Tasmania 4

So, back to the Tassie trip.

The drive to Strahan was long, winding and very very steep in places. On one hill, I had to pull over near the bottom, because the brakes on the hire car were smoking! By the time I got to Strahan, it was dark and raining.

I was staying with my parents and their friends in the cottage they had booked. We all had the same list of things we wanted to see in Strahan, so it worked out well.

The next day (first day in Strahan), we were booked onto a Gordon river cruise. We were a bit concerned that the cruise might not run, as the weather was very wet and windy, but apparently that is not unusual for Strahan (annual rainfall of approx 3 meters!). The cruise took us down the Gordon river to Sarah Island. Sarah Island was a convict settlement for "re-offenders", or convicts who committed further crimes after arriving in Australia. The island is very small, and fairly bleak. There is not much of the settlement left, just the foundations. The tour guide told us about the history of the settlement, including the mutiny. The settlement was eventually closed down and a new settlement opened up at Port Arthur. It was pouring rain while we were there (I was very glad of my rain coat and umbrella) so I didn't take any photos.

The next stop was Heritage landing. This is a loop track/boardwalk, through native rain forest, including stands of Huon pines. Apparently Huon pine is very prized by shipbuilders and other wood workers for it's natural ability to repel pests. As a consequence, after massive amounts of logging, there is not a lot of Huon pine left, and logging of Huon pine is now illegal, except for removal of deadfall. At Heritage landing the rain eased off a bit, so here are some photos.

Boardwalk

A section of a Huon Pine

A stand of Huon Pine

Views from the Boardwalk

Here are some views of the Gordon River. The wake from the boat looks very brown because of tannin which seeps into the water from native plants.

I get fairly sea sick, and the water was fairly rough, due the weather. I had taken some seasickness tablets, but by the end of the trip I was starting to feel pretty exhausted. Once we got back to the cabin, I lay down and was asleep for the rest of the day.