It was getting crowded on the jetty at Strahan with 6 boats from Geelong and Port Phillip Bay rafted 2 up along the jetty. The yachts annually participate in the circumnavigation of Tasmania which is normally held around March each year, but was cancelled this year because of COVID. Rather than raft alongside we decided to anchor just off the jetty in Risby Cove.
After running the water maker, topping up on groceries, disposing of rubbish and purchasing unleaded fuel for the outboard we pulled up anchor and crossed Macquarie Harbour towards the mouth of the Gordon River. It took us 3 hours just to cross the harbour which is the second-largest natural harbour in Australia, after Port Phillip Bay.
It took another 3 hours to motor up the Gordon River passing the odd sailing boat and two tourist fast-cats coming down the river. We travelled through two breathtaking gorges admiring the mirror imaged waters which at times would play tricks on your eyes, it was hard to discern between the trees and their mirrored image.
It was a bit crowded up the top end of the Gordon with the Geelong and Port Phillip Bay boats rafted together and tied to trees ashore. We tied up a mile or so downstream at Warner’s Landing which Hydro Tasmania had constructed as the base for the construction of the proposed Gordon below Franklin Dam in the 1970’s.
There were another two yachts Rifftide and Scylla along with the motorboat Tainui that we had followed from Port Davey. We caught up briefly with Luke, Lance and Dion for a chat to discuss what our plans were over the next few days/weeks, it turned out that we all were planning to head north up the west coast then along the top of Tassie to the Tamar. When talking to Luke and Dion we learned that they were commercial ship masters and had worked out of Barry Beach and Port Welshpool and knew Bevis, the Gippsland Ports Harbour Master. It’s a small world!
Later we took the dinghy across the river to a jetty used by the seaplanes and charter yacht “Storm Breaker” and took a brief walk along the boardwalk through the rainforest to the Sir John Falls.
