Strahan, one of the most Westerly towns in Tasmania

Twilight-Strahan

Here’s some things I’m learning about campervanning: 

• Any ad you might see that portrays people lounging at bench seats and tables in the back of the Campervan, whilst the Campervan is mobile, is a fantasy – they are having their fillings shaken out, particularly on the roads in the “Wild West” of Tasmania. 

• If you lose something in the Campervan, you are not finding it again until the end of the trip when you unpack the van. 

• Even if you pack really lean, like we did, you will end up wearing items of clothing for three days because it is too hard to get a clean item out of what ever hidey hole it's been packed in. 

• Under no circumstances should anyone use the onboard loo unless it is absolutely necessary, drawing straws for who is going to empty the bog tank, becomes increasingly nerve wracking. Public toilets and campground toilets are your go to option, every time. 

• Whatever slope the van is on for a night, that’s how your bed is sloping. 

• This is what you will hear from your campervan Captain, constantly, whilst waving an item in the air  “Whose is this? Put it away, it doesn’t live there!” 

All those lessons rapidly learned, do not take away from the fact that Van life grows on you pretty quickly. We had two days in Strahan, on the far southwest coast of Tasmania, one of the most remote towns in the world. Strahan is on the shores of Macquarie Harbour, which flows out to the Southern Ocean. Industry over the years has included milling, fishing and shipping. The charm of the town, with its preserved, late 19th Century, early 20th Century buildings, masks the fact that its stunning Macquarie Harbour surrounds Sarah Island. Just off the town of Strahan, Sarah Island was one of the most brutal and torturous convict settlements in Australia. It's remoteness was seen as insurance against escapees as there was nowhere to go, or so it seemed. The town of Strahan was settled as a commercial port and so it applied perfume to its stinking convict past, just a short boat ride away. You can still tour the Sarah Island, but we didn’t as we have more convict misery stories to encounter as we travel around. The most infamous story from convict life at Macquarie Harbour, was that of Alexander Pearce. We had the misfortune to stumble upon a small public exhibition in the campground we stayed in on the shores of Macquarie Harbour. It’s a story I had never heard before, and frankly, I would have happily gone through life, never having heard it. Apparently though, we are out of the loop because the story has been made into an Australian film I never want to see and Australian band, “Weddings Parties Anything”, wrote a song about it. If you want to read a grisly story, look it up. Mr A commented that he was repulsed by the fact that Pearce said in a statement he quite liked the taste of human flesh. I reminded him that after what convicts would have been fed on Sarah Island, eating your mate might not have been such a bad prospect. 

We loved walking the streets of Strahan and admiring some of the grand public buildings. As it was established as a commercial port in 1870s, the Customs House, in particular is impressive. The rest of the streets, beyond the main waterfront, are lined with Tasmanian workers’ cottages, many restored and now being offered as holiday accommodation. We came across a sweet, timber Anglican church and the kids and I went for a look as the doors were open. When we came out, Steve was talking to a guy through the window of a four wheel drive, he introduced himself as “Trevor” and said he was the volunteer minister for the church. The rest of the time he runs an earth moving business.

Port Office and Customs House Strahan

We visited the Huon Pine gallery (or "Tasmanian Special Timbers")  and had a tour of the woodworking workshop , run by the very friendly wood craftsmen, Roger, and his wife. They sell pieces made by Roger, as well as local craftsmen. Since the 1970s, Huon Pine can no longer be harvested as the trees grow for 1000 years and they only grow in Tasmania, nowhere else in the world. The pieces in the gallery have been made from logs that have been lying on shorelines or in forests for decades. Some have been buried in forests for thousands of years. There is a working sawmill behind the shop that processes this retrieved timber. We bought a stunning Huon Pine mirror, made by a local craftsman, and I left Steve to figure out with Roger, how we could have it shipped home. 

The back of the Huon Gallery houses a craft lager and spirits bar, so at night, on our way to dinner, we walked there to have a drink. Steve tried some local ale and I tried two Tasmanian gins by Forty Spotted, and bought a bottle of the Citrus and Pepperberry. The packaging of the gin is innovative with the lid at the base of the bottle "Gin from the bottom of the world". We had a good chat with locals, hearing everyone’s stories of how they had come to live in one of the most remote communities in the world. Tasmanians are very friendly people. Many communities in Tasmania, set in idyllic towns like Strahan, have local industries, but tourism is a large part of their economy. Needless to say the economies of these communities have been devastated by rolling lockdowns around Australia over the last two years. They are thrilled to have visitors again, although at the moment visitors are still coming at a trickle. This, their return to a decent summer tourism season, has been hampered by the lack of availability of hire cars and touring vehicles in Tasmania. At the height of the COVID crisis, Tasmanian hire car companies sold 2/3 of their fleets, now they can’t replace them due to stock shortages world wide. For a state that thrives on self-drive tourists, this shortage could mean another lean summer, even after the borders open fully, this week. 

Huon Pine Milling on the Waterfront

 

After a few drinks we walked with the kids to have dinner at Risby’s Cove, a restaurant recommended to us by a friend. The meal, Modern Australia, and location and service were superb and kid friendly. I ordered a seafood coconut curry which was great but had meal envy. Steve's lamb was probably the best I have ever tasted. We walked back to the caravan park along Macquarie Harbour. It was a beautiful night. Steve asked us all at dinner, what our highlight of the day was, I said “the light”, the light in Tasmania is different. It’s as crisp and crystal clear as the air.

Copyright Mary Longford 2021