Strahan - 14-15/04/2024

Next stop - Strahan (population 658) - formerly the port servicing the local mining communities in the 19th century, nowadays, tourism is Strahan's main focus.

Wilderness Railway Station

Customs House and Post Office

Strahan was always a must see in our travel plan. We stayed at Strahan Beach Caravan Park.  Pretty much rained the whole time for the duration of our visit.  However, we had some small windows of respite, enough to get around and check out as much as we could fit into the 2 days there.

 

Walking access to Hogarth Falls is from the local park within the town.  It's an easy walk along formed tracks and boardwalks through rainforest.

Hogarth Falls

On the second day, we took the 'Spirit of the Wild' (the grey boat) on the Gordon River Cruise.  There are two operators that run this cruise experience - the Red Boat and the Grey Boat.  We can't fault our experience.  Six hours takes you out on the Macquarie Harbour through Hells Gates in the open ocean - crack a u-bolt back through the harbour and down the mouth of the Gordon River.  Once you enter the river, the boat switches to electric motors and the silence and sense of calm can't be overstated.

Mouth of the Gordon River

This old Huon Pine died and fell about 25 years ago.  It has been dated as 2300 years of age.

 

At the turn around point, we went ashore for a short immersive experience in the wilderness.  Back on board, a wonderful buffet lunch was served as we cruised back to the mouth of the river.  The heavy overcast skies and misty rain added to the ambience of the place.  Hopefully, the photos do it justice.

 

Our turn around point up the river

On our return, we past the red boat cruising up the river

Hells Gates

Hells Gates Lighthouse

On our return up the harbour, we landed at Sarah Island where we had a very animated guided tour through the ruins of the former convict settlement.

 

Solitary confinement cells

All aboard!

Rain followed us home

That night we went to the play - "The Ship that Never Was".  Last year, the play celebrated its 30th birthday.  The play has a cast of three, one of which was our tour guide on Sarah Island.  It's all about audience participation.
Enjoyed that - it was a blast!

Queenstown - 12-13/04/2024

Queenstown, our next stop, is a town in the West Coast region of the state. It is in a valley on the western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range.  The drive from Derwent Bridge is a dramatic entrance to town with the Lyell highway descending steeply via switchbacks.  Pretty hairy descent on wet, slippery roads with a van on our back.   It rained all the way from Derwent Bridge and rained pretty much the whole time we were in Queenstown. 

The legacy remains of Queenstown's history of gold and copper mining.  The moonscape surroundings are a testament to that.

We stayed at the Queenstown Cabins and Tourist Park, a small but spacious, clean and tidy park and reasonably priced at $45/night.  We stayed 2 nights (Friday and Saturday).

Although it rained most of our stay, we did have some scattered respite, long enough to enjoy the sights of the area so we spent Saturday exploring.

We took a trip on the Wilderness Railway which we'd recommend if in the area - an informative and light-hearted commentary of Queenstown's history is provided along the ride.

Changing the points to bring the loco to the other end of the train for the trip home

Judy tried her hand at gold panning.  Plastic pans!  I'm sure if there was ever gold in those tubs, it would have been found long before today.

After returning from the train ride, we headed back toward Derwent bridge to check out Nelson Falls - yep, chasing waterfalls again!  We drove past the day before, but due to the weather, decide to give it a miss.  It's a 45 minute easy walk to the falls and back.  The falls were pumpin' hard!  The walk takes you along the eastern bank of the Nelson River through dense rainforest - one of the nicest walks we've done.

Along the 30km drive back to town, we checked out a few places we could stop at with the van the previous day in the rain.

Horsetail Falls

The ruins of the Linda Hotel

A misty scene on the side of the Lyell Highway

"The Iron Blow" - an old copper mine pit.  Don't ask!

"The Gravel" - Queenstown's local AFL field - the playing surface is gravel.  Ouch!

Before we make our way north towards Devonport, we head to Strahan for a couple of days stay - See you in Strahan!

 

Derwent Bridge - 11/04/2024

Derwent Bridge (population 40) is a small local community in the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

We chose to park at a self contained free camp at the local pub - Derwent Bridge Wilderness Hotel which is right by the Lyell highway.

 

Derwent Bridge is the home of "The Wall" - a 100m sculpture piece by artist Greg Duncan.  No cameras are allowed inside.  This is simply brilliant.  Entry fee is $20. 

The gallery consists of a double sided 50m wall of wood carvings of exquisite detail and is a must do if you are ever in the central highlands of Tassie.  (https://thewalltasmania.com.au/)

Derwent Bridge is a convenient home base to explore Lake St Clair about 6km away from town (I use the term 'town' loosely.  After The Wall, we enjoyed a very nice burger for lunch at the 'Hungry Wombat' headed out after leaving The Wall to Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park.  We spent a couple of hours at the lake taking our time to do one of the shorter walks along the western coast of the lake.

Pink Mountain Berry

The junction of the Cuvier and Hugel Rivers

Next morning before we left the area, we took another drive out to the lake at sunrise.  The weather came in heavily overcast along with a misty drizzle.  

Lake St Clair

Lake St Clair

A little fresh sunlight finally broke through.  This is Pumphouse Point which is an accommodation venue.

 We departed Derwent Bridge to head west along the Lyell Highway.  Next stop - Queenstown.