Today we went on a harbour/river cruise and had a very pleasant time.. We covered 120 km from the wharf at Strahan down Macquarie Harbour and out through the Hell’s Gates into open ocean. The harbour is twice the size of Sydney harbour. On return we stopped for an hour for a guided tour of Sarah Island – the site of a penal settlement for incorrigibles. Its isolation and the rugged terrain was supposed to prevent escape attempts – it didn’t work. It is the basis for the book “For the Term of his Natural Life”.
Back on the 110 ton catamaran, the “Eagle” we headed for the Gordon River and followed it as far as Heritage Landing. (This is the limit for commercial vessels,) A nice salad and cold meat smorgasbord was served and it included oodles of Smoked Salmon and King Island Brie. We went ashore and did a rainforest walk on the boardwalks. The whole region is a World Heritage Listed area.
The water in the harbour and river are both tea coloured due to tannin leached from the forest. It also contains a natural surfactant that produces a foam when the water is disturbed.
When we got back we visited one of only four sawmills registered to process Huon Pine. It was logged extensively for some 100 years but is now a protected species. The sawmills can only work with dead trunks retrieved from the rivers and valleys. As Huon pine contains a natural preservative the logs are still commercially valuable.
We have decided to stay an extra day as tomorrow is meant to be wet – not good for driving in the mountains. It rains 300 days a year in Strahan and the average rainfall is 150” or nearly 6000mm.
Just a reminder you can click on the photos for a full version.
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