Around Tullah, the bushfire smoke was dense, as was that familiar smell, and a firefighters’ camp was nearby. I was told the fires were contained, but still burning, and in inaccessible regions. Rain would be the only solution.
The winding road from Tullah to Rosebery took me through what I felt was quintessentially Tasmania: towering trees and towering mountains.
Feeling like I’d landed in a Tolkien universe, I wandered through the old mining town of Zeehan, which reminded me of Lithgow in NSW, hilly and quaint. Apart from the Museum and takeaways, the main businesses open were two op shops, which of course I entered, seeking books as always.
My destination was Strahan, where I’d decided to splurge on the 6 hour Heritage cruise round Macquarie Harbour and up the Gordon River.
Strahan was tourist mecca, and all sites but one full in the local caravan parks; I took that one, which was powered, my first ever. I made full use of it!
Although the cruise proved to be a disappointment, the astonishingly narrow entry to the Harbour, Hell’s Gates, was amazing. The boat went through and then back, just to show it could.
The annoyingly jokey loudspeaker man told us that this harbour is five and a half times the size of Sydney Harbour. After seeing the entry to it I can see why it has not become a commercial one.
We had passed eleven of these round salmon fishing pens, all looking small and innocuous. The loudspeaker told us that they were the pride and saviour of Strahan, so to speak. He did not mention any of the adverse impacts, or that what lies below the surface is the major part of the ‘farms’, all foreign-owned.
He did not mention the endangered Maugean Skate, being further endangered by the de-oxygenation caused by the faeces and food waste.
Unique to Macquarie Harbour, and not called The Thylacine of the Sea lightly, this skate is a living Gondwanaland relic, and its extinction would have global significance.
The greenwashing I’d heard on the boat was common; unfortunately the skate is not cute and furry, like the koala. Oh, but I forgot; that’s now on the path to extinction too. So what chance does the skate have?
Well, with Jacqui Lambie fighting for it, maybe 50/50. Do read her rant, as the article has a lot of facts about the skate and the salmon industry too. Both state and federal governments are obliged to protect the skate; are you listening, Albo?
The boat stopped at the ex-convict penal settlement of Sarah Island, immortalised in Marcus Clarke’s novel, For the term of his natural life. It became a major boat building yard; now self-revegetated, it is only ruins and piles of bricks, but its story remains both intriguing and horrifying. ‘Hell’s Gates’ was named by the convicts, as it led to Sarah Island.
We do head up the Gordon River but only a short way, to dock at Heritage Landing in the UNESCO World Heritage Wilderness.
The best part was a moving video where Bob Brown spoke of how the collaboration between the ‘Pineys’, the descendants of the Huon Pine cutters, played a major part in saving this river from the dam.
And of course Bob Hawke stepping in to stop it.
Are you listening, Albo?
The walk there was disappointing, although I could see by the tangled forest how hard it would have been for any convict escapees to get through.
We left the Gordon River and its hidden wilderness behind, me thinking this was the closest I’d get. I was later proved wrong…