23 to 26 Mar – Zeehan

Zeehan is another town that is a ghost of its former glory.  The main street still shows off some substantial stone buildings, including a 1000 seat theatre but there is a fair amount of empty space and vacant houses. Anyway, 2 op shops were open and proved useful in separating us from some cash.

The caravan park in Zeehan is in a nice rustic setting on the outskirts of town so we have decided to make it our base for the next 4 days.

With the weather improving, day 2 at Zeehan was proclaimed a chill out day (cause we need some down time) so we had a morning stroll up the main street and an afternoon visit to the local museum.  The museum contains a very comprehensive history of this mining district and gave us access to the Gaiety Theatre and several other heritage buildings.

Tour Boat Arcadia On The Pieman River

Crossing The Pieman On The Fatman Barge

Barge Instructions

Our last day based at Zeehan was spent on a Gordon River cruise. At 8am we arrived at Strahan to find it shrouded in fog but knowing the weather forecast we were looking forward to a warm and sunny day.  As we left port on our cruise boat the fog started to lift and the day warmed up as expected.   We crossed Macquarie Harbour and out into the ocean through ‘Hells Gate’.   

After a short time we returned to the harbour and visited Sarah Island, a former convict settlement predating the convict jail at Port Arthur. As we consumed a nice lunch we cruised up and down the river seeing beautiful reflections.

Hells Gate - The Narrow Entrance To Maquarie Harbour

Reflections On The Gordon River

Dewdrops On A Fern Leaf

More Reflections On The Gordon River