CAMPSITE # 72 - This is why we travel.

There are a few rather costly tourist journeys that Tom and I are dying to go on... a helicopter ride over either Kakadu or Lake Eyre, a hot air balloon ride over Ayers Rock and... a day cruise along the Gordon River. While we realise they're not exactly the trips every unemployed traveller would be taking, we figure... a trip like this is just once in a lifetime so we better make the most of it!

So, the three of us, Tom, Mum and I booked ourselves in to take the morning cruise along the famous "Gordon River". At $90 per adult, you are given 6 hours to enjoy cruising out towards the bay along the unusually calm waters of Macquarie Harbour while passing an incredible pod of dolphins coming along for a ride along our wake, through the "Hells Gates" - appropriately named by convicts for its narrow & incredibly dangerous passageway...

Pass some seriously eager fisher-wo-men

who are able to visit their holiday beach cabin only via boat access...

Given a very insightful lesson on aquaculture while passing some salmon & trout farms...
(just to tease us for what's yet to come)...

With a stop over at Sarah Island, where they first sent the convicts prior to Port Arthur...

Only to return to the boat for a buffet lunch!! Sometimes, buffet lunches are a bit of a let down and you would have been better off just going to Sizzler but anything with endless amounts of fresh Tasmanian Smoked Salmon & Cheese is bound to impress
(particularly when you're an unemployed traveller!!)...

As we journeyed along the Gordon River towards Heritage Landing, we were told the history of one of Tasmanian's most prized possessions, the Huon Pine. Huon Pine grows naturally in Tasmania and nowhere else in the world. Its timber is highly sought after by furniture makers, artists and enthusiasts all over the world. It is Australia's oldest living tree and is one of the oldest living organisms on earth. 

The one pictured here was 'salvaged' in the 1970's when they built Gordon Dam. Like every tree, its age can be determined by the amount of rings around its trunk. This one has been dated back to be over 2200 years old... prior to the Birth of Christ & the Battle of the Hastings. Captain Cooks landing in Botany Bay is labelled right on the outskirts of this incredible tree.

Nowadays, the Huon Pine is protected only allowing the wood to be used if it has naturally fallen or died. One of the huge appeals of this timber is the preserving properties of the natural oil, the wood is therefore resilient to rot from water or fungus. It also prevents insects from damaging the tree. You could dig up a piece of Huon Pine from a swamp, and the wood itself would still be in usable condition regardless of its age.

Entering the Gordon River, almost feels as if you have just been transported to a completely different world. The river itself is surrounded by walls and walls of temperate rainforest that just feels as if they are towering over you...

We were taken to Heritage Landing for a 400metre guided boardwalk tour. I realised, what I was seeing in that short walk was only just the tiniest little snippet into what surrounded me a million times over. We were right amongst one of the purest places I believe I will ever visit for the rest of my life. The air I was breathing would no doubt have been amongst the cleanest air in the entire world. This was nature at its absolutely best. It was simply extraordinary.

This is why we travel.

Site : Corinna Camping Ground

Camping Ground Rating : 14 / 20

Facilities : A very remote little tourist village, right on the river. Quirky is certainly a good word to explain this little town. You're camping right amongst nature. We recommend to do the kayaking, we didn't get a chance but have spoken to a number of people who rave about it. The only let down was the road north was closed while we were there so had to pay $20 each way x 2 cars to catch the ferry... which was a painful extra $80 to spend for one nights stay.