Cruising on the Gordon River
[Early Spring, here in Australia and a good time to visit Tasmania. Ah, memories of travels with my husband (Mr. K), his brother (P1), and cousin from Switzerland (P2), to Tasmania; a brilliant and beautiful destination to virtually travel.
Many thanks to Mohamad Al Karbi for giving me the opportunity to share the T-Team’s adventures in South Australia.]
An early start, just what the K-Team love. We were to board the Wilderness Cruise Boat by 8.45am. Not as early as the last time I took the cruise. Then, in 2011, I journeyed with my mother (Mrs T), for whatever reason, the ship departed much earlier than 8.45am. Fearing we’d miss the boat, Mum and I rose at the crack of dawn and ate our breakfast at a hotel opposite the wharf while watching the sun rise on the calm waters of Macquarie Harbour; an oil painting in hues of gold and pink with ducks on the jetty. Mum’s breakfast of Eggs Benedict was less than perfect; uncooked, runny and the “whites” not white. She’s never had Eggs Benedict again. I guess there had to be some compensation for the ideal weather we had that August day in 2011.
[Photo 1: Calm on Macquarie Harbour before Eggs Benedict © L.M. Kling 2011]
Not so for the K-Team in 2016. A perfect mix of personalities, no conflicts—apart from some initial altercation between my husband’s phone GPS navigator and the Kluger’s Pandora navigational system. Now that was something out of the box, so we packed away any semblance of pairing our phones with the car’s computer system and relied on the navigational system God had given us—our brains…and some forward planning with Google Maps. So, instead we had the weather as our thorn-in-the-side member of the K-Team. At least someone up there, I mean God, had been looking after us.
[Photo 2: Sign of weather to come on road to Strahan © L.M. Kling 2016]
When we booked our cruise, the lady asked us, ‘Do you want to go on the ABT Railway up to Queenstown?’
‘How much?’ I asked.
The lady showed the prices.
‘What time does it get back?’
‘Oh, 5pm.’
‘Nah, we’re meeting my cousin at 4.30pm. So, we’ll take the cruise.’
A narrow escape. We heard that night while dining with my cousin, Kiah who runs the Strahan Visitors Centre, that fallen trees on the railway track had stranded the tourists on the train for several hours. They arrived back in Strahan at 8.30pm. The next day, on the cruise, Kiah overheard some girls who had been on the train trip say they were going to write a reality TV show about bored kids.
[Photo 3: Thankfully, not stranded at Queenstown; ABT Railway Station with K-Team, the younger way back when…Looks like my kids can get bored at Railway Stations too. © L.M. Kling 2001]
The cruise, definitely not boring. First a ride out through the narrow heads and into the full force of the roaring 40’s and rough seas; P2’s highlight of the Tassie Trip. My husband was surprised I didn’t get seasick. I’d remembered to take my ginger tablets.
[Photo 4: High seas past the heads © L.M. Kling 2016]
[Photo 5: The safety of the lighthouse © L.M. Kling 2016
[Photo 6: The lighthouse keepers’ cottage? © L.M. Kling 2016]
[Want more of the adventure? Click on the link, K-Team Adventures…
…And discover more of the beauty of Tasmania.]
© Lee-Anne Marie Kling 2019
Feature Photo: Gordon River © Lee-Anne Marie Kling 2011
Gorgeous, first photo especially, and can’t wait to be there soon.
Thank you, yes, the Gordon River Cruise is well worth it. Have now done it three times and each time it just gets better.
Thanks for sharing, what was your favorite part about the trip?
Sarah Island with its serene scenery which belies a disturbing history and reputation where the worst of the worst convicts were sent in the early nineteenth century.
wow… something else for my bucket list! Great Post, thanks for writing it!
Thank you. Yes, I’m so glad that the Gordon River was saved and is now protected so that we can enjoy its beauty.
AmeN!
Loved reading this thannk you