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On our second morning in Strahan, we boarded the Lady Jane Nelson II and
cruised Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River. We began the trip
with a run out through Hell's Gate, the entrance to the harbour through
Macquarie Heads. The convicts that were brought to this area in
the 1920's to cut pine for the shipbuilding industry named the entrance
as they truly thought this place was Hell on earth. The harbour,
depending on who one is talking is between two and six times the size of
Sydney Harbour. It is fresh water on top and salt water beneath
and as such does not support a very sizeable fish population. It
is quite clean water, though, and the aquaculture industry is thriving
along the shores. Trout and salmon seem to do quite well.
Our cruise took us up the Gordon River where we walked in the rainforest
and then had a gourmet lunch. Above is the lighthouse at Hell's
Gate
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As we motored through the harbour, we came through a pod of
dolphins who decided to play with the boat. |
This tiny rock is Grummet Island where the prisoners from nearby
Sarah Island were sent for solitary confinement. |
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The rainforest supports a wide variety of plant life. I couldn't
help but be impressed by this fern growing beneath a hanging
branch. |
On this
old Huon pine log, we found a couple of Tiger Snakes, of of
three Tasmanian Snakes, all venomous. |
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This is why bushwhacking or scrub bashing as it is called here
is not only not advisable, but it is not possible. This is
what confronted escaping convicts as they tried to make their
way inland back to civilization. |
I've been
talking about Huon Pine for a long time and I realized I had
never taken a picture of what it looks like. Here is a
small tree perhaps only a hundred years old or so. |
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The weather wasn't very flash during our harbour cruise, but it
rains 300 days a year here. It is also usually very windy,
but we had a calm day as you can see by the smooth water (not
very lumpy!) |
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