Thursday 9^th February, 2012

I was quite tired when the ship cruise started. From Strahan we went to the Hells Gates. There is the entry from the sea to Macquarie Harbour. In that area I could see many light houses. Then the trip went along fish farms. In the open water the fishes are breed in cages. Then we went up Gordon River. This is the biggest river in Tasmania. We passed a very beautiful landscape and could see very old trees. Our first stop was at Heritage Landing. There was a board walk of 30 minutes. Interestingly there grow young trees out of fallen old ones. The trees seam to take as long to decompose as they need to grow. Our trip continues to Sarah Island. These island was cleared and a prison constructed on it. The ruins are still there. After 60 minutes the ship went back to Strahan. After a break I made a walk along the banks of Macquarie Harbour. On the way I saw a sign pointing to the Hogarth Fall. As it was raining last night the waterfall was wonderful.

Wednesday 8^th February, 2012

Now starts my journey around Tasmania. In the morning at the car rental office they told me that they currently do not have a car in the category I booked. I could choose between a bigger one (a minivan) or a smaller one. I originally wanted to rent a smaller one, but they said that the smaller ones are all with manual gearshift and I wanted an automatic one. But this information turned out to be wrong, so I got a smaller car with automatic gearshift. After buying food for a week I started toward the west coast. Of my drive toward Strahan I can only say: Tasmania has a lot of water and hills which change over to mountains. The road is like a pass road in Switzerland and I felt like I am arriving at the end of the world. Most of the 320km I drove today as in different National Parks. In Hobart I bought a pass for them as here I have to pay for every day in an National Park. The first real stop I made at Lake St. Clair. I made a short walk, but I nearly could not see upon the lake. When driving further, I saw several echindas. They were walking fast. One of them just crossed the road in front of me and fetched the camera, but until I was ready it was already on the other side and curled up. Next stop was Nelson Fall. A short walk led to it. After I continued with a few picture stops until Strahan. That is the only harbour at the west coast.