Strachan

It is really a short trip to Strachan from Stanley, but because the road is very narrow and winding it seems to take all day.  But we arrived OK and set up our home in the caravan park close to town.
On Monday we boarded the Eagle for a trip into Macquarie Harbour and out to Hell's Gate.  Hell's Gate was so named by the convicts way back as they knew that what lay before them on Sarah Island was going to be hell on earth. At the very narrow entrance to Macquarie stand two lighthouses marking the way in, the opening is a mere 70 metres.
After travelling through the entrance and back again we passed some of the many fish farms that are now found on Macquarie Harbour.  It is a big industry here, they harvest trout and of course, salmon. Then it was on to the infamous Sarah Island.
Here brutality was the name of the game, the convicts suffered incredible injustices, some escaped only to perish in the wilderness, others tried only to be captured and returned for more torture.  But the convicts eventually won the day.  There was so much graft and corruption going on between the military, convicts and authorities in Hobart that the place was closed down only to have the brutalities continue at Port Arthur.
Our 1 hour tour of the island was most interesting, although very little remains of the buildings.
Then we were back on board to commence our journey 10 km up the Gordon River,  It was during this stage that we enjoyed a fabulous buffet lunch.  Later after completing a short walk ashore we were returned to Strachan.  All in all a fabulous day.
On the night we arrived we went to the 'theatre' to see 'The Ship That Never Was' - a real story telling what happened to the very last ship built on Sarah Island and how the convicts 'stole' the boat and sailed all the way to Chile.  It was very much an audience participation play, full of humour where members of the audience also took part.  So if ever you come to this place, take the time, spend the $15.00 and go see it - it is rollicking good fun.
Today we had to drive up to Queenstown to take a ride on the little West Coast Wilderness Railway.  The little steam train chugs it's way through the wilderness and up some very steep inclines.  It is a rack and pinion system so there is a lot of swaying going on.  The little train has to stop several times along the way to replenish its water, taking on board up to 3000 litres each stop.  When the train gets to Dubbil Barril (the end of the line today) the engine separates from the carriages and is turned around on a turntable and reconnected to the carriages for the ride back to Queenstown.
Well that's theory.
All went well until after we had to leave Dubbil Barril on the return journey.  The drivers sensed something amiss so asked the passengers in the 3rd carriage to find places in the 1st and 2nd carriages.  Off we set arriving soon at the next stop.  There we were told that the poor 118 year old train had chucked a whammy and would not continue.  There was a very steep descent coming up and it was suggested that the train would not be able to stop us going down the mountainside.  Well, we were supposed to be back in Queenstown at about 12.30 but it ended up being about 3.30 instead.  4 wheel drive vehicles had to come out to the station to transport we passengers out to a bus which was then going to take us back to Queenstown.  All very exciting.  Somehow or other the train people came up with sandwiches and soup for us for lunch and then refunded us 50% of our fares.  All in all a good day.
So now we sit here in Strachan, the rain is falling and we are praying for a fine day tomorrow as we want to get out and do a bit of walking.