Strahan, Cradle Mountain and farewell Tassie

It has been a while between BLOG updates so I'd better wind up the Tasmania chapter. After hugging the big trees we took the road via Lake St Claire and through spectacular mountains to the rugged west coast. We stopped briefly in Queenstown for coffee and pies then made our way down the steep slopes to the village of Strahan on Macquarie Harbour. The dense forest surrounding Strahan is part of Tasmania's World Heritage Area that extends deeper to the South and was amazing to see on a half day cruise up the Gordon River. We also cruised out to the entrance to the harbour through Hell's Gates and had a tour on Sarah Island which used to be a brutal penal colony for re-offenders (like Port Arthur). From Strahan we travelled to Cradle Mountain and were completely blown away by the beauty of this national park. The nights were absolutely FREEZING but the days were clear and perfect for walking around Dove Lake and other small trails. We were very excited to see our first wombats in the wild! On our first day we spotted one poking his head out of his burrow and then the next day we saw a mum and bub wandering along beside a section of the boardwalk we were on. It was very exciting. After Cradle Mountain we stayed further north at Mount Roland then headed up to catch the ferry back to Melbourne. We managed to find one more "big thing" in Tasmania and that was the Big Trout at a trout farm near Deloraine. A couple of furry friends also joined our touring party - wombat and tassie devil. We finished off our Tasmanian experience eating swirly cherry ice creams at a cherry farm in LaTrobe. They were delicious, and so was Tasmania. We have loved every bit.