Tassie Wilderness Train trip.

Still raining and dark at 7am, a little sleep in this morning before our adventure on the train. We left from the Strachan Railway station at around 10.15am, lots of folk from previous trips on the train with us. We were only able to do half the trip today as trees had gone down on the line between 'Dubbil Baril' station and Queenstown, so we were on the train both ways instead of a bus back from Queenstown if we had been able to do the whole trip. We had the option of cancelling, but we are leaving tomorrow on the trip to Hobart.
There was a Hostess in each carriage giving a commentary of the trip, so much to learn about this area and its history of Mining. The Heritage rainforrest along the track is incredible, the train skimming so close to the rock face lining the track, no wonder they ask passengers to not put hands or heads outside the windows. Huge Huon Pine trees, apparently the males are droopy, the females perky - seems feasible!!!! The steep terrain is covered in wildflowers along the track and there are tree ferns everywhere - it is so lush, but I would imagine it would have been very intimidating in the early days when the miners first settled here.

Our first stop was at 'Lower Landing' for an Eco-toilet stop. A Japanese gentleman exited the loo looking quite bewildered, and said to one and all - 'NO FRUSH'!!! I could hardly keep a straight face, but not too many smiled as we waited in the rain.

This picture is of the re-vegetation of the dead river (story later).

Huon pine - huge timber industry in Tassie.

Our next stop was at 'Dubbil Barril' station (left this spelling as the man who named it was iliterate) for a picnic lunch on the station. Our lunches were individually packed, all local produce and delicious, I think everyone was very hungry as it was just so cold, but the station had a covered picnic area with Huon pine picnic tables, the area is just so beautiful. Photos of the train and carriage, and there was a dining car also. We had around an hour to lunch and take photos whilst they turned the engine around for the return trip. The 'King River' in the photos was followed for most of the trip up the mountains. Unfortunately this river, although still very beautiful to look at, is biologically dead due to mal-practice in the early days of copper mining in and around Queenstown. No life at all, not even algae. The river has since been dammed at Rosebery to stop the poisins polluting Macquarie Harbour at Strachan - there was no fishing industry in the Harbour until just recently, and now they are farming Salmon. We saw the Salmon farm on our trip to Gordon River yesterday. Apparently Dolphin have also returned to the harbour. They say it will be 1000 years before the river returns to its once pristine state, but the picture earlier showed some reedy grasses returning to the lower reeches of the river in just 20 years, so there is some hope thank goodness. AND our forefathers called this PROGRESS!!!!!
Yummy fresh Fish and chips (local) for dinner - off to Hobart tomorrow.