After our lovely steam train ride we embarked on another pleasant journey, this time a voyage in a modern catamaran across the relatively smooth waters of Macquarie Harbour. I might add that, once again, Bec selected that up-market accommodation for our trip which included meals and drinks and the more panoramic views on the top floor. The vessel in front of us here is a similar model.
And here on the right is Strahan's pleasant shoreline.
Macquarie harbour is a huge expanse of sheltered water nearly 35 km (22 miles) long and up to 10 km (6.2 miles) wide.
The captain is seated here at his controls, heading out towards the open sea of the southern ocean.
Interesting light play on the inner harbour, while below we're heading to the estuary.
Here we're heading back into Macquarie Harbour with the open ocean behind us. Luckily, the often hugely stormy waters of the 'roaring forties' were flaccid during our trip. Here's the eastern shoreline.
The right hand picture was interesting for Dot and me since we own the farm in the middle of the water! I'm not joking. You're looking a salmon farm owned by Tassal (Tasmanian Salmon) in which our self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is invested.
Another interesting cloud-scape.
Here we are approaching the mouth of the Gordon River amidst lovely forested mountains, eagerly anticipated by some of the passengers standing on the catamaran's bow.
Just sit back and enjoy the scenery as the river narrows upstream and the banks steepen.
Eventually the craft berthed and we alighted for a rain-forest walk - with Bec and Dot leading the way.
As with many of the rain-forests we visited in Tasmania, there were many fallen trees decaying on the ground, but home to fungi, mosses and saplings.
On the return journey to Strahan we stopped off at Sarah Island. This was one of the worst of all penal settlements in Tasmania, with extremely harsh conditions that led to many escape attempts, some of which ended in cannibalism! It only lasted 11 years from 1822 to 1833 before abandonment. Now there are just a few pieces of wreckage left to explore.
Like other penal settlements, Sarah Island has a beautiful perspective, as this view suggests. Here's Dot waiting to explore the island.
However harsh the island's human life, these pictures also have a kind of beauty about them, as does the final picture across Macquarie Harbour
Do you know what? This last picture reminds me of Britain's Inner Hebrides, which I've explored many times. And that leads to another interesting thought. This expanse of water is named Macquarie Harbour after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, one of the early and perhaps most important colonial governors. Now, Macquarie was born in a now ruined crofting village on the Isle of Ulva just off the coast of the larger Island of Mull in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. I've visited this birthplace where the Australian government has erected a memorial to that event. This picture is awfully reminiscent of Hebridean vistas. And, by the way, Lachlan is buried in a family mausoleum in central Mull, which I've also visited.
What a memorable trip.
AS
And here on the right is Strahan's pleasant shoreline.
Macquarie harbour is a huge expanse of sheltered water nearly 35 km (22 miles) long and up to 10 km (6.2 miles) wide.The captain is seated here at his controls, heading out towards the open sea of the southern ocean.
Interesting light play on the inner harbour, while below we're heading to the estuary.
Here we're heading back into Macquarie Harbour with the open ocean behind us. Luckily, the often hugely stormy waters of the 'roaring forties' were flaccid during our trip. Here's the eastern shoreline.
The right hand picture was interesting for Dot and me since we own the farm in the middle of the water! I'm not joking. You're looking a salmon farm owned by Tassal (Tasmanian Salmon) in which our self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is invested.
Another interesting cloud-scape.
Here we are approaching the mouth of the Gordon River amidst lovely forested mountains, eagerly anticipated by some of the passengers standing on the catamaran's bow.
Just sit back and enjoy the scenery as the river narrows upstream and the banks steepen.
Eventually the craft berthed and we alighted for a rain-forest walk - with Bec and Dot leading the way.
As with many of the rain-forests we visited in Tasmania, there were many fallen trees decaying on the ground, but home to fungi, mosses and saplings.
On the return journey to Strahan we stopped off at Sarah Island. This was one of the worst of all penal settlements in Tasmania, with extremely harsh conditions that led to many escape attempts, some of which ended in cannibalism! It only lasted 11 years from 1822 to 1833 before abandonment. Now there are just a few pieces of wreckage left to explore.
Like other penal settlements, Sarah Island has a beautiful perspective, as this view suggests. Here's Dot waiting to explore the island.
However harsh the island's human life, these pictures also have a kind of beauty about them, as does the final picture across Macquarie Harbour
Do you know what? This last picture reminds me of Britain's Inner Hebrides, which I've explored many times. And that leads to another interesting thought. This expanse of water is named Macquarie Harbour after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, one of the early and perhaps most important colonial governors. Now, Macquarie was born in a now ruined crofting village on the Isle of Ulva just off the coast of the larger Island of Mull in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. I've visited this birthplace where the Australian government has erected a memorial to that event. This picture is awfully reminiscent of Hebridean vistas. And, by the way, Lachlan is buried in a family mausoleum in central Mull, which I've also visited.
What a memorable trip.
AS
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