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After we got off the Gordon River Cruise we walked down the wharf to
investigate a plane ride and we were asked if we would like to go right
now, so we climbed aboard the Cessna Caravan which holds up to fourteen
people and twelve of us set off on an adventure. We flew out over
the harbour entrance and the beach before turning east and heading
towards Frenchman's Cap, a really distinctive feature of the landscape,
visible from many directions all over the west. We then landed on
the Gordon River at Sir John Falls and the site of the confrontation
between what was to become the Green Party and the HEC (HydroElectric
Commission) over the construction of a dam on the Gordon River just
below the junction with the Franklin River.
Eventually 1400 people were arrested, three governments fell and after a
long battle the issue was settled in favor of the people and the
Franklin remains wild and scenic today. We took off after scooting
around a couple of bends under power and just managed to miss a huge
rock the size of our house in the middle of the river. It was
pretty exciting.
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