260414 - Boat Cruise through Hells Gates around Maquarie Harbour and up Gordon River

Today I took an organised cruise on a large tourist Catermeran which accommodates 200 but there was only about 40 people on board today.   A five million dollar boat which does 35 knots in bad weather. Thats fast.

We started the day going out of Macquarie Harbour and through Hells Gates. This is a small seaway that allows boats to go out to sea.  The large part of water on the opposite side is far to shallow and rough for boats to pass and hence access is only by Hells Gates which is quite narrow.

 The roaring 40s as they call it blow gusterly 40knot winds at that location on the ocean side.

Entering Hells Gates

Next we went back into the harbour and off to see fish farming.  This image below is a plastic floatation device holding a net that is about 25metres deep and houses upto 25000 fish. Ocean Trout and Atlantic Salmon are big business here.

They feed them a special diet and then when its time to harvest a large vacuum on a boat which is used to suck them out of the net. The birds of course wait for a free feed which isn't forthcoming unless a seal damages the nets.

Next stop was Sarah Island, a Penal colony which was operating prior to Port Arthur from1822 to 1833. This island housed the worst of the criminals who had commited further crimes as prisoners in other institutions. All the stories of the usual hard times, solitary confinement and many floggings. Not a nice place to be. The book and film for the term of his natural life are loosely based on this island.

The island was cleared of all bush and trees at the time, which has since regrown naturally over the past 190 years since its closure.

Next we went up the Gordon River and heard about the protests of the 1980s and how the Tasmanian Govt wanted to Dam river but the National Govt could only stop them after the world heritage listing was granted for the area. At the time the Federal government had no power to stop it by existing legislation.

The boat moored for a nature walk then back down the way we came to port.

As you would have noticed the weather changed from sun to rain most of the day and back again a few times.