I am so excited about today, I hardly slept a wink because I was worried I would sleep in and miss the cruise. We were up early and at the Strahan wharf by 8am, the cruise starts at 8.30am. The Lady Jane Franklin II is fantastic! We had the cheap seats, $85 each in the atrium which is the middle of the boat, we didn't see the point in paying $110 for window seats or $210 for the Captain's deck because as soon as the cruise starts you are allowed to move where ever you want. There are 3 decks and modern facilities, I laughed because I had never encountered a vacuum toilet before, I'd like one of those at home.
We headed past the lighthouses and out through Macquarie heads, or
Hell's Gates as the convicts called them, and into the southern ocean where the waves can reach 20 metres in height. 16 ships have been wrecked here.
Near the harbour mouth is the ruins of a 3 kilometre stone wall which was built by 300 men over a period of 2 years in the 1890's.
The purpose of the wall is to keep sand out of the channel, it works like a funnel which keeps the channel clear without the need for dredging. Along the top of the wall are the remains of a railway line.
Heading back through Macquarie Heads.
Cruising through Macquarie Harbour we saw the salmon and trout farms. I don't know how many pens there are, lots and lots, but I do know that each pen holds about 25,000 fish.
A funny day, cold but lovely when the sun breaks through. We cruised past Sarah Island and into the most beautiful and amazing Gordon river.
Back in 1982 & 1983 the Tasmanian Government and the Tasmanian Wilderness Society came to loggerheads over this area. The Tasmanian Government wanted to flood the middle reaches of the Gordon and Franklin rivers as a power scheme, the Wilderness Society wanted the Gordon and Franklin rivers to run free. The fight went all the way to the High Court of Australia which ruled in favour of the Wilderness Society.
This is now a World Heritage Area, and on a global scale it surpasses the Pyramids of Egypt & Stonehenge in England by meeting 7 out of the 10 required criteria. This is ancient forest and it is so beautiful it moves you and you wonder how people could ever think of destroying it.
You are not allowed to have power boats on the river so there is a tug which takes them up river for you.
A Huon pine growing next to the river.
As you get closer to Heritage Landing the river changes and becomes a highly polished mirror.
When you get to Heritage Landing the boat stops and you can get off for a nature walk.
Back on the boat it is now lunch time, lunch is included in the ticket price and is a smorgasbord, all day tea and coffee is also included.
Once we leave the Gordon river we head for Sarah Island, Tasmania's first convict settlement (1821 - 1833), for a walk and talk.
The worst of the convicts on Sarah Island were put into gangs and sent up the Gordon river to fell and haul huon pine, some were so desperate they would confess to murders they hadn't committed just so they could hang. Sarah Island became a shipyard using the rot-resistant huon pine in it's ship building. A total of 131 vessels where built at Sarah Island. In 1827 a Scottish shipwright named David Hoy arrived on Sarah Island and under his direction crimes and attempted escapes fell by 90%. Governor Arthur didn't like the idea of his convicts being "happy" and ordered the closure of Sarah Island.
When Governor Arthur closed Sarah Island the 120 ton Brig
The Frederick was unfinished, so 10 convicts and 1 guard were left behind to finish the job. Can you guess what happened? LMAO, once the ship was finished they all jumped in and sailed for Chile where they lived as free men.
4 of the men were recaptured and tried at Hobart Town as pirates, somehow these men evaded execution and were freed on a technicality.
Back on the boat and back to Strahan and reality. Off to the post office to pay some bills and send a couple of postcards. We laughed that I was paying my Victorian bills in a Tasmanian post office using my Queensland bank account.
Next we went to Woodworks, a place where they mill timber and create wood products. So expensive! I couldn't afford anything in their shop, but I did take pictures of a couple of things.
A lizard carved from Huon pine.
Mother and child - Huon pine
And if you've got a lazy $15,000, maybe you'd like to purchase this hand crafted 10' Huon pine dinghy, with hand made brass & stainless steel fittings and marine grade finish. The centre board, rowlock braces, gunwales and tiller arm are Blackwood and it has a Douglas Fir mast and Pine oars.
It was now time to leave Strahan and head for Queenstown.
It was an easy drive, along the way we saw this monument commemorating the building of the road from Strahan to Queenstown in1835, the road opened in 1837. There was another plaque for the Zeehan Highway which opened in 1841.
The view coming into Queenstown.
The Queenstown caravan park was closed until 5pm so we went into town for something to eat. We had egg and bacon pie, which just between you, me and the gatepost was very average compared to mine. Glenn said he didn't like Queenstown and the place was creeping him out so we decided to leave and head for Lake St. Claire. The drive out of Queenstown was a steep, windy and narrow road. We stopped and took a couple of pictures.
Lake Burbury.
We then came to the World Heritage Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
We took a walk up to Nelson falls, gorgeous.
Headed through Victoria Pass and past Frenchman Cap. By now it was starting to get dark, I took a very bad photo of King William Saddle. We finally made Lake St. Claire only to be told you have to book in by 3pm! So, back on the road again. A little way up the road we stopped at a truck stop and tried to get some sleep. I just layed there for 2 hours, it was so dark and so quiet and every 30 seconds a frog would croak, it gave me the heebie jeebies. Glenn couldn't sleep either so we packed up and headed for Hobart. We played dodge the potoroo, wallaby, bandicoot, echidna, kangaroo and brush tail possum as we drove along. One brush tail possum sat right in the middle of the road, we had to fully stop, he then turned and zig zagged down the road, so cute, he looked like he was dancing. Saddest thing I saw was a wallaby sitting in the middle of the road with it's dead mate, heartbreaking. We got to Berriedale about 2.30am and found a 24 hour macca's. Ut oh, the car wouldn't start *#@&^%, so one of the macca's employees gave us a jump start. We found a caravan park and slept. What a day!
Earlier that morning on the way to the airwalk we saw a sign that just said BIG TREE - 1km, which we laughed at saying "they're all big trees", but now we where more curious and decided to take a look. WOW! They call this tree the "Queen Without A Crown", she is a swamp gum and stands 87 metres tall, she is 6.2 metres in diametre and weighs 405 tonnes! She is the only tree to have survived the 1914, 1934 and 1967 fires. It was impossible to get a picture of the entire tree, but this shot gives you an idea of her size.
