Wharf at Sarah Island

Hubby and I splurged out on a river cruise as a “honeymoon” present to ourselves. We decided to book seats on the Gordon River Cruise in the Captains Premier Upper Deck seats, all inclusive with leather seating, a private viewing deck, a dedicated guide, chef-prepared gourmet lunch,  creamy Tasmanian cheeses and all you can drink Tasmanian wines and premium beers. At the normal price of $220pp, or if you have a RAC membership you are entitled to 20% off which brings the price down to $176/pp – thank you RACQ membership!

We had an amazing day which started out with a glass of bubbles at 8:30am, life can’t get much better than this!

We went through the Macquarie Harbour, past the man made training wall which took 3 years to build and acts as a funnel to increase tidal flow and therefore negates the needs for dredging to deepen the bay so ships can go through.

Heading towards Hell’s Gate

We then went through Hell’s Gates. This is the entrance to the ocean from the bay. Convicts coming into Strahan named it Hell’s Gates because from their perspective they were going into hell and this was the entrance.

We quickly stopped and had a bit of a quick look at the local fish farms floating along in the ocean and learnt some interesting facts. Did you know that Rainbow Trout and Ocean Trout are the same? The only difference is that Ocean Trout are raised in water that is salt underneath with a layer of fresh water on top (salt water is heavier and sinks). Apparently this environment is perfect for raising very fat fish very quickly!

Sarah Island Ruins

Turning back around, we headed down the Gordon River and after a while we stopped and walked through a section of rainforest where we learnt about Huon pine. Here is an interesting fact, Huon is older than birds.

Back on the boat, more wine thanks, lunch and then Sarah Island. Along the cruise I had been reading a short book on Sarah Island, the history in this place is absolutely amazing! Unfortunately due to the harsh climate and time, there isn’t much left of the original buildings, some bricks here and there. However, the guides on the tour managed to truly bring alive the history and engage the entire group with reenactments and tales of the times.

As we were leaving Sarah Island we were absolutely pelted by some of the strongest winds and rain I’ve ever experienced.

As it was near to 2pm by the time we left Sarah Island, the boat turned around and took us back to Strahan.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour, the captain and the crew were amazing and the service we received was second to none. If ever you’re in this part of the world I highly recommend taking this tour, the Captain’s Premier Upper Deck Seats are very worth while!

Name: Gordon River Cruises
Website: http://www.gordonrivercruises.com.au 
Contact Details: 03 6471 4300
Date we sailed: 18th March 2014
Cost: $176 pp due to RACQ membership, all inclusive

Strahan