We decided to take it a bit easy today since we have a long and windy road to take tomorrow as we return to Hobart. Thus, we decided to just take the short drive to Strahan, which is a small coastal town that is on Macquarie Harbour. Strahan is also the terminal destination for the Wildness railroad we road on yesterday. We were prevented from completing our trip to Strahan due to the closure of the tracks caused by the heavy rains this region received this summer. As it turns out, the western coast of Tasmania receives the greatest amount of rainfall than any other location in Australia. It averages over 360 mm of rain each year.

The drive down the mountain from Queenstown to Strahan was a good warm up to what we will be doing tomorrow since the road was series of sharp S-curves. It was only 41 kilometers but took about 45 minutes since the curves kept our speed down.

When we arrived we found a sleepy little fishing village which caters to tourists who come to take the Gordon River cruise and/or the Wildness Train. However, the village was pretty dead today with few people besides us there. We stopped for lunch and I had a wonderful crusted ocean trout. I have never tried this fish before but will whenever I see it on a menu. It looks like and tastes like salmon but it is not as oily. I have since read that it is a cross between a steelhead salmon and a rainbow trout. It is like Arctic Char in taste and texture. Coupled with smashed potatoes and asparagus I kept smacking my lips throughout the meal. Mary Margaret had the fettuccini in a garlic cream sauce with prawns that was pretty good.

With our tummies full, we took the beach road that ended at the ocean, 6 kilometers away. Here we had miles upon miles of a pristine beach with mellow swells breaking and spilling up to the sand. The wind was blowing a bit and we were surprised that the ocean was not more cantankerous since all we could see was endless ocean as we looked out from the beach.

Despite the strong wind, the cold water and overcast skies, the air was much warmer than we expected and we were very comfortable just in short sleeve polo shirts. However, a major change in the weather was very apparent as the sky was looking pretty ugly. We are expecting to be driving in the rain when we return to Hobart tomorrow.

In a couple of days we will be returning to Melbourne. We will be there two days this time and then we will be flying across country to Perth. We will spend 5 or so days there before we return to Brisbane for a night. From Brisbane it is a 5 hour train ride to Bundaberg and good ol’ Leu Cat. We both are getting a little homesick for our wonderful boat. We feel this way each time we visit the ocean and stare out into the sea. It must be the pull of the ocean that raises our loving feelings for Leu Cat and our desire to return to the sea and our cruising life.