World Heritage Wilderness at its best

Almost all of south west Tasmania is a National Park.

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. 

The mid-west of Tasmania also deserves exploring.

Happy birthday to Gen - my travel companion, my partner in crime and my rock. I hope that you are enjoying your holiday in Tasmania as much as I am.

 

After reading much on what to see, do, taste and experience in Tasmania, before we had left home, I was determined to try to see some of the lesser visited areas of this amazingly beautiful state. After our visit to the Cradle Mountain National Park, we awoke this morning looking up to an altogether different view. The clouds still hang low over the peaks, and as the day warms and the clouds and their trailing mist lift, the 'different beauty' of the peaks around us make themselves known.

Following a 6 episode binge of season 2 of Bridgerton last night, this morning we sleep in. Looking at touring options around here last night, (and knowing that Thursday has been set aside for Strahan) we decided to drive to Derwent Bridge to visit The Wall.  If you know of it, then this is enough information. For those who don't click here. 

The morning is drab, which is kind of fitting for the setting we find ourselves in. 

This is an active mining town. Queenstown sits low in the belly of the mining area, surrounded by mined waste, new tailings and rocky outcrops currently being sifted for copper. The past mining and mass logging has created a surreal and rocky 'moonscape'. There is a dusty air, touched with the whiff of rotting eggs - i.e. sulphur (previously used in the refining of gold). And with that dusty air, there is a divide in the town. It is obvious to my thought at least, that there is the old and the new.

The new part of town wears a coat of success - there are enterprises flourishing with locals and visitors alike popping in and out of mixed businesses,service ships and cafes. The Empire Hotel, home to the The Rusty Iron Thai restaurant where we purchased the delicious dinner last night has any number of people milling around outside, obviously waiting on orders. The library is new, bold and modern in design. The hospital and Council sit snug in one of the side streets and, on the same side of the railway line as our motel, there are newer, more modern and perhaps slightly more affluent homes.

In the back streets behind the main shopping area, up the hills of the old tailing mounds, the houses are older, smaller, tired and dusty. They sit tightly side by side on small blocks without adornment or gardens. Windows are small and the construction materials are mismatched at best, perhaps dangerous (think asbestos) at worst. Out in the open, the reality of class divide silently screams. 

But, there is someone with a quirky, cheeky outlook. One of the nameless shops, like many other regional towns, there are plenty of vacant shops - some more recent, others with the layer of ages old dirt. Although not appearing open, it is artistically displaying all things orange. Bold, brassy, colourful and confident ORANGE. Everything from orange tupperware containers that we (or our mums) all once had, to an orange vacuum cleaner to orange crockery to orange linens to orange furniture! And whilst having a look around town this afternoon, we think that we found his home - this one was painted the EXACT same shade. And Gen thinks she might have seen the owner earlier, a long-bearded gentleman and his family - and he and his she are dressed in that same bright hue. A spark of bright in a town of drab. Fascinating! 

Queenstown is where the historic Western Railway operates from, but no amount of pleading can secure us a seat, they are booked out until mid-April. Now we are getting worried, as we want to go on the Gordon and Franklin River Cruises while we are here on the west coast as well. Turns out, we buy the last two seats for tomorrow - we hear (in the background while on the phone to the company), the exclamation as the other salesgirl in the office is just too slow to snag those last two seats for her cliemts. 

Before we travelled from Queensland, and while we have been here, there have been numerous adverts extolling people to visit the West Coast. It seems that locals (or perhaps the tourism gurus) feel that the trinity of Devonport, Launceston and Hobart, have garnered too much of the tourism $ and they are looking to balance the state's income somewhat.  Well, I think that they might have been altogether too successful. Accommodation has been very hard to come by and tours too, we are finding are full, or close to. 

Queenstown is central - a great place to base yourself for visiting the west and central parts of the state. We will have a good look around here, visiting the rail and mining museums on Friday before we leave for the north.

Today, as I previously said, we went to Derwent Bridge to see The Wall in the Wilderness, generally just known as The Wall. This is an amazing undertaking by initially single artist Greg Duncan and more lately with his son. From his website:
"On the 1st March 2005 in one of the most beautiful parts of Tasmania I set out to undertake sculpting a wall that would be 3 metres high and over 100 metres in length.

The material would be Huon Pine.
Through an often arduous at times but also immensely satisfying journey and over a decade and half later I welcome you to visit what is simply known as The Wall."

He requests no photography as a sign of respect to the moral copyright that the artist has of his work.

The panels appear to consist of 21-22 pieces of laminated Huon that have been carved. Some parts are left unfinished, to allow the observer to better understand both the creative and carving processes. And he has achieved this beautifully. The outcome is amazing, outstanding, awe-inspiring and pure beauty. From an acknowledgement of the first peoples, to the flora and fauna of the region to the endeavours of people and industry. From the muscleature of the straining horses to the desperate tears of a bereaved woman with her lined face, the detail is exquisite. Greg Duncan now carves permanently, both in art and fine furniture. I can only imagine that the furniture through the impressive building is more of his wonderful works. The building is so fitting. A large long barn style with The Wall displayed down the centre back to back in two long constructed pieces - at times quite separate, at others, flowing seamlessly across the joins.

We make a purchase to share with a wood carving artist friend who will be absolutely appreciative of this skill. I hope that he shares it with other wood-carvers locally as they too deserve to see this skill.  

The building is warm against the chill wind outside. At one end is a huge open fire. At the other, unobtrusive yet also large with a diameter of just under a metre round is a large wood fired stove. It is almost sad to walk out into the chill air again.

The air is very nippy and Gen, in her inimitable style basely states "It's good I'm wearing my padded bra!"

Stomachs are telling us that its time for lunch. There is a small cafe a kilometre back down the road called the Hungry Wombat. Its small, but clean. Gen decides on a beef and salad burger and I have a Ham, Cheese and Pineapple (yeah, yeah I know there are no pineapples here) toastie. Now, as far as toasties go, that was probably the best I have ever had. It was toasted to the edge, but soft inside, and filled with good quality ingredients. So both crunchy and soft. 

The only disappointment is that there are no wombats!

Despite all the signs, and a little road-kill on Bruny Island, we have yet to see any wildlife in the wild!

Its 84kms from Queenstown to Derwent Bridge, but the road is very winding with tight corners, its up and down hills and mountains. It takes a full hour and a half to do that drive. We average about 60 kph and I am sure that Gen's arms and legs are aching. There were times when she not only sounded tense, she looked it too. The concentration on her face tells me she is a good driver (asif I had any doubts).

Travelling back, we turn right and make a stop at Lake St Clair. Another iconic jewel in the crown of Tasmania. The Tourism Board must be congratulated. They have done such a stellar job, that the bookings for accommodation and tour operations are at a premium at the moment. Not only have we had trouble finding accommodation, we have missed out on seats on the Queenstown Historic Rail trip. It is booked out for the next six weeks. That is a real disappointment as this was one of the two tours we had hoped to do from here. So first thing this morning, Gen places a call to the operators of the Gordon River Cruises - who traverse the Gordon and Franklin River Wilderness areas.  There are only two seats left and we can hear the other salesgirl in the background exclaim when she realises that those last two tickets have been sold to us! Awe had wanted the Upper Deck as the views are meant to be better, but cannot get a seat at any time in the next month. Robyn Dowling tells me that she booked six months in advance to ensure she had tickets for John's birthday celebrations when they visited. Too bad that I had not known that before I left. Trouble was, I don't have the luxury of being able to plan my life that far out!

Lake St Clair is one of Tasmania's jewels. It sits high on a plateau, surrounded by smaller, less impressive lakes. Carved out by glaciers over millions of years, Lake St Clair is Australia's deepest freshwater lake. Located at the southern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, it forms part of Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area and offers spectacular scenery. The environment around Lake St Clair is among Tasmania's most spectacular. Deep glacial lakes are fringed by dense forests of ancient pines, and the high mountains provide a dramatic backdrop. Despite an abundance of native wildlife in the area – we see none.

Lake St Clair is also one of the start/finish points of the 5-8 day Overland Track, one of the country's greatest bushwalks. As we arrive at the Visitor Centre, there is a group of what seems to be experienced, very committed walkers assembling to begin the trek. Certainly not my cup of tea, although Gen remarks that it is a walk that perhaps one day she would like to do - you have my blessing my sweet, I do hope that you do indeed give it a go.

Like at Cradle Mountain, there are a number of walks that leave from this spot. There is a short walk to the Viewing Platform that we can do. Its late enough in the afternoon that there are few people around, and as we stop initially at the top of the viewing platform and then later on the beach below, we have the vista before us to ourselves alone. It is truly a breath-taking sight. Just to the right is the jetty fro which the ferry leaves. It stands, alone, jutting into the waters like the man-made intrusion it is.

The only difference between the drive over was that it was a little easier as the rain had stopped. It seems that daily average temperatures here are not reached until between 2 and 3 in the afternoon. Its is a good day for driving as there is enough cloud cover that we are not squinting in the afternoon sun. Nearing Queenstown on our return journey, the fuel light comes on. Gen can't believe how much fuel we have gone through in the last two days, but trips up and down mountains, braking then accelerating (forget cruise control on a day like today) guzzles the gas so to speak.

Our repast tonight is simple fare. We break out some crackers, the rest of our smoked salmon, a couple of cheeses and chutneys and the Old Kempton Distillery Barrel Aged Gin with a local Mandarin, Lime and Bitters soda water - very tasty.

Tomorrow we are headed to Strahan for our cruise and then an early dinner before we go to see the play 'The Ship that Never Was' on the recommendation of so many people - friends and members of the Travelling Tasmania Facebook page that we have been following. Friday we will have a good look at the two museums here - Mining and Rail - before we head for the north-west coast.

Gen has had lots of phone calls, and messages for her birthday today - thanks for helping to make her feel special. 

And on a sad note to finish today's tale, we received news of the early passing of a friend back home. Farewell Michele, you will be missed, but not forgotten.