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March 1, 2010
Greetings from Strahan, Western Tasmania,
Yesterday we arrived at the Wilderness Lodge, just outside the Cradle Mountain National Park following about a 3 hour drive from Launceston. With the temperature down to about 8 C upon arrival we believed we must be at a high altitude. In addition, with a strong wind blowing it seemed that we were back in Canada. One of our goals was to take a drive into the park and take the 2 hour walk around Dove Lake, situated at the foot of Cradle Mountain with an altitude of 1545 m, however, the wind and driving rain quickly changed our minds (see pics). We did find another walk a little more protected so managed about 45 mins before the cold got to us so we retreated to our cabin for a glass of wine - much more sensible!
Our accomodation this night was one of a series of small 2-bedroom cabins that we had to ourselves and it was situated within the forest. At sunset we anxiously awaited the arrival of wildlife that we were told to expect and we were not disappointed. A family of Wallabies, a pair of adults and a baby soon appeared in front of our balcony and calmly hunted for treats in the undergrowth allowing a good photo opportunity (see pics). The next morning brought clear skies once again but also ice on the car windscreen - something I never expected in Aus - in the summer.
Today we drove for about 2 hours and arrived at the west coast town of Strahan (pronounced Strawn), a former lumber and mining centre but more recently become famous for fish farming. There are a number of things to do here; our friends Gordon and Wendy had planned a train ride through the forests to an old mining town but we, prefering to do things more spontaneously, arranged a last minute float plane trip down the Gordon River. Once again this turned out to be a good choice as we enjoyed spectacular views along the river and surrounding forests and mountains, including an exhilarating landing and take off in a very narrow and winding river valley (see pics).
In the evening we enjoyed a locally farmed sea trout for dinner washed down with afew glasses of fine Aussie wine - a great end to a great day! Tomorrow we return to Hobart, completing our circumnavigation of this wonderful island state of Australia. On Wednesday we will fly to Canberra and onward to the Blue Mountains - stay tuned!
David and Barbra
