Day on the water at Strahan

Today was dedicated to spending the day on the water. We boarded the "Eagle" at 0830 and a little after 0900 we pulled out. The area of water we were travelling in is called Macquarie Harbour, and is many times larger than Sydney Harbour. The first stop was out the "Hells Gates" into the Indian Ocean. With a light swell coming in the skipper said he would head out so we could see the Lighthouse and the surf on the shoals outside the heads. On the way everything we were seeing was described including the man made wall to keep the harbour entrance clear and the 2 lighthouses that were to guide boats in through the heads. We also saw the main lighthouse outside the heads. We then turned around and headed in through "Hells Gates" again and then stopped at one of the fish farms. We were lucky that just as we arrived one of the work boats started to feed the fish in the cages. They do this by mixing food pellets with water and pumping them out in a jet into the top of the cage.
After leaving the fish farm we headed to "Sara" Island where we left the boat for a guided tour of the Island. The guides were the same group that put on the play the night before and they certainly continued their entertaining attitude. They made the island almost come to life and it was a fitting continuation of the play and what it was all about.
The next part of the trip left Macquarie Harbour and we started up the Gordon River. Along the way we saw a seal fishing in the river, a long way from the salt water. Lunch was served and was extremely good, with plenty of well prepared food.
The next stop was at what is called "Heritage Walk". This walk was along a level boardwalk through the rain forest with plenty of signs and a guide to help identify the types of plants and trees.
We then returned to Strahan at the Huon Pine Sawmill after a great day on the water.