Holiday Snaps Part 2

The next stop was Strahan, on the west coast of Tasmania.


We hopped on the steam train for a trip from Strahan to Queenstown, through the forest. I just couldn't get enough of all the trees, it was wonderful getting swallowed up by forest. I took about 280 photos while we were on holiday and I think three quarters of them are of trees!


The absolute highlight of our whole holiday was the Gordon River cruise on the Lady Jane Franklin II. We payed extra for seats on the upper deck and although it was expensive it was worth every cent. Absolute luxury! We had twin squishy leather seats angled towards the window, so it was like we had our own private viewing window, even though the boat held over 200 people. First was a cruise around Macquarie Harbour, and out past this lighthouse through the very narrow Hells Gates to the Southern Ocean. The water looks calm in this photo but apparently it is very treachourous due to big tidal surges and currents.


After that it was slow, gentle cruising down the World Heritage listed Gordon River. Perfect day for it, still and overcast, so the reflections on the water were amazing.



After a while we pulled in at a small jetty and we all went for a half hour forest walk.


Just look at this forest, isn't it the most amazing thing you've ever seen! And photos just can't capture it, it smelled exquisite and it was silent and ancient and mossy and just fantastic. I really like the way Tasmania provides good quality board walks and paths through forests, it protects the environment and also makes the walking easier.

After Strahan, we headed south and central to a lovely B&B in Fentonbury, about an hour west of Hobart. On the way we passed through some of hydro-electric areas of Tasmania, if I remember rightly I read that 60% of every southern Tasmanian's cup of tea uses hydro electric water that had been through 8 different power stations and provided power for all of them.


These hydro-electric water pipes at Tarraleah are MASSIVE. To give you some idea, that sort of dark brown square area at the bottom of the pipes is a big car park!


They say that little things please little minds and this was the first thing that struck me when we arrived in Fentonbury. Bumblebees! I've never seen one before and I love them - so fat and furry and gorgeous! So I had to chase one around the garden with my camera.




By this stage I was getting a bit excited about cool reflections in water, so out came the camera again down at the small lake where we were staying.


And the wild blackberries were ripening. Yummy

In the next (and final) Blog Post, we're off to Russell Falls and then Port Arthur.