Dara and I boarded the Lady Jane Franklin II on a clear summer morning for The Gordon River Cruise. The morning was spent sipping on tea and talking to the friendly staff while enjoying the majestic river and ancient rain forest. We stopped off at Sarah Island for a guided tour of the convict penal settlement before digging in to a hearty and wholesome buffet lunch. Then headed back through Macquarie Harbour to our accommodation at Strahan Village. We finished the day with drinks at View 42° to watch a beautiful sunset with our new friends Debbie, Mohammad and the gang from Pure Tasmania.
The next day was jam-packed. First we visited the Wild Rivers Store to load up on outdoor wear for our upcoming Franklin River trip. Then we jumped in The Premier Class Cabin of The West Coast Wilderness Railway for a full day of drinking, eating and friend-making. As the train chugged through the rain forest we marveled at the steep-sided river gorges and the history of the men that had labored to build the track.
In the evening we joined the Bonnet Island Experience. We hopped on a small boat at sunset with only a few other people for our private tour of the harbour and Bonnet Island. Three dolphins and tens of penguins swam next to our boat as we neared the island. As it became darker we heard the history of the lighthouse keeper on the tiny island and received information on the penguins that were about to join us. The guides had an non-abrasive dull red light for us to see the penguins in the dark without bothering them. We quietly watched in awe as the small penguins hopped over large rocks and in to their bunkers. On the way back to the dock we conversed of our sightings over wine and cheese.
We had so much fun in the first two days we spent in Strahan we decided we needed to spend one more night there when we returned from the Franklin River trip. The people at Strahan Village took care of us and upgraded us to a Waterfront Executive room. After 6 days of no showering on the Franklin you can only begin to imagine how thankful we were to have a large jacuzzi bathtub, two comfy beds and a private balcony over-looking the Macquarie Harbour. Strahan Village was like a little taste of heaven, complete with some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen in my life.
