Showing posts with label west. Show all posts
Showing posts with label west. Show all posts

Monday, 12 March 2007

Cradle Mountain & Lake St Clair

Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park is truly a beautiful place. The scenery is superb everywhere you look. These pictures were taken in November and there was still snow on the peaks. It was extremely cold and windy the day we were there, but we were lucky that the mountain itself was visible. Apparently is is usually hidden behind fog or clouds.


Cradle Mountain


Creek near Cradle Mountain with the mountain in the background.


Cascades near Cradle Mountain


Creek near Cradle Mountain


Lake St Clair


Lake St Clair

Zeehan

The museum at the Zeehan School of Mining and Metallurgy is worth a few hours.


Museum


Order of Australia Medal in the museum.


A couple of old steam locomotives at the museum


Old mining train


Vintage car shooting past


Another old loco


... and another.

Gordon River & Macquarie Harbour Cruise

These are some pictures of the cruise around Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River from Strahan.


Hell's Gates at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour.


The tea coloured water of Macquarie Harbour is from the oils secreted from the pine trees in the rainforest.


Macquarie Harbour






Gordon River





Gordon River


Gordon River


Macquarie Harbour


Gordon River


Rainforest along the Gordon River


Rainforest along the Gordon River


Rainforest along the Gordon River


A fallen huon pine in rainforest. This tree is thousands of years old and still alive. It sends up new trunks whenever it falls.


Salmon farm on Macquaire Harbour


Sarah Island - harsh penal colony


Gordon River mouth


Gordon River


In the rainforest


In the rainforest


In the rainforest

Strahan

Strahan is the only town on the west coast of Tasmania and must be the most isolated place on the island.

Originally a base for the penal colony at Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour, it became a port servicing the mining industry in the nearby towns of Zeehan and Queenstown.

Now, mainly a tourist town, there are plenty of things to do. You can take a cruise down the Gordon River, take a helicopter ride over the wilderness or take the tourist train to Queenstown.



Shops in the main street of Strahan


Strahan Harbour - once a thriving port


People's Park


Hogarth Falls

Queenstown

Queenstown, on the west coast of Tasmania is an unusual place. In a state famous for its natural beauty, Queenstown is famous for its unnatural appearance.

Years of gold and copper mining, deforestation and air pollution from smelting have denuded the surrounding hills of Mt Lyell and Mt Owen to the point where all vegetation has disappeared and the topsoil eroded to bare rock.

Although mining is still going on, tourism is the town's big industry now, and the ABT West Coast Wilderness Railway is based there and travels along the Queen and King Rivers to Strahan.


The Queenstown "moonscape".


Orr St. - Queenstown's main drag


Mt Owen




The turntable at Queenstown Station


ABT West Coast Wilderness Railway steam engine