Wilderness areas are such vital resources in the dwindling untouched areas of our planet. And yet, for these to be understood and appreciated for what they are and the important role they play, people need the opportunity to safely explore these areas.
This morning we are up the earliest we have started since leaving Brisbane. The alarm goes off at 5:30am. Argh, on holidays that seems all too early! But it is for good cause. This morning we are driving from Queenstown over the mountains and down the west coast slightly to Strahan to join the World Heritage Cruises, a local family-owned company who operate cruises on the Gordon River. We get to Strahan in the early morning light, with Gen dropping me off near the door and going to find the parking.
Remember, we were lucky to get the last two tickets on this boat. As I walk across the wharf apron towards the booking office, I marvel at the sleek vessel that sits alongside. It sure looks like someone has made a significant investment in this business. I can only hope that the last two years of Covid restrictions haven't crippled them. Surely now though, they are well into recovery. This boats seats 192 persons and carries 8 crew and 1 skipper. It is fully booked. And there is a second boat the same that we can only assume is also fully booked. Gen and I did a bit of mathematical calculation and at the income (less staffing, fuel and services) the company should easily service their debt. Good on them.
I get into the office and see one of the sales staff immediately. While we had booked and paid for our tickets over the phone, I still need to collect them. I ask whether there was any option for Upper Deck seats - in the event of a cancellation or no-show. She explains that there have already been some requests, but that she will add our name to the list. In the meantime, she can offer us an upgrade from the centre seats to two window seats. Yes thank you, we most definitely want the upgrade. Another $70? Sure. An upgrade to the upper deck would have been another $150+.
We get the call to board the boat at 8 am. We are the first in line, and as the crew warmly welcome up aboard, I repeat my request to be considered for any possibility of an upgrade to the upper lounge. We are told that it will be highly unlikely, and are shown to our seats 341 and 342 on the starboard (right) side of the boat. The boat is filled very efficiently with two of the crew on the main deck and another three on the upper deck, just directing people to their seats. In every sense, this is a very well-oiled machine!
The boat is filled, and we are pulling away from the wharf on time at 8:30am. For the size of the vessel, it is very manouverable and responsive. The captain guides the boat - the Spirit of the Wind deftly through the Macquarie Harbour. A running commentary is continued by the crew, interspersed with video presentations by various 'charachters' that we get to know during our trip. We learn of the selttement of Strahan and the development of the company in whose hands we place ourselves today.
We commence our trip in Macquarie Harbour and travel the only safe channel with the history of past (early) engineering feats to render the passage safe for all vessels - of underwater 'walls' constructed with rock mined from the surrounding mountains. We continue at a standard speed, with very little wake - its amazing the power yet gentleness of such a large catamaran. There is no other marine traffic and there is a light rain falling gently against the huge picture windows that run the length of the boat. Inside, the cabin is spacious, with seating in a 2 aisle,4 ailse, 4 aisle, 2 seat configuration. despite the number of passengers, it is not crowded. Behind us is a service area where you can purchase snacks, morning tea, coffee, or alcoholic drinks. Lunch is included in the price of the tickets.
I digress. We are approaching Hells Gates. while it might sound alarming, in today's world of technological feats, this narrow passage, surrounded by shallows that can be as little as inches deep, provides the only route out of Macquarie Harbour - and in to the wilder Southern Ocean with ease. This is the realm of the almighty 'Roaring Forties' those infamous winds that have been the downfall of many a sailor! Inside the gates, it is easy to tell where the channel runs as the water looks a deep blue. All the other waters are varying shades of an almost tropical azure - reflecting the shallowness of those waters. From time to time during the voyage, the captain displays the depth (electronic) charts he is following and we can easily see the channel. We are now through the 'gates' and into deeper water. There are whitcaps all around us, yet the rise is still smooth, we can feel an increase in the swell, but it is not alarming, just more of a slight rolling sensation.
The next point of interest is to be shown a small part of the large industry that is salmon farming. We are advised that there are three companies farming salmon here in large circular 'pens' covered with mess, not to keep the fish in, but to keep predators out. Predators that include the Australian Fur Seal who very 'on-cue' pops his head to acknowledge the mention - far too fast for anyone to capture it by photo. Here one second, gone the next! Much of the process is mechanised with large vessels pulling up alongside the pens to dispense feed, clean pens and the waters they sit in, and even to vacuum harvest the fish from the waters once they have reached a marketable size.
We continue past Sarah Island, the home of yet another penal colony in this beautiful, isolated part of the world. Here were housed repeat offenders from points all over the settled world. But more of that later.
We have now reached the mouth of the mighty Gordon River. Without this cruise, the only way to see this area is by overland hike - and a very significant one at that. We have entered the World Heritage Listed area are the Gordon-Franklin River systems. The boat pauses, momentarily, as the diesel engines are switched to almost silent electric engines for the cruise in to the pristine waters that might have been lost. (There is a fleeting reference to the Green Lobby that saw the danger of dam construction in this area stopped, but this is definitely not the focus of the day.) There are a number of reasons that this hybrid boat with its electric engines is used. This provides the smoothest possible ride, and leaves no wake in its path. No wake means minimal water disturbance, and no damage to the banks of the river. Walk lightly, leaving nothing but footprints. We continue upriver until we reach the Gordon River Heritage Landing. It is here passengers disembark for a 45 minute walk to explore the old rainforest environment. I didn't partake as I wasn't sure that I could have completed the whole walk that is a one-way circuit all on a boardwalk again the manage any possible damage to this pristine area. Everyone returns to the vessel rosy cheeked from the chill, but animated with their stories of finds. Gen brings back photos including some of the largest fungi she/we have ever seen.
The company knows their passengers. It is know that they announce that lunch will be served. As I said before, a very well-oiled machine. They call small blocks of seats at a time to come to the service area, collect a plate, select your choice of lunch from a buffet of all Tasmanian produce including smoked salmon, freshly shaved ham, chicken pieces, pasta salad, coleslaw, potato salad, beetroot salad and green leaves. Breadrolls and butter complete the choices. You took what you wanted, and really there was no limit. Generous helpings of that salmon with thinly sliced segments of lemon available, were taken by almost everyone. And they just kept filling the platters! That smoked salmon was some of the freshest salmon I think I have ever tasted, not having smoked it myself. Lunch over, the staff collected plates rather than having a whole group of people milling around with scraps and empty plates - well-oiled!!
We are quietly motoring back towards Macquarie Harbour. Sated, people are quiet, reflecting on their experience thus far. There are mangroves, lush grassy banks and reed beds protecting towering trees, fallen logs that are slowly decaying to provide feed for new growth, and ferns like you imagine were found in Gwondanaland. It is magical. And green. Rich and precious.
Before too long, we are back at Sarah Island. The boat stops in sight of some of the salmon pens and some of the passengers step ashore to explore the harshest convict settlement in Australia. A 1hour guided tour, reliving the absorbing tale of how the convicts turned a hell on earth into one of the largest ship building yards in Australia. Pre-dating Port Arthur and feared by every convict, this settlement has a 'history with a twist'. The guide, Kiah, was the lady we booked our tickets with and she is enthralling and engaging. Again, I waited aboard while Gen joined those on-shore. Once all who wanted to go shore were ashore, I carefully got off the boat and walked the jetty, getting some photos of sandbeds, exposing shorelines and clumps of rocks. There is plenty of evidence of the former uses on Sarah Island - the ruins of a tannery, bakehouse and the ship-building works. Kiah brings this history alive through the stories of the inhabitants - convicts and freemen. The afternoon is passing quickly, and as the day passes, the sun heads for the horizon and the temperature is dropping.
We pass again through Hells Gates and on the ebbing tide, we see just how shallow the waters really are. The Spirit of the Wind docks just after 2.30 with thunderous applause for the crew and company.
We have tickets for the show 'The Ship That Never Was' starting in a few hours. Just enough time for a visit to the souvenir shop, a local restaurant for coffee and cake - Chocolate Molten Cake with raspberry ice-cream - Valhalla of course - and as we are sharing. We request a second scoop!!
A walk through the Strahan waterfront displays small but rather affluent looking period homes - as you would expect in a flourishing economy of free settlers.
Around to the Tourist Visitor Centre advises us of the location for the play - it is here that we collect our pre-booked tickets. Returning to the car, we drive back to here, so we are close when the play finishes. This play is the longest continual-running production in Australia - now in their 28th year. The setting is in a covered amphitheatre, covered, but still very open to the wind. No-one cares what they look like - we are all dressed for the weather! - mismatched, coats, beanies, gloves and blankets. Sitting on 'cushioned' (not really) planks in a tiered theatre-in-the-round setting, there is not a bad seat in the house.
Right on 5:30pm the show starts. And who should be a key actor? Why, Kiah of course!! In fact, there are only two actors to play the ten characters. It starts off well enough, with the seasoned calmness of a show well-known. Soon, it become apparent that audience participation is a must, and provides not only the other characters, but also the chorus and the off-stage commentary. The show is amazing. There was not a single person in the audience who did not fully engage with the players and the remarkable set that has been designed and constructed. A true theatre in the round.
Gen tells me that she was secretly begging not me, not me, as they were corraling the participants, but I like to think that many of the audience were secretly begging to be chosen. The story, set on Sarah Island, tells the last story of the island, the last escape - and the wittiness that saw the fleers, freed. It involves the construction and pirating of the ship 'The Fredrick'. The story is based on truth, and the play was written by Kiah's father - Richard Davey. We bought the book - I do not want to spoil it for anyone else who might get a chance to come and see this, so if you want to know more, you will have to borrow our book.
Suffice to say, it was a scream, engaging, exhilarating, participatory and most of all FUN. There was not a single person who left quietly. Everyone was chatting (and chattering as it is freezing by the time the show finishes at 6:45pm). what a wonderful effort and result from a small production company, passionate about their stories. A huge WELL DONE. #TheShipThatNeverWas.
A dusk drive back to Queenstown where Gen is really getting sick of hairpin bends. Tomorrow we leave for the north - with a base in Wynyard for the next few days.
Have we missed an election announcement while we have been here in the south? The quantity of political advertising is increasing exponentially. Bring on the bloody election, it can't come and go fast enough.
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