Strahan Part 2

Strahan is a very busy tourist hub, mainly because of the many attractions and activities on offer. One of the major attractions we opted to persue was to cruise the Gordon River. There are two vendors supplying this service, we chose 'Heritage River Cruises' because many of the people we spoke to on our travels recommended them, and also they are a local Strahan Company. So if you are there, go on the "Red Boat". The crew are fantastic, the commentary is excellent and the luncheon is superb.

There are 4 thrillseekers and the pilot crammed into this tiny seaplane, racing across Strahan harbour and heading for the opposite tree line.

The main light house at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour.

We went out 'Hells Gates' to the open ocean and we are now returning to Macquarie Harbour through the same very narrow opening. The two lighthouses you can see in this photo are the "lead lighthouses" that guide you into the harbour.

The outer lead lighthouse at close range.

At the entrance to The Gordon River  are thriving Aquaculture Enterprises. They farm Trout and Salmon here. This is the feeding process in action. The feed is fired into pen by a water cannon.

This is the harvesting process. The fish are scooped out with the net attached to the crane, they are then placed in bins of water and carbon dioxide is bubbled through the water to stun the fish until they reach the processing plant at Launceston.

Sarah Island was a Convict Colony in Tasmania for about 13 years. It was closed down because of the cost to The State. Sarah Island was replaced by Port Arthur Convict Colony. One of the ruins on Sarah Island. This one was the solitary confinement cell.

This was the Bakery at Sarah Island. The weather on the day we visited was perfect, you would think that this was really a holiday destination not a prison.

Our guide on the tour was very animated, humorous and theatrical, actually too animated as I was taking the photo she moved her hand in front of her face. Roger and Belinda, if you are looking at this, who is the guy in white shorts and shirt standing beside the girl in the red t/shirt?

What remains of the Penitentiary on Sarah Island. Many of the bricks and much of the stone was removed from the island and transported to Strahan for the construction of buildings there.

We have finished our tour of Sarah Island and moving back on board our cruise vessel, "Eagle". It is bigger and better than the opposition's boat.

Reflections on The Gordon River. The green landing seen at the shore line is the landing point for a fishermans' hut. Apparently the hut is unlocked and free to use.

Further into the 'Gordon' and the water is really glassy. Perfect for reflections. All the rivers running out to the west coast are stained with tannin, this we have been told comes from the button grass on the highlands. The tannin does not affect the the drinking quality of the water. There is one exception to this rule and that is the King River, I'll show you that on the following blog, 

There is a rain-forrest walk on the 'Gordon Cruise' and of course I have to get a shot of some fungii growth. Actually double dipped here, moss and fungii.

The tree that is attracting so much attention is a 70 year old Huon Pine. The growth of these trees is extremely slow. On average, one mm diameter per year.