industries in a display of historic artefacts, photographs and memorabilia. The Museum itself has a number of historic features, including convict-cut sandstone, timber columns and beams salvaged from a colonial-era wharf and an elegant front door - restored with leadlight by a local artist - salvaged from a Federation house in Huonville. Federation Chocolate is owned and operated by the Tatnell family, Generations of whom have lived and worked on the Tasman Peninsula as saw millers and blacksmiths since the early 19th century.

The Tasman National Park hugs the coast of the Tasman Peninsula in south eastern Tasmania. You can reach the Park from the Arthur Highway at Eaglehawk Neck, an hour south east of Hobart (80 kilometres/50 miles); and also from Fortescue Bay and Port Arthur, 90 minutes south east of Hobart (102 kilometres/63 miles). The stars of the 8,312-hectare (20,780-acre) Tasman National Park are its monumental rock formations. Here you can see rock stacks, arches, sea caves and 300-metre (986-foot) high cliffs created by 6,000 years of wave action on the peninsula's sandstone, dolerite and granite. You can visit Tasman Arch, the Blowhole, Devils Kitchen, Tessellated Pavement, Remarkable Cave and Waterfall Bay by car, but the best views are from the Park's many bushwalks. Short walks include Waterfall Bay (60-90 minutes), Bivouac Bay (three hours), Cape Hauy (four hours) and Cape Raoul (five hours). You can go rock climbing, scuba diving and surfing here, and the Park is rich in wildlife. Whales, dolphins, penguins and seals can often be seen from the shore or a wildlife cruise. Watch for foraging possums and wallabies in the bush at dawn and dusk - you may even encounter an elusive Tasmanian devil. Current park passes must be purchased for entry to Tasmania's national parks. For full details please visit the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife website.

The isthmus of land only a few hundred metres wide at Eaglehawk Neck is the reason Port Arthur was chosen as the site for a prison -- the tiny strip of land was easily patrolled, and in those times few were able to swim and make a break for it that way. A line of dogs, tethered at short intervals, roused the soldiers if anyone tried to get by. The Officers Quarters has been restored as a museum interpreting the history and life at Eaglehawk Neck. The 1832 quarters is reputed to be the oldest wooden military building remaining in Australia. Nearby is the Officers Mess, a modern restaurant and coffee shop, and also the information centre for the man-made features and natural phenomena in the surrounding area.