We made our way to the Arthur River Red Boat Cruises. The boat was full of grey nomad type passengers. I had to giggle as we walk on with our tribe expecting them all to cringe at the little monsters about to destroy their peaceful cruise! But they all were very smiley as we walked in and found a spot at the rear of the boat.
It was a surprisingly nice day. Considering we'd had drizzle and cloudy skies the previous night we were expecting a dismal day. There was no wind which made for beautiful reflections on the river. As we cruised up the river we were given a running commentary about life on the river.
It's one of the few places in Tassie that is untouched. The timber isn't much good for logging as it's too difficult to remove. The soil is also not good for farming, so anyone who was interested in either farming or logging quickly gave up on the idea.
About 30 minutes into our cruise we were invited to watch as the skipper threw a air-filled fish out onto the river for a waiting Sea Eagle and his mate. The Eagle swooped down and grabbed the fish with its talons and then flew up to the safety of the tree to eat it! Another fish was thrown out and the more cautious mate eventually flew down and grabbed it. It was very cool to watch! The cruise then took us past the nest of the Sea Eagle. It's a very large nest and has apparently been there for over 30 years!
We continued cruising and enjoyed a coffee, kids enjoyed a hot chocolate. We had a very small shower of rain but for the rest we could enjoy sitting on the front to admire the reflections or at the rear of the boat to make sure the kids haven't fallen overboard!
We stopped for lunch at 'Turks Landing'. We were then taken on a short walk into the rain forest where the guide explained different trees (which the kids had just learnt at Mount Field National Park - winning!!) We made our way back to a clearing where the BBQs has been cooking up a lunch! We enjoyed sharing a table with different couples from all over Australia.
After lunch we made our way back to the boat to head back downstream. The kids were all given an opportunity to drive the boat which made Brentons day! Chad was happy to have a turn too, Karli and Rowan were happy to watch Axel have a turn. After Brenton and Chad hopped out of the 'Captains' Chair they received a round of applause from the passengers which was cute.
The skipper pulled the kids aside and asked if they wanted to have their face painted! Well, he didn't really look like the type to paint butterflies and tigers on faces so I was somewhat dubious as to how this would turn out! He showed the kids how to make paint using Ochre, a hard clay - rubbed together with water. Next, he made a paintbrush using Razor Grass by stripping the outside layer off and bashing the inside layer with a hard object to separate the strands.
So the face painting began! Chad was a Warrior... Karli a Tasmanian Tiger and Brenton a Quoll. The were surprisingly happy with it!
Eventually the cruise came to an end and we all disembarked. It had been an enjoyable day!
We drove to the campsite and picked up the caravan and continued driving, heading North East. We planned to stay at a place called Penguin. We parked the van in and set up then wandered down to the beach to try and find the Fairy Penguins. One of the caravanners there offered to take us to where he knew of some penguins hiding in their burrow. We continued to search for others but eventually got distracted by the shells and 'sea glass' that washed up on the beach.
After we'd eaten dinner and it started to get darker, we started to hear the penguins calling. We're not sure if it's one parent with the chicks calling to the other parent who may be waddling up the beach, or if it's the chicks calling out to either parent who may be coming up the beach. Either way, the parent has to make their way over the rocks to find their babies in the bushes. Mars and the kids saw a few penguins on the beach and on the train tracks right next to our camp. Later, I went with Chad and we saw some more penguins. It was very cool!
No comments:
Post a Comment