Macquarie Harbour and Gordon River

 Strachan is the only port that gives access to Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon and Franklin River systems.  From Strachan we took a tour of the Harbour and the Gordon River.  The weather was fine and enabled us to pass out the once notorious Macquarie Heads into the Southern Ocean.  In previous centuries, the enormous tidal flow and fickle weather had caused many deaths at these Heads as ships traveled to the convict penal colonies in the area.

Back in the Harbour we headed for the Gordon River that is distinguished by the dark, tannin stained water making the river look almost black in places.

Once in the river the boat switched to electric motors to travel up to a boardwalk that had been constructed in the almost impenetrable forest.  It is little wonder that very few convicts were able to escape this area through the forest.