On our way to Strahan
We left in the morning for the next leg of our trip, Strahan, the gateway to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park but also a place with a dark past.
We expected it to be a more tiring journey due to the many turns in the road. In addition, the weather for the next days was going to be rainy, even snowy… Our chances of experiencing the 4 seasons in a day became more and more likely. It was a shame that it rained because we wanted to do a cruise on the Gordon River in the afternoon.
But at least the drive towards Strahan was really nice. We stopped at the parking lot of the Nelson falls, ok it rained a little, but we did not want to miss out on this opportunity. The trail in the rainforest alongside the river, more or less 1.4 km or 25 minutes, was easy and really picturesque. The waterfall itself was gorgeous so we were very pleased with ourselves. On our way back to the parking, the sun came out… yippeeee!
We continued further West and stopped at another scenic spot 5 km from Queenstown, here we did the walk to the Horsetail falls. We had to walk on a gravel path and climb a lot of stairs. When we finally reached the highest view point it started to snow and a bit later we also felt little hailstones on our bodies… I can guarantee you, there are nicer things in life! Of course we did not have an umbrella with us, so we were soaked when we arrived back at the car but at least we could strikethrough the ‘4 seasons in a day’ experience from our checklist hahaha…
Around Strahan
We arrived in Strahan a bit after lunch time so first things first, we went to the Coffee Shack for a coffee, soup and a spinach muffin. It was such a nice little spot, certainly recommended!
Then we checked out the Gordon River Cruises and made reservations for the trip that suited us best for the next morning (praying that the weather would be good). Subsequently we did the short walk (1 km) to the Hoghart Fall that started at People’s Park. During the walk we looked from time to time at the Botanical Creek hoping to spot a platypus… but unfortunately we did not see any. The waterfall was certainly worth the hike.
We continued our walk in the direction of the West Coast Wilderness Railway. Due to the limited time we had in Strahan, we opted for the boat trip instead of the train journey but we were happy to have seen at least the station.
In the meantime, we started to get a little worried as the Tassies we came into contact with kept asking us if we were retired. I am not sure what the retirement age in Tasmania is, but here in Belgium we still have to get another 15 years on the counter… maybe we looked so tired that they thought our age was 65, so we may need to start using more beauty products…
We spent the night in the Aloft Boutique Accomodation where we rented a studio.
The Gordon River Cruise
The next morning we left early for our Gordon River Cruise with the Spirit of the Wild. The total trip took around 6 hours and lunch was provided on board. The weather was not fantastic but luckily rainy and sunny periods alternated. The cruise is also known for the reflections in the water. Due to the weather, we did not see so many, but when the sun came out, it was so beautiful.
On our way to Sarah Island, we stopped for a little walk in a rainforest… in the rain…Then we visited the famous Island, where we saw the remains of a penal settlement in the 1820’s where convicts that committed further crimes were detained and where they had to perform slave labour mainly cutting timber while tied to chains. The conditions in which one had to live were inhumane and punishments were extremely severe. Ingrid, our guide was a really good storyteller, she explained it in such a way that it felt like we were experiencing the horror ourselves. Very satisfied with our excursion, we left Strahan around 3pm.
