So what have we been up to in Tasmania for the last week Part 2

After heading over the Pieman River on the Fatman Barge (how good are those names!), we left Corinna to head towards Strahan on the west coast. We arrived late afternoon to find the whole town completely booked out, including both caravan parks.

Luckily the local golf club allows caravans and motorhomes to camp, so we headed up there, glad that if we need to be, we are completely self sufficient in terms of power, water and toilets. It wasn't too bad, we were right next to an oval so the soccer and rugby balls got a good workout and there were plenty of yellow flowers to make daisy chains.

After spending a day wandering around Strahan, we decided there's not much to it. The reason everyone comes to the town is to get on a ship or a helicopter or a sea plane and explore the region beyond.

Which is exactly what we did with our lovely friends from Canberra: Scott, Felicity, Mia and Lilah. We all booked onto a World Heritage cruise together, and I am so glad that we did. It was an amazing experience.

Our ship - the Eagle

Hell's Gates - the heads into Macquarie Harbour

 The cruise took us around Macquarie Harbour, where the views of the mountains surrounding it were spectacular. We then went through a tiny 80m gap called "Hell's Gates" into the Southern Ocean. How the old sailing ships of the past managed the passage is quite astounding.

The first highlight of the cruise was a stop at Sarah Island, a place with a fascinating convict past as an island of ultimate punishment that ended up becoming one of the most productive and successful boat building ports in the country.

We went on a walking tour with a fun guide, an actor who really bought the island alive - Dylan and Lukas were both escapee convicts who were hanged! It was one of those moments you sometimes have with kids where historical significance is uniquely combined with everyday life - Evie and Max played amongst the ruins of a convict building and Lukas carried his soccer ball for the whole tour to initiate what he hopes is the first game of modern soccer played on Sarah Island!

It really is a fascinating place, check out this link to read more of the story:
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/indeX.aspX?base=2799

The journey now left behind the convict past and focused on the much more ancient one of the World Heritage-listed national park on the Gordon and Franklin Rivers.

We cruised up the Gordon River through the ruggedly beautiful mountain ranges (while enjoying a delicious buffet lunch of course!) and walked through some of the world-heritage listed rainforest.

There were Huon Pines that were 600 years old and a beautiful silence that made me appreciate the significance of where we were standing. Dylan really felt it to, he knew it was a special place to have visited.

As we cruised back up the river, we sat on the deck with the wind in our hair and just breathed it all in.



 A glorious day with a glorious sunset to top it off!