Trip Report Contents
Day Four: Strahan (Cruising the clouds)
Quick Summary: On a cloudy,
misty, damp day, we took a cruise out to the Southern Ocean and up the
spectacular Gordon River.
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A Relaxing Morning in
Strahan
Since we’d been
early-to-rise most of the trip thus far, we slept in a little on our first day
in Strahan. Strahan is a small little village without much to see
directly in-town. It’s basically a jumping off point for the wilderness
area at its back, including the Gordon River. Cruising the Gordon River
is on every visitor’s must-do list, so of course it was on ours.
We booked an afternoon
cruise, which included a buffet supper, in addition to the sailing. That
left us with the morning and into the early afternoon free to explore
Strahan. We walked to town, about ten minutes from the hotel. We
had breakfast, then strolled around, going into the few shops there.
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| Walking into Strahan: this is the village |
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| This walk--and the adjacent street--are called The Esplanade |
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| Another shot of the village of Strahan |
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| The post office building... |
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| ...or, by another name "Post & Telegraph Office." We did post a couple of postcards, though we couldn't come up with a telegraph to send off |
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| Lunch in Strahan: Wallaby steak |
Knowing we wouldn’t have
the buffet until five o’clock or so, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch
before going back to the hotel and regrouping for the cruise.
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| For a brief moment the sun came out. Spoiler alert: it did not last for more than about ten minutes |
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| Another shot of blue sky, just about the last we'd see |
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| Looking back at our hotel |
The River Cruise
The weather did not
cooperate at all with our plans, and a steady rain greeted us dockside.
This is really a shame because The Gordon River is known for its famously
reflective black water. Of course, the water has to be still for the
reflective qualities to be seen (the falling rain troubled the water a bit too
much), and sun is also awfully helpful to this (it remained well-hidden by the
rainclouds).
We nevertheless boarded
the catamaran and set sail. The narrated cruise takes tourists out across
MacQuarie Harbour and through the gate, turning around where the gate meets the
Southern Ocean. The wind was up and the ocean was exceptionally rough
that day, causing the boat to rock, sending unsecured glasses and dishes
crashing to the floor. In spite of the weather, this was a pretty
spectacular sight.
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| Inside the boat |
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| Clouds; rain; choppy water |
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| Not the most perfect day for a boat ride |
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Headed out to sea
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| Passing the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor |
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| Angry seas |
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Small, little lighthouse, on a tiny, rocky outcropping
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| Out past the lighthouse and briefly out in the ocean, The Southern Ocean. The next day we'd be on the beach one sees in this photo |
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| Another lighthouse shot |
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| ...and another lighthouse shot |
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| The sun gives a little tease. It was only a tease |
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| Oyster farms |
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Fellow passengers brought something to protect their table: a stuffed Tasmanian Devil toy
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Back through the gate, we
cruised the harbour, past the arc we would naturally take to go back to
Strahan, and to one of the small, uninhabited islands. We disembarked the
boat and were treated to a tour of the island, including its history and lots
of information about the flora and fauna on the island and in the area,
including in-depth information about the wonderful Huon Pinetree. We
walked through rainforest and, just as we were almost back to the boat, the sky
opened, keeping the rainforest from being just a forest! As luck would
have it, I was the only one with an umbrella!
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| Our boat |
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| Our boat, floating on the black waters |
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| Just off the boat, and onto the island |
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| Lush, green, and huge ferns and other trees |
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| Looking out at the choppy water |
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| See, I wrote that the sun wouldn't last! |
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| Notice how black the water is in this photo. It is not an optical illusion: the water flows through roots and ground that lends the tannins and whatever else it takes to look like this. It's amazing how reflective it is. I can only imagine what it must be like in the sunshine |
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Beautiful trees
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| The boardwalk that one uses to make ones way around the island |
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| Lush moss and forest growth |
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| More moss |
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| Fungi, growing on the tree's bark |
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| Here one sees a downed Huon pine. Interestingly enough, the tree does not rot, so even trees dead hundreds of years can still be used. Also, Huons have been found that are over a thousand years old |
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| In the forest |
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| In the forest |
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| These tiny, little specs (have a look at the thumb in the photo to get perspective), are the tree's pine cones |
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| Crosscut of a Huon, to show its age |
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| In this shot one sees how dark the water is as it is stirred by the boat's motors |
We returned to our seat,
which was directly next to the buffet, which the staff had been setting while
we were on the island. They soon announced that the meal was served, just
as we pushed back from the dock and started our slow, quiet cruise up the
Gordon River. Even though the weather was most uncooperative, the cruise
was nice and the river was beautiful. There are organic properties in the
vegetation and soil that filter the water and cause it to be very dark,
appearing black. When the water is stirred by the boat motors it looks
something like Guinness beer. The river flows down from uninhabited,
nearly impenetrable wilderness, so in spite of its color, the water is said to
be pure enough to drink.
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| The water really looks like a Guinness! |
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| Cruising the Gordon River |
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| Cruising the Gordon River |
Nighttime in Tassie:
You Can Feel the Darkness
By the time we made it
back to the dock at Strahan, it was after 8:30 and the sky had turned pitch
black. We walked the half mile back to the hotel in the darkest dark I
think I’d been in in a long time. The footpath is sparsely lite and one
relies on the pure whiteness of the newly-poured concrete footpath. At
one point we met a couple of people headed into town. The darkness was so
thick and profound that they really seemed to just materialize out of
nowhere. It was strange and very eerie. But, it was an interesting
sensation that we’ve talked about several times since.
Back at
the room we unwound a little, chatted about our journey, and retired for the
night.
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